UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K/A

(Amendment No.1)10-K

 

(Mark One)

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

 

For the fiscal year ended:December 31, 20172019

 

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

 

For the transition period from _____________ to _____________

 

Commission File No.001-35561

 

SEVEN STARS CLOUD GROUP,IDEANOMICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Nevada20-1778374
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or
organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

No.4 Drive-in Movie Theater Park,

No. 21, Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 10012555 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10006

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(212) 206-1216

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

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

 

Title of each className of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per shareNasdaq Capital Market

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act:None.

 

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

Yes¨       Nox

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes¨       Nox

 

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.

Yesx       No¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).

Yesx       No¨

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.¨

 

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

 

Large Accelerated Filer¨

Accelerated Filer¨x

Non-Accelerated Filer¨

Smaller reporting companyReporting Companyx
Emerging growth company¨ 

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes¨  Nox

 

As of June 30, 201728, 2019 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter)quarter as of the original date of this filing), the market value of the shares of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates (based upon the closing price of shares as reported by Nasdaq) was approximately $63,222,176.$207,000,565. Shares of the registrant’s common stock held by each executive officer and director and each by each person who owns 10% or more of the outstanding common stock have excluded from the calculation in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant. This determination affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

 

There were a total of 68,865,056162,026,045 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of March 26, 2018.14.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

None.

 

 

 

 

 

SEVEN STARS CLOUD GROUP,IDEANOMICS, INC.

Annual Report on FORM 10-K/A10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 20172019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 Page
PART I
   
Item 1.PART IBusiness4
Item 1A.Risk Factors141
   
ITEM 1.PART IIBUSINESS1
   
ItemITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS17
ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS39
ITEM 2.PROPERTIES39
ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS39
ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES39
ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES40
ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA40
PART II41
ITEM 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations29
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary DataMANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS41
   
ITEM 7A.PART IIIQUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK54
   
Item 10.ITEM 8.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate GovernanceFINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA4255
   
ITEM 9.PART IVCHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE56
   
ItemITEM 9A.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES57
ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION58
PART III58
ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE58
ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION67
ITEM 12.SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS71
ITEM 13.CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE75
ITEM 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES77
PART IV78
ITEM 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement SchedulesEXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES4878
ITEM 16.FORM 10-K SUMMARY78

 

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. is filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A (this “Amendment”) to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the “Original Filing”), which was originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2018.

The purpose of this amendment is to amend certain Items of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 in response to comments received from the Securities and Exchange Commission. This Amendment does not include the entire Form 10-K. Except for those Items of the Form 10-K contained herein, this Amendment does not amend any information set forth in the Original Filing, and the Company is not required to update disclosures to reflect any events that occurred subsequent to March 30, 2018.

Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

 

In addition to historical information, this report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,(as defined below), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.(as defined below). We use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “plan,” “optimistic,” “intend,” “aim,” “will” or similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our transition to become a next-generation financial technology company; our expectations regarding the market for our new and existing products and industry segment growth andgrowth; our expectations regarding demand for and acceptance of our new and existing products or services; our expectations regarding our partnerships and joint ventures, acquisitions, investments; our beliefs regarding the potential benefits and opportunities from integrating digital artificial intelligence and blockchain technology as part of our product and services offerings; our business strategies and goals; any projections of sales, earnings, revenue, margins or other financial items; any statements regarding the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; uncertainties related to conducting business in China;the PRC; and all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including, and without limitation, those identified in Item 1A, “Risk1A—“Risk Factors” included herein, as well as assumptions, which, if they were to ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made, from time to time, after the date of this report to conform our prior statements to actual results or revised expectations.

 

Use of Terms

 

Except as otherwise indicated by the context, references in this report to “we,” “us,” “our,” “our Company,” “the Company,” “SSC”“IDEX,” or “Seven Stars Cloud,“Ideanomics,” are to the business of Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc. (formerly known as Wecast“Seven Star Cloud Group, Inc.,” “SSC” and “Wecast Network, , Inc.), a Nevada corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries and variable interest entities.

 

In addition, unless the context otherwise requires and for the purposes of this report only:

 

.·“CB Cayman” refers to our wholly-owned subsidiary China Broadband, Ltd., a Cayman Islands company;
.·“Exchange Act” refers to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
.·Hong Kong”EV” refers to Electric Vehicles, particularly battery operated electric vehicles
·“FINRA” refers to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority;
·“HK SAR” refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China;
.·“Hua Cheng” refers to Hua Cheng Hu Dong (Beijing) Film and Television Communication Co., Ltd., a PRC company that is 39% owned by Sinotop Beijing and is a 20% owner of Zhong Hai Media;
·.“Intelligenta” refers to the BDCG joint venture which was rebranded as Intelligenta. As part of the rebranding, Intelligenta’s strategy will now include AI solutions to enhance corporation services, index services and products, and capital market services and products.
·“Legacy YOD” business refers to the premium content and integrated value-added service solutions for the delivery of VOD (defined below) and paid video programing to digital cable providers, Internet Protocol Television (“IPTV”) providers, Over-the-Top (“OTT”) streaming providers, mobile manufacturers and operators, as well as direct customers.
·“MEG” refers to Mobile Energy Global the subsidiary that holds all of the Company’s Electronic Vehicles investments
·“PRC,” “China,” and “Chinese,” refer to the People’s Republic of China;

ii

.·“Renminbi” and “RMB” refer to the legal currency of China;the PRC;
.·“SEC” refers to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
.·“Securities Act” refers to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
·.“SSF” refers to Tianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited, a PRC company controlled by YOD Hong Kong through contractual arrangements;
·“Shandong Broadcast” refers to Shandong Broadcast & TV Weekly Press, a PRC company;
.·“Shandong Media” refers to our previously owned 50% joint venture, Shandong Lushi Media Co., Ltd., a PRC company;company and a joint venture with respect to which we previously directly owned 50%; effective July 1, 2012, our interest in Shandong Media becamewas reduced to a 30% owned companystake held by Sinotop Beijing;Beijing, which we indirectly control;
.·“Sinotop Beijing” refers to Beijing Sino Top Scope Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company controlled by YOD Hong Kong through contractual arrangements;
.·“U.S. dollars,” “dollars,” “USD,” “US$,” and “$” refer to the legal currency of the United States;
·.

“U.S. Tax Reform” refers to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted by the United States of America on December 22, 2017;

.·“VIEs” refers to our current variable interest entities Sinotop Beijing, and SSF;
.·“VOD” refers to video on demand, which includes near video on demand (“NVOD”), subscription video on demand (“SVOD”), and transactional video on demand (“TVOD”);
.·WFOE”Mobile Energy Group Services” business unit refers to all other operations other than Legacy YOD business;
·“WSG” refers to our wholly-owned subsidiary Wecast Services Group Limited (formerly known as Sun Video Group Hong Kong Limited), a Hong Kong company;
·“Wecast SH” refers to Shanghai Wecast Supply Chain Management Limited, a PRC company that is 51% owned by the Company;
·“WFOE” refers to Beijing China Broadband Network Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company and a “wholly foreign-owned enterprise,” which we previously wholly owned and which was sold during the quarter ended March 31, 2014;
·“Wide Angle” refers to Wide Angle Group Limited, a Hong Kong company that is 55% owned by the Company;
·“YOD Hong Kong” refers to YOU On Demand (Asia) Limited, formerly Sinotop Group Limited, a Hong Kong company, which is wholly- owned by CB Cayman;
.“SSF” refers to Tianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited, a PRC company controlled by YOD Hong Kong through contractual arrangements;
.·“YOD WFOE” refers to YOU On Demand (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company and a “wholly foreign-owned enterprise,” which is wholly-owned by YOD Hong Kong; and
.·“Zhong Hai Media” refers to Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media Co., Ltd., a PRC company that was 80% owned by Sinotop Beijing until June 30, 2017;2017.
·“SSSIG” refers to Sun Seven Stars Investment Group Limited, a British Virgin Islands corporation, an affiliate of Dr. Wu.

“Wecast Services” refers to our wholly-owned subsidiary Wecast Services Group Limited (formerly known as Sun Video Group Hong Kong Limited) a Hong Kong company;

“Wide Angle” refers to Wide Angle Group Limited, a Hong Kong company 55% owned by the Company; and

“Wecast SH” refers to Shanghai Wecast Supply Chain Management Limited, a PRC company 51% owned by the Company.iii

 

In this report we are relying on and we refer to information and statistics regarding the media industry in China that we have obtained from various public sources. Any such information is publicly available for free and has not been specifically prepared for us for use or incorporation in this report or otherwise.

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PART I

 

ITEM 1.BUSINESS.BUSINESS

 

Overview

 

Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSC)(Nasdaq: IDEX) was incorporated in the State of Nevada on October 19, 2004. SinceFrom 2010 it has been athrough 2017, our primary business activities were providing premium content Video On Demandvideo on demand (“VOD”) services, provider with primary operations in the People’s Republic of ChinaPRC, through itsour subsidiaries and variable interest entities. It provided premium content and integrated value-added service solutions forentities under the delivery of VOD and paid video programming to digital cable providers, Internet Protocol Televisionbrand name You-on-Demand (“IPTV”YOD”) providers, Over-the-Top (“OTT”) streaming providers, mobile manufacturers and operators, as well as direct customers.. We closed the YOD business during 2019.

 

Starting fromStarting in early 2017, it is aimingthe Company transitioned its business model to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered,next-generation financial technology (“fintech”) company. The Company built a network of businesses, operating principally in the trading of petroleum products and electronic component that the Company believed had significant potential to recognize benefits from blockchain and AI technologies including, for example, enhancing operations, addressing cost inefficiencies, improving documentation and standardization, unlocking asset value and improving customer engagement. During 2018 the Company ceased operations in the petroleum products and electronic components trading businesses and disposed of the businesses during 2019. Fintech company. By providingcontinues to be a priority for us as we look to invest in and managingdevelop businesses that can improve the financial services industry, particularly as it relates to deploying blockchain and AI technologies. As we looked to deploy fintech solutions in late 2018 and into 2019, we found a unique opportunity in the Chinese Electric Vehicle (EV) industry to facilitate large scale conversion of fleet vehicles from internal combustion engines to EV. This led us to establish our Mobile Energy Global (MEG) business unit.

Principal Products or services and their markets

The Company operates in one segment which has two business units, the Mobile Energy Global and Ideanomics Capital.

Mobile Energy Group (MEG)

MEG’s mission is to use EV and EV battery sales and financing to attract commercial fleet operators that will generate large scale demand for energy, Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and Energy Management Contracts (EMC). Additionally, MEG will become a key player in the supply chain of crucial metals required for EV batteries, which are the center piece of mobile energy. The MEG business operates as an infrastructureend-to-end solutions provider for the procurement, financing, charging and environment that facilitatesenergy management needs for fleet operators of commercial Electronic Vehicles (EV). MEG operates through a series of joint ventures with the transformationleading companies in the commercial EV space, principally in China, and earns fees for every transaction completed based on the spread for group buying of traditional financial marketsvehicles and fees derived from the arrangement of financing and energy management such as commodities, currencycommercial purchasing of pre-paid electricity credits. MEG focuses on commercial EV rather than passenger personal EV, as commercial EV is on an accelerated adoption path when compared to consumer EV adoption – which is expected to take between ten to fifteen years. We focus on four distinct commercial vehicles types with supporting income streams: 1) Closed-area heavy commercial, in areas such as Mining, Airports, and credit intoSea Ports; 2) Last-mile delivery light commercial; 3) Buses and Coaches; 4) Taxis. The purchase and financing of vehicles provides for one-time fees and the asset digitalization era, SSC hopes to provide asset ownerscharging and holders a seamless method and platformenergy management provides for digital asset securitization, tokenization and trading. Separately, SSC is aiming to offer a closed supply chain trading ecosystem for corporate buyers and sellers designed to eliminate standard transactional intermediaries and create a more direct and margin-expanding path for principals.

recurring revenue streams.

 

2017 has beenIn May 2019, the Company signed an agreement with iUnicorn (also known as Shenma Zhuanche) to form a yearstrategic joint venture (“JV”) that will focus on green finance and integrated marketing services for new energy taxi vehicles as part of transitionIdeanomics’ Mobile Energy Group (“MEG”). The Company agreed to contribute advisory and sales resources which include arranging ABS-based auto financing with its bank partners, and will have 50.01% ownership interest in the JV and will have control of the board. iUnicorn, which will own 49.99% of the JV, agreed to contribute its vehicles sales orders in Sichuan province. The JV will generate revenues from the Company’s legacy businesscommissions on vehicle sales order and ABS fees related to the Company’s new business.financing, which will vary accordingly to manufacturer and vehicle model.

 

Pertaining to the Company’s efforts to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered, Fintech company, in early Q1 2017,In July 2019 the Company completedmade an equity investment in Glory Connection Snd. Bhd, (“Glory”) a vehicle manufacturer located in Malaysia. Glory’s principal operating entity is Tree Manufacturing which holds the acquisitiononly license granted so far to a domestic entity for the manufacture of Sun Video Group HK Limited ("SVG"), which had a 51% ownership stakeelectric vehicles in M.Y. Products, LLC ("MYP"), a global, smart supply chain management operator. Functioning as a global smart supply chain management company, the acquisition was consummated in an effort to support the Company's brand licensingMalaysia and video commerce business with B2B services. With the aforementioned service offerings under one roof, the Company could now provide Chinese manufacturers the opportunity to improve profitability within the distribution chain and allowing manufacturers to capture more robust margins as well as reapportioning cost savings to marketing and branding, thereby improving revenue volume.

Also in early February 2017, the Company announced it had acquired 55% of Wide Angle Group Limited ("WAG"). Coupling WAG's capabilities and offerings with those already existing under the SVG/MYP deal, including Supply Chain Management, Manufacturer Sourcing, Supply Chain Financing, VR (virtual reality)-Enabled Commerce Technology and AI-driven Big Data Technology Management, the Company was seeking to creating a diversified and robust business division, separate from the VOD business.

For 2017, through the acquisition and operation of the SVG and WAG the two current revenue sources were initiated. They are supply chain management & structured finance and alternative finance & carry trade businesses. The Company is currently primarily engaged with consumer electronics and smart supply chain management operations. Our end customers include about 15 to 20 corporations across the world. Starting from October 2017, through partnership with another business partner, our newly controlled Singapore joint venture has been conducting oil trading business in Singapore. Other than the trading business that Company already operated in 2017, the Company also intends to run the engine upon its Venus blockchain based platform, which includes TPaaS & VPaaS system. As of fourth quarter of 2017, TPaaS system went into trial operation. A significant portion of our operations will consist of these new lines of business, however since these are new business lines, customer demand is in the process of being validated,setting up its manufacturing and the global regulatory environment is constantly adapting to these new fintech products and technologies. As a result, it is not possible to make a definitive prediction on the rate of growth and profitability of these operations at this time. These services will be offered globally from our New York and China offices.assembly capabilities.

 

As part of our overall strategy,In September 2019, the Company entered into a revenue sharing agreement with First Auto Loan, one of the leading taxi finance companies in the PRC under which the Company’s MEG business unit would assist First Auto secure a funding pool for taxi finance and in return MEG will receive a commission on each loan written by First Auto Loan. The funding pool is focused on trying to establish 4 digital asset product categories which are expected to trade on 4 digital asset global trading platforms and exchanges and are expected to be distributed and monetized through 4 digital asset global partner sales and monetization networks.led by Dasheng Licheng Lease Financing with additional funding provided by a consortium of large Chinese insurance companies.

 

The 4 digital asset product categories are expected to be (i) financial, (ii) vertical industry, (iii) consumerCompany has preferred purchasing agreements with a number of EV manufacturers including Jianghuai Automobile Group Co. (frequently known as JAC), Geely Auto Group and (iv) media. The products withinBeijing Foton Motor Company and EV battery manufacturers including Contemporary Amperex Technology (frequently known as CATL) and Yinlong Energy Co Ltd. Under the terms of these groups arepreferred purchasing agreements the Company receives preferred pricing and volume discounts for EV and EV batteries purchased through these partners

In November 2019, the Company announced an agreement with China’s Yunnan province under the terms of which Yunnan, in developmentits capacity as the PRC’s province responsible for China’s Belt and are expected to represent new digital financial assets that can be used for store of value, application platform-based transactions, supply chain transactions, transaction incentivization, and general payments. By nature, their storage and transactabilityRoad initiative in the various use cases that theyASEAN countries, will make an investment into the Company’s Malaysian headquartered Tree Technologies subsidiary. The terms of this investment are created and are expected to produce new value and fungibility with other digital assets and in some cases, fiat currency.under negotiation.

 

The 4 digital asset global trading platformsCompany has entered into a sales referral agreement with Zhitong 3000 (Zhitong) an operator of a SaaS platform for the management of commercial truck fleets. This agreement will enable to Zhitong to broaden the services offered to its customers by providing access to MEG’s vehicle purchasing and exchanges are expected to be:financing platform. MEG will earn is normal fees for any business transacted by customers of Zhitong on the MEG platform

 

i.Global Financial Digital Asset Exchange Groups

In September 2019, the company entered into a framework agreement with the China National Petroleum Corporation Nanjing (PetroChina), one of the world largest oil companies. The Company and PetroChina will negotiate an agreement under which the Company will earn a commission for each charge at a EV fast charging station financed by investment from the Company’s EV financing consortium which includes Three Georges, Tianda Energy, Ding Fang and Palcan Energy.

ii.Global Vertical Industry Digital Asset Exchange Groups

iii.Global Consumer Digital Asset Exchange Groups

iv.Global Media Digital Asset Exchange Groups

 

Our digital asset trading platforms are expectedIn August 2018, the Company and agreement with National Transport Capacity (also known as National Transport of Shenzhen) under which the Company receives an origination fee for any ABS transactions for any assets that the Company originates through its platform.

In August 2019 the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Golden Concord Holdings Limited (GCL) thru which GCL took a 49.9% equity interest in logistical vehicle unit of the Company’s MEG subsidiary. As consideration for the 49.9% interest, GCL made an exclusive commitment to represent ownedintroduce sales of 500,000 EVs to MEG over three years. The transaction includes performance criteria with share-based claw back formula in the event that GCL does not meet its committed targets


In December 2019 the Company purchased a controlling interest in Tree Technologies Sdn Bhd (“Tree Technologies”) a company that holds the distribution license for the EV’s manufactured by Glory’s Tree Manufacturing subsidiary. In addition to the distribution license, Tree Technologies has a 99 year lease on 250 acres of vacant land zoned for industrial development in the Gebeng Industrial Area adjacent toKuantan Port.Kuantan is the capital city of the state of Pahang on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The Company intends to develop this land and partner exchanges that will support our digital asset products.lease it to Tree Manufacturing for the manufacture of EVs.

Ideanomics Capital

 

The 4 digital asset global partner sales and monetization networks are expected to be:

i.GenXPlus (rebranded from NextGen X)

ii.Redrock Global Capital

iii.Partnerships with highly scalable, transparent and decentralized digital asset exchange platforms

iv.LaunchCompany’s Ideanomics Capital business unit consists of highly scalable, transparent and decentralized financial exchange partner platforms

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The Company’s global partner sales and monetization networks are expected to enable the unlocking of value through fractionalization, tokenization and securitization of assets in digital form.

Our digital asset trading platforms are expected to represent owned and partner exchanges that will support our digital asset products.

In support of the Company’s overall strategy, in August 2017, the Company subscribed to a strategic investment of US$250,000 in the Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”) to acquire 187,970 common shares. DBOT(DBOT), Intelligenta and EKAR.

The Delaware Board of Trade is a broker dealer that also operates an SEC recognized Alternative Trading System which SSC believes can be developed into a distributed network. On December 18, 2017, the Company subscribed for another 27% purchase of DBOT, which would make the Company the largest shareholder of DBOT, and as part of this purchase, the Company’s President, Robert G. Benya, is expected to become a DBOT Board Director. DBOT (http://dbottrading.com/) operates three business lines: (i) DBOT ATS LLC, a FINRA Member Firm, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") and an SEC recognized fully automated, auto-execution Alternative Trading System ("ATS"); (ii) DBOT Issuer Services LLC, focused on setting and maintaining issuer standards, as well as the provision of issuer services to DBOT designated issuers; and (iii) DBOT Technology Services LLC,(ATS) focused on the provisiontrading of market datatraditional OTC securities. The Company purchased DBOT in July 2019 and marketplace connectivity. These transactions are still pendinghas been implementing a new trading platform to improve its competitive position in the trading of traditional OTC securities and provide enhanced functionality to allow for the trading of digital securities when all necessary regulatory approvals have not yet closed. These transactions will not close until DBOT gets FINRA’s approval. We will not be able to consolidate the results of DBOT.been obtained.

 

Also,Intelligenta (formerly BDCG)

Intelligenta is a pre-revenue company focused on delivering AI driven solutions for the financial services industry. Intelligenta has a license from BBD to adapt BBD’s solutions for use in support of the Company’s overall strategy, on October 19,US market.

Between December 2017 the Company announced an agreement to establish a Joint Venture,and April 2018, we formed BBD Digital Capital Group Ltd ("BDCG"Ltd., a New York corporation (“BDCG”), as a joint venture with management partners Tiger Sports Media Limited andpartner Seasail, Ventures Limited, ("Seasail") an affiliate of parent company BBD (https://en.bbdservice.com/introduction)Big Business Data (“BBD”). TheIn April 2019 the Company rebranded the name BDCG will focusto Intelligenta. We hold approximately 60% of the equity interest of Inteligenta and have the power to appoint three of the five directors of the board of Intelligenta. Intelligenta focuses on artificial intelligence-drivendeveloping AI-driven financial data services as well as building transactional platforms for index, futures and derivative trading, for both global commodity and energy clients. By leveraging Seasail's technology, BDCG will look to capitalize on commodity and energy provider's needs for more precisePlanned financial data services also include risk management solutions, platforms for trading derivatives and indices, and debt and credit product offerings, with the primary objective being enhancing trading and risk management strategies. 

We believe we can leverage Intelligenta’s AI services more informed operational planningfor the creation of financial products, risk ratings and more strategic decision-making, specifically as they all relateindexing, and selection and recommendation systems on behalf of key stakeholders. By using AI technology to analyze the digital securitized assets we intend to develop, we aim to elevate not only the quality of the financial product, but also interactions among stakeholders. We also intend to design the digital securitized assets we develop to have data attributes that can be integrated into INTELLIGENTA’s approach for processing financial data.

EKAR – Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

EKAR is an ETF listed on the NY Stock Exchange under the symbol EKAR. EKAR tracks the Innovation Labs Next Generation Vehicles Index, which is comprised of a basket of global stocks that have exposure to the tradingtheme of index, futureselectric and commodities. self driving/autonomous vehicles. As at December 31, 2019 the total assets under management for EKAR stood at $1.7 million.

FinTalk

In September 2018, we entered into an agreement for the acquisition of FinTalk, a secure mobile messaging, collaboration and information services platform that delivers encrypted text and media messaging, with high performance large file transfer capabilities. The Company has determined through analysis that the technology is rapidly changing and the cost of maintaining this does not meet further investment. The Company recorded an impairment loss of $5.7 million related to Fintalk in the year ended December 2017, the Company acquired 20% equity interest of BDCG from Tiger Sports Media Limited, which gave the Company 60% total equity interest, and BDCG would become one subsidiary of the Company. The valuation report of BDCG was received post-signing of the BDCG Purchase Agreement with both parties agreeing that there is no obligation to close the Transaction until a satisfactory valuation report has been received, evaluated and approved by the Company’s Audit Committee. On April 24, 2018, the Audit Committee approved the satisfactory valuation report provided by an independent third party and closed this transaction. 31, 2019.

Blockchain And AI Technologies

 

The Company considers deploying blockchain & AI technologies, where appropriate, to be an important part of its strategy of building new businesses and disrupting established businesses and processes. The Company does not develop proprietary blockchain or AI technologies, the company will license the necessary technology.

Non-Core Assets

The company has strategically securedidentified a management team with diversified expertisenumber of business units that it considers non-core and is evaluating strategies for divesting these assets. The non-core assets are Grapevine, a marketing and ecommerce platform focused on influencer marketing, and FinTech Village a 58-acre development site in operations, technology, fintech, blockchain, AI, capital marketsWest Hartford, Connecticut.

Sources and availability of raw materials

The Company does not directly manufacture any products, consequently it is not dependent on a reliable source of materials to operate its business. However, the financial services industry.Company’s partners that manufacture EVs and batteries do depend on a ready supply of raw materials and consequently a shortage of raw materials would adversely impact their manufacturing process and, potentially, indirectly impact the Company’s revenues as it may not be able to complete orders that it had received.


Seasonality

 

The Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bruno Wu is an experienced investor, technology and media entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Dr. Wu has been actively involved with blockchain based and big data technologies since October 2011. After four years of investment and research, in 2015, Dr. Wu and his companies proceeded to execute the strategy of becoming a leader in fintech and asset digitization services by aggregating AI, blockchain and other big data and Cloud based technologies, carefully sourced and selected on a global basis through joint ventures and partnerships. These partnerships focus on customizing and enabling actual business use case applications. Dr. Wu actively participatedMEG division operates in the build outmarket for fleet sales of commercial EVs and the Company expects that orders and sales will be influenced by the amount and timing of budgeted expenditure by its customers. Typically, the Company would expect to see higher sales at the start of the world’s leading big data hub in Guiyang, China, particularly by endorsingyear when companies start executing on their capital programs and at the integrationend of the year when companies are spending any surplus or uncommitted budget before the new budget cycle commences. The Company’s MEG division is building out its network and has not generated sufficient orders to allow it to establish with AI and blockchain. Currently Dr. Wu has committed to transforming the Company into a flagship for fintech and asset digitization services, with multiple use case technology engines to be rolled out.any degree of certainty an expected pattern of seasonality.

Working Capital requirements

 

The Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Federico Tovar,MEG division is a seasoned business professional and subject matter expert in AI, FinTech, Blockchain, IoT and cybersecurity. He was previously the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Global Data Sentinel Inc, a privately held and high growth cybersecurity and AI technology company that supports data security across domains, including network, Cloud, mobile and IoT, with AI capabilities and next-generation applications in Blockchain, FinTech, energy, insurance, healthcare, and media industries, amongst others. He previously was a Director at Grant Thornton LLP, where he was responsible for advisory assignments during the global financial crisis, advising global private equity firms, hedge funds, and other large-scale financial institutions and insurance companies on their investment portfolios and matters related to complex financial instruments, derivatives, and other hard to price securities. In addition, he was part of large-scale and global multidisciplinary audit assignments involving companiesstill in the United States, Europedevelopment stage and Asia, and servedits business model continues to evolve, however, management does not believe that the MEG divisions anticipated business model will require substantial amounts of working capital as it does not anticipate holding material amounts of inventory or offering customers extended payment terms. The Company’s Tree Technologies subsidiary will require substantial amounts of investment to build out its distribution business. It is the Company’s intention to fund this with borrowings secured against Tree Technologies assets, however the Company may need to fund all, or a subject matter expert to audit teams on various Fair Value and IFRS matters. He also spent time with Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance practice in New York, where he provided M&A, valuation, and corporate restructuring advisory to large-scale Fortune 500 technology companies. He started his career in strategy and management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, exposing him to technology and innovation early on in his career, advising somematerial portion of the world’s largest privateinvestment if the Tree Technologies is not able to raise the required capital to set-up and government organizations. In addition, he spentoperate the business. The Company will continue to raise funds to support its US based Head Office functions and its US based operating subsidiaries until such time atas the World Bank, working closely on fixed income securities and debt instruments with Central Banks and Finance Ministers across emerging markets in Asia and Latin America.operations become cash flow positive.

 

Mr. Tovar has managed corporate, financial reporting, legalTrade marks, patents and investor relations matters, along with all daily operations and fiduciary duties at the executive and board level; including financial reporting and accounting pursuant to GAAP and IFRS, as well as tax and international transfer pricing matters across foreign tax jurisdictions. Mr. Tovar has developed strategic plans and business models, structured various intellectual property and technology licensing deals, closed on various M&A transactions and debt and equity financing rounds, and formulated corporate growth and financial strategies for technology companies which have resulted in measurable execution strategies. He is a seasoned finance professional and entrepreneur in the technology ecosystem, and a subject matter expert in FinTech, Blockchain, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity.licenses

 

Chad Arroyo, theThe Company’s Chief Marketing Officer, is well-versed in blockchain technology, its uses in fintech platforms, financial transactions and various technology implementations on both public and private blockchain systems, and has developed operational and systems level experience in transaction management, order routing and management, digital securities, issuers services and funding portal operations, custodial wallet management, exchange operations, KYC/AML procedures.Intelligenta business operates under a license granted by Seasail Ventures. The license does not have a stated term.

 

Mr. Arroyo was deeply involved with marketing as well as general consulting and project management for Fundamental Interactions and the Delaware Board of Trade that together deliver a suite of blockchain capabilities for the issuance, trading and settlement of digital assets. Mr. Arroyo was previously a startup cofounder of SaaS-based platforms that were designed to integrate 3rd party payment and reporting systems for B2B transactions. Mr. Arroyo has worked with startups that are developing fintech solutions and has gained substantial experience in enterprise technology systems design, development and implementation through his experience as a Deloitte Technology Strategy Consultant as well as during his military career where he specialized in Defense telecommunications following his graduation from the US Naval Academy.Customer Concentration

 

The Company notes thatis in addition tothe process of building out its own management expertise, additional fintech services managerial expertise comes directly fromMobile Energy Group subsidiary and has not yet reached a stage of development where the company’s strategic alliance network and  partnership relationships, including joint ventures as well as control and non-control investmentsloss of any single customer would have a material adverse effect on the Company which have created a confluent strategic scenario of leadership experience and proficiency.

 

For example, Dr. George Yuan is the Chief Technology Officer of BDG Digital Capital Group, a subsidiary of the Company (“BDCG”). Dr. Yuan is a world leading expert with a focus on dynamic ontology for credit risk assessment and risk management. He served as the leader for risk management consulting at KPMG (US) and the Director of China / Hong Kong Deloitte Financial Consulting. Dr. Yuan was selected as a National Distinguished Expert in Shanghai’s and Sichuan’s "The Thousand Talents Plan" in 2013 and 2018, and he is the Chief Editor for The Journal of Financial Engineering. Dr. Yuan’s is leading BDCG’s focus on artificial intelligence-driven financial data services as well as transactional platforms for index, futures and derivative trading, for both global commodity and energy clients. Dr.Yuan is the Chief Risk Officer and Chief Engineer of BBD Digital Finance, a subsidiary of the Company. Dr. Yuan has held a professorship at the Institute of Risk Management at Tongji University. Dr Yuan's study and work has centered around the valuation of Financial Derivatives and Value-at-Risk (VaR) Modeling for Market Risk, Credit Risk and Operational Risk under the framework of Basel II (Basel III) Accord, Financial and Credit Derivatives Pricing, Portfolio Optimization, Risk Limit Design, Commodity Forward Price Curve Design, Complex Position, Commodity Price Risk Assessment and Asset Valuation.

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Reliance on government contracts

 

Recent DevelopmentsThe Company does not contract directly with the government of the PRC, however it does have joint ventures, partnerships and agreements with the State Own Entities (SOE) described above. Additionally, the rate at which commercial fleets convert to EV is heavily influenced by federal and provincial policies in the PRC as they relate to clean air and adoption of EV technology. Consequently, the Company’s results may be adversely impacted by changes in regulations in the PRC.

 

Competitive business conditions, competitive position in the industry and methods of competition

On January 12, 2018,Mobile Energy Group

The Company’s MEG business unit is focused on the PRC and the ASEAN Region. The most important drivers for the development of the commercial fleet EV market in the PRC are federal and provincial regulations relating to clean air and electronic vehicles including subsidies and incentives to help owners of fleets of commercial vehicles to convert from combustion engines to EV. The government of the PRC has a stated policy of converting all taxis and buses to EV by the end of 2022. The speed at which fleet operators convert to EV is highly correlated with government regulations, targets and related subsidies and incentives. If the government of the PRC, or a municipality, changes the regulations, targets, incentives or subsidies then the rate at which fleet operators convert their vehicles to EV could slow down which in turn may lead to lower revenues for the Company. Additionally, the rate, and form in which, the commercial fleet EV market develops is dependent upon the development of new financing and lending structures that address the different collateral and resale values of the battery and vehicle. For vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines the power source, i.e. the engine, and the car body are one integrated unit, however EVs are designed with the intention of the battery being easily removed from the vehicle to enable fast recharging through “swapping’ of batteries. Additionally, the EV market is still developing and there is a very limited history of resale values for lenders to use when calculating resale values when evaluating a financing application.

The Company entered intooperates through a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “DBOT Purchase Agreement”) withnetwork of joint ventures, partnerships and formal and informal alliances; consequently, its competitive position could be adversely impacted if one of the members of the alliance was not able to meet the demand for its products or goes out of business.

Ideanomics Capital

The Company’s Ideanomics Capital business unit operates in sectors that are undergoing rapid change.

The Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”)is a broker dealer that also operates an Alternative Trading System for the trading of OTC equities, this is market which is undergoing rapid change as retail focused stock brokers introduce zero commission trading for their clients and DBOT-I LLC (the “Seller”) pursuantthe industry continues to consolidate as large financial firms acquire national stock brokers. These changes make for a very difficult competitive environment. The Company has applied for regulatory approval to broker digital securities and tokens, this is a nascent market which the Seller agreed to sell 500,000 shares of common stock of DBOT to the Company and the Company issued an aggregate of 320,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company to the Seller. The Seller agreed to a 1 year lock up period for the shares of common stock of the Company received by the Seller pursuant to the DBOT Purchase Agreement. believes has good long term potential.

 

On March 4, 2018, the Company entered into another Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Sloves Purchase Agreement”) with Shawn Sloves (“Sloves”), China Broadband, Ltd.,Intelligenta is developing a wholly-owned subsidiaryplatform for AI driven decision making and risk management for financial data. The company is developing proof of SSC (the “Purchaser”) and DBOT pursuant to which Sloves agreed to sell 500,000 shares of common stock of DBOT to the Purchaser and the Company issued an aggregate of 320,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company to Sloves. Sloves agreed to a 1 year lock up period for the shares of common stock of the Company received by Sloves pursuant to the Sloves Purchase Agreement.concepts.

 

On March 17, 2018,The Company manages the Company entered into a subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with GT Dollar Pte. Ltd. (“GTD”) for a private placement of a total amount of $40.0 million. Pursuant to the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Company (i) will issue and sell to GTD, an aggregate of 13,773,010 shares of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $25,066,878.20, and (ii) issue two convertible promissory notes (each a “Note” and together, the “Notes”) with a stated principal amount of $10 million and $4,933,121.80, respectively. GTD shall pay $30 million of the purchase price on or prior to March 31, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the 13,773,010 shares of Common Stock and the $4,933,121.80 Note, and the remaining $10 million on or prior to April 30, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the $10 million Note. The Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants and a 9 month lock-up period for GTD from the date of the Subscription Agreement. The Notes bear interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum and matures December 31, 2019. In the event of default, the Notes will become immediately due and payable. Until receipt of necessary shareholder approvals for the transactions contemplated by these agreements, the Notes note may not be converted, to the extent that such conversion would result in GTD and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 19.9% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock. Once the necessary shareholder approval is received, the unpaid principal and interestEKAR ETF listed on the Notes will automatically convert into shares of CommonNew York Stock at a conversion rate of $1.82. 

Exchange under the symbol EKAR.

 

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Corporate Structure

 

The following chart depicts our corporate structure as of March 30, 2018:December 31, 2019: 

 

 

 


(1).Sinotop Beijing VIE Agreements, including with Mei Chen and Yun Zhu,On December 26, 2019, the nominee shareholdersCompany completed the acquisition of Sinotop Beijing. Mei Chen, holder of 95% equity ownershipa 51% interest in Sinotop Beijing andTree Technologies, a partyMalaysian company engaged in the EV market. (Refer to certain VIE arrangements between YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing, isNote 6 for the former CFO of the Company. Yun Zhu, holder of 5% equity ownership in Sinotop Beijing and a party to certain VIE arrangements between YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing, is Vice President of SSS, a significant shareholder of the Company.

(i)Management Services Agreement between Sinotop Beijing and YOD Hong Kong, dated as of March 9, 2010.

(ii)Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Mei Chen and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016; and Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing and Mei Chen was dated as of November 4, 2016.detail information)
  
(2).In 2019, the Company entered into two purchase agreements to increase the ownership in Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. to 97.5%. (Refer to Note 6 for the detail information).  
 (iii)
(3).Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Mei ChenIn 2019, the Company formed the joint venture (“JV”) with iUnicorn that will focus on green finance and Yun Zhu, datedintegrated marketing services for new energy taxi vehicles as part of January 25, 2016, Mei Chen’s Equity Pledge Agreement was dated as of November 21, 2016.Ideanomics’ Mobile Energy Group (“MEG”).

 (iv)
(4)Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing and Mei Chen was dated on November 4, 2016 and Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016.In 2019, the Company renamed the China Broadband, Ltd. to Mobile Energy Global Limited.

 (iv)

(5)

Technical Services Agreement among YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing, dated as of January 25, 2016.

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(2).SSF VIE Agreements, including with Lan Yang and Yun Zhu, the nominee shareholders of SSF. Lan Yang, holder of 99% equity ownership in SSF and a party to certain of the SSF VIE Agreements, is the spouse of Bruno Zheng Wu, the Company’s Chairman. Yun Zhu, holder of 1% equity ownership in SSF and a party to certain of the SSF VIE Agreements, is the Vice President of SSS.

(i)Management Services Agreement between SSF and YOD Hong Kong, dated as of April 6, 2016.

(ii)Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, SSF and the Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016.

(iii)Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Lan Yang and Yun Zhu (the “Nominee Shareholders”), dated April 5, 2016; Amended and Restated Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE and the Nominee Shareholders , dated May 23, 2016.

(iv)Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, SSF and each of the respective Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016.

(v)Technical Service Agreement between YOD WFOE and SSF, dated April 5, 2016.

(vi)Spousal Consent, undersigned by the respective spouse of the Nominee Shareholders (collectively, the “Spouses”), dated April 5, 2016.

(vii)Letter of Indemnification among YOD WFOE and Lan Yang and YOD WFOE and Yun Zhu, both dated as of April 5, 2016.

(viii)Loan Agreement among YOD WFOE and the Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016; Supplemental Loan agreement among YOD WFOE and the Nominee Shareholders, dated May 31, 2016.

(3).On January 30, 2017,

In 2019, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “SVG Purchase Agreement”) with BT Capital Global Limited, a Hong Kong company (“BT”)cancelled the VIE agreements and affiliate of the Company’s chairman Bruno Wu, pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchasedeconsolidated Sinotop BJ and BT agreed to sell all of the outstanding capital of SVG for an aggregate purchase price of (i) $800,000; and (ii) a Promissory Note with the principal and interest thereon convertible into shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share at a conversion rate of $1.50 per share of Company Common Stock. BT has guaranteed that SVG will achieve certain financial goals within 12 months of the closing as described in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.

SSF.

(4).On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “WAG Purchase Agreement”) with BT and SSS, as guarantor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase and BT agreed to sell 55% of the outstanding capital stock (the “Wide Angle Common Shares”) of Wide Angle Group Limited, a Hong Kong company (“Wide Angle”) for the sole consideration of the Company adding Wide Angle to the Sun Video Business acquired by the Company under SVG Purchase Agreement entered into with BT on January 30, 2017 and thereby including the revenue and gross profit from Wide Angle in the calculation of the SVG Performance Guarantees set forth in the SVG Purchase Agreement as described in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.

 

VIE Structure and Arrangements

 

ToPrior to December 31, 2019, the Company consolidated certain VIEs located in the PRC in which it held variable interests and was the primary beneficiary through contractual agreements. The Company was the primary beneficiary because it had the power to direct activities that most significantly affected their economic performance and had the obligation to absorb or right to receive the majority of their losses or benefits. The results of operations and financial position of these VIEs are included in the consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, and as of December 31, 2018. A shareholder in one of the VIEs is the spouse of Bruno Wu (“Dr. Wu”), the Chairman of the Company.

The contractual agreements listed below, which collectively granted the Company the power to direct the VIEs activities that most significantly affected their economic performance, as well to cause the Company to have the obligation to absorb or right to receive the majority of their losses or benefits, were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019. As a result, the Company deconsolidated the VIEs as of December 31, 2019. The deconsolidation resulted in a net loss of $2.0 million recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations, and a statutory income tax of $0.2 million.

For these consolidated VIEs, their assets were not available to the Company and their creditors did not have recourse to the Company. As of December 31, 2018, assets (mainly long-term investments) that could only be used to settle obligations of these VIEs were $3.5 million, and the Company was the major creditor for the VIEs.

In order to operate certain legacy YOD business in the PRC and to comply with PRC laws and regulations that prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of companies that provideprovides value-added telecommunication services, we provide services through Sinotop Beijing and SSF, which hold the licenses and approvals to provide digital distribution and Internet content services in the PRC. We have the ability to control Sinotop Beijing and SSF throughCompany entered into a series of contractual agreements as described below, entered into among YOD WFOE, YOD Hong Kong,with two VIEs: Beijing Sinotop Beijing, SSFScope Technology Co., Ltd (“Sinotop Beijing”) and the respective legal shareholders of Sinotop Beijing and SSF.

Through these contractual arrangements, we have acquired both control over and rights to, 100% of the economic benefit of Sinotop Beijing and SSF. Accordingly, Sinotop Beijing and SSF are each considered a variable interest entity, or VIE, and are therefore consolidated in our financial statements. Pursuant to the belowTianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited (“SSF”). These contractual agreements YOD WFOE can havewere initially set to expire in March 2030 and April 2036, respectively, and could not be terminated by the assets transferred freely outVIEs, except with the consent of, eachor a material breach by the Company. The contractual VIE without any restrictions. Therefore, YOD WFOE considers that there is no asset ofagreements were terminated by the respective VIE that can be used only to settle obligation of such VIE, except for the registered capital of each respective VIE, amounting to RMB10.6 million (or approximately $1.6 million) for Sinotop Beijing as ofparties on December 31, 2017, and RMB 27.6 million (or approximately $4.2 million) has been injected as2019. A shareholder in SSF is the spouse of December 31, 2017. As Sinotop Beijing and SSF are incorporated as limited liability companies under PRC Company Law, creditors of these two entities do not have recourse toDr. Wu, the general credit of other entitiesChairman of the Company.

 

8

The key terms of the VIE Agreements are summarized as follows:

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Equity Pledge Agreement

 

The following is a summary of the common contractual arrangements that provide us with effective control our VIEs and that enable us to receive substantially all of the economic benefits from their operations:

Equity Pledge Agreement

Pursuant to the Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE and the respective nominee shareholders, the nominee shareholders pledgeVIEs’ Shareholders pledged all of their capital contribution rightsequity interests in the VIEs (the “Collateral”) to YOD WFOEOn Demand (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd (“YOD WFOE”), the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in the PRC, as security for the performance of the obligations of the VIEs to make all the required technical service fee payments pursuant to the Technical Services Agreement and for performance of the nominee shareholders’VIEs’ Shareholders’ obligation under the Call Option Agreement. The terms of the Equity Pledge Agreement were set to expire upon satisfaction of all obligations under the Technical Services Agreement and Call Option Agreement.

 

The Equity Pledge Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Call Option Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, the VIEs and the respective nominee shareholders, the nominee shareholders grantThe VIEs’ Shareholders granted an exclusive option to YOD WFOE, or its designee, to purchase, at any time and from time to time, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or any portion of the nominee shareholders’VIEs’ Shareholders’ equity in the VIEs. The exercise price of the option shallwas to be determined by YOD WFOE at its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions imposed by PRC law. The term of the agreement iswas until all of the equity interest in the VIEs held by the nominee shareholders isVIEs’ Shareholders were transferred to YOD WFOE, or its designee and maycould not be terminated by any partypart to the agreement without consent of the other parties.

 

The Call Option Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Power of Attorney

 

Pursuant to the Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, each VIE and each of the respective nominee shareholders, each nominee shareholder grantsThe VIEs’ Shareholders granted YOD WFOE the irrevocable right, for the maximum period permitted by law, to all of its voting rights as shareholdershareholders of the VIE.VIEs. The nominee shareholders mayVIEs’ Shareholders could not transfer any of theirits equity interest in the VIEVIEs to any party other than YOD WFOE. The Power of Attorney agreements maycould not be terminated except until all of the equity in the VIE hasVIEs had been transferred to YOD WFOE or its designee.

 

The Power of Attorney agreements were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Technical Service Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Technical Service Agreement, between YOD WFOE and each VIE, YOD WFOE hashad the exclusive right to provide technical service, marketing and management consulting service, financial support service and human resource support services to VIE,the VIEs, and VIE isthe VIEs were required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD WFOE. As compensation for providing the services, YOD WFOE iswas entitled to receive service fees from VIEthe VIEs equivalent to YOD WFOE’s cost plus 20-30%20.0 to 30.0% of such costs as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC. YOD WFOE and VIE agreethe VIEs agreed to periodically review the service fee and make adjustments as deemed appropriate. The term of the Technical Services Agreement iswas perpetual, and maycould only be terminated upon written consent of both parties.

 

The Technical Services Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Spousal Consent

 

Pursuant to the Spousal Consent, undersigned by the respective spouse of the nominee shareholders,VIEs’ Shareholders, the spouses unconditionally and irrevocably agreeagreed to the execution of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The spouses agreeagreed to not make any assertions in connection with the equity interest of VIEthe VIEs and to waive consent on further amendment or termination of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The spouses further pledgepledged to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance under these agreements upon YOD WFOE’s request. In the event the spouses obtainobtained any equity interests of VIEthe VIEs which arewere held by the nominee shareholders,VIEs’ Shareholders, the spouses agreed to be bound by the VIE agreements, including the Technical Services Agreement, and comply with the obligations thereunder, including signsigning a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the VIE agreements.

 

The Spousal Consents were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Letter of Indemnification

 

Pursuant to the Letter of Indemnification among YOD WFOE and each nominee shareholder, YOD WFOE agreesagreed to indemnify such nominee shareholder against any personal, tax or other liabilities incurred in connection with their role in equity transfer to the greatest extent permitted under PRC law. YOD WFOE further waiveswaived and releasesreleased the nominee shareholdersVIEs’ Shareholders from any claims arising from, or related to, their role as the legal shareholder of the VIE, provided that their actions as a nominee shareholder arewere taken in good faith and arewere not opposed to YOD WFOE’s best interests. The nominee shareholders willVIEs’ Shareholders were not be entitled to dividends or other benefits generated therefrom, or to receive any compensation in connection with this arrangement. The Letter of Indemnification willwas to remain valid until either the nominee shareholder or YOD WFOE terminates the agreement by giving the other party hereto sixty (60)60 days’ prior written notice.

 

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TableThe Letter of ContentsIndemnification was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

 

Management Services Agreement

 

In addition to VIE agreements described above, the Company’s subsidiary and the parent company of YOD WFOE, YOU On Demand (Asia) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong (“YOD Hong Kong”) has entered into a Management Services Agreement with each VIE.

 

Pursuant to such Management Services Agreement, YOD Hong Kong hashad the exclusive right to provide to the VIE management, financial and other services related to the operation of the VIE’s business, and the VIE iswas required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD Hong Kong. As compensation for providing the services, YOD Hong Kong iswas entitled to receive a fee from the VIE, upon demand, equal to 100%100.0% of the annual net profits as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC of the VIE during the term of the Management Services Agreement. YOD Hong Kong maycould also request ad hoc quarterly payments of the aggregate fee, which payments willwould be credited against the VIE’s future payment obligations.

 

In addition, at the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, the VIE iswas obligated to transfer to YOD Hong Kong, or its designee, any part or all of the business, personnel, assets and operations of the VIE which maycould be lawfully conducted, employed, owned or operated by YOD Hong Kong, including:

 

(a)business opportunities presented to, or available to the VIE could be pursued and contracted for in the name of YOD Hong Kong rather than the VIE, and at its discretion, YOD Hong Kong could employ the resources of the VIE to secure such opportunities;

(a)          business opportunities presented to, or available to the VIE may be pursued and contracted for in the name of YOD Hong Kong rather than the VIE, and at its discretion, YOD Hong Kong may employ the resources of the VIE to secure such opportunities;

(b)any tangible or intangible property of the VIE, any contractual rights, any personnel, and any other items or things of value held by the VIE could be transferred to YOD Hong Kong at book value;


(c)real property, personal or intangible property, personnel, services, equipment, supplies and any other items useful for the conduct of the business could be obtained by YOD Hong Kong by acquisition, lease, license or otherwise, and made available to the VIE on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE;

(d)contracts entered into in the name of the VIE could be transferred to YOD Hong Kong, or the work under such contracts may be subcontracted, in whole or in part, to YOD Hong Kong, on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE; and

(e)any changes to, or any expansion or contraction of, the business could be carried out in the exercise of the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, and in the name of and at the expense of, YOD Hong Kong;

(f)provided, however, that none of the foregoing may cause or have the effect of terminating (without being substantially replaced under the name of YOD Hong Kong) or adversely affecting any license, permit or regulatory status of the VIE.

The Management Services Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

 

(b)          any tangible or intangible property of the VIE, any contractual rights, any personnel, and any other items or things of value held by the VIE may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong at book value;

(c)         ��real property, personal or intangible property, personnel, services, equipment, supplies and any other items useful for the conduct of the business may be obtained by YOD Hong Kong by acquisition, lease, license or otherwise, and made available to the VIE on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE;

(d)          contracts entered into in the name of the VIE may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong, or the work under such contracts may be subcontracted, in whole or in part, to YOD Hong Kong, on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE; and

(e)          any changes to, or any expansion or contraction of, the business may be carried out in the exercise of the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, and in the name of and at the expense of, YOD Hong Kong;

provided, however, that none of the foregoing may cause or have the effect of terminating (without being substantially replaced under the name of YOD Hong Kong) or adversely affecting any license, permit or regulatory status of the VIE.

The term of each Management Services Agreement is 20 years, and may not be terminated by the VIE, except with the consent of, or a material breach by, YOD Hong Kong.

Loan Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Loan Agreement amongdated April 5, 2016, YOD WFOE and the nominee shareholders, YOD WFOE agreesagreed to lend RMB 19.8 million and RMB 0.2 million, respectively, to the nominee shareholdersVIEs’ Shareholders, one of SSFwhom is the spouse of Dr. Wu, the Company’s Chairman, for the purpose of establishing SSF and for development of its business. As of December 31, 2017, RMB 27.62018, RMB27.6 million ($4.2 million) and RMB nil havehad been lent to Lan Yang and Yun Zhu, respectively. Lan Yang hasVIEs’ Shareholders which had contributed all of the RMB 27.6RMB27.6 million ($4.2 million) in the form of capital contribution and accordingly the loan is eliminated with the capital of SSF upon consolidation.to SSF. The loan cancould only be repaid by a transfer by the nominee shareholdersVIEs’ Shareholders of their equity interests in SSF to YOD WFOEWOFE or YOD WFOE’sWOFE’s designated persons, through (i)(1) YOD WFOEWOFE having the right, but not the obligation to at any time purchase, or authorize a designated person to purchase, all or part of the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders’ equity interests in SSF at such price as YOD WFOEWOFE shall determine (the “Transfer Price”), (ii)(2) all monies received by the nominee shareholdersVIEs’ Shareholders through the payment of the Transfer Price being used solely to repay YOD WFOEWOFE for the loans, and (iii)(3) if the Transfer Price exceeds the principal amount of the loans, the amount in excess of the principal amount of the loans being deemed as interest payable on the loans, and to be payable to YOD WFOEWOFE in cash. Otherwise, the loans shall bewere deemed to be interest-free.interest free. The term of the Loan Agreement iswas perpetual, and maycould only be terminated upon the nominee shareholdersVIEs’ Shareholders receiving repayment notice, or upon the occurrence of an event of default under the terms of the agreement. The loan extended to the Nominee Shareholders and the capital of SSF are fully eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

The Loan Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019. The termination of the Loan Agreement resulted in a loss of $5.1 million.

Therefore, the Company considers that there was no asset of the VIEs that could be used only to settle obligation of the Company, except for the registered capital of VIEs amounting to RMB38.2 million ($5.8 million) as of December 31, 2018.

 

Our Unconsolidated Equity InvestmentInvestments

 

We hold 30%a 34% ownership interest in Shandong Media, our print-based media business,Glory, which through its subsidiary Tree Manufacturing, holds a domestic EV manufacturing license in Malaysia. Tree Manufacturing has entered into a product supply and accounta product distribution arrangement for our investmentEVs with Tree Technologies, a consolidated subsidiary of the Company.


In 2018, we signed a joint venture agreement to establish Intelligenta located in Shandong Media under the equity method. The businessUnited States for providing services for financial or energy industries by utilizing AI and big data technology in the United States.  We hold a 60.0% ownership and Seasail ventures limited (“Seasail”) holds 40% of Shandong Media includes a television programming guide publication,Intelligenta.  BDCG is currently in the distributionprocess of periodicals, the publication of advertising, the organization of public relations events, the provision of information related services, copyright transactions, the production of audio and video products, and the provision of audio value added communication services.ramping up its operations.

 

We hold 39% ownership interestOur investments in Hua Cheng,Glory and account for our investment in Hua Cheng under the equity method. The business of Hua Cheng mainly includes distribution of content and video on demand business on television terminal.

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We hold 50% ownership interest in Wecast Internet Limited (“Wecast Internet”), and account for our investment in Wecast Internet under the equity method. The business of Wecast Internet mainly includes computer network technology development, integrated circuit of software and hardware technology development, technical consultation.

Investments in Shandong Media, Hua Cheng and Wecast InternetBDCG where the Company canwe may exercise significant influence, but not control, isare classified as a long-term equity investment and accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for the Company’sour share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investee. Investment losses are recognized until the investment is written down to nil, provided the Company doesthat we do not guarantee the investee’s obligations nor it isor we are committed to provide additional funding.

 

Our Industry (For the Supply Chain Finance & Management Businesses)

As discussed in the Overview above, our business ecosystem is based on seven product engines, and planRefer to launch respective product engines in full as high priorities by the management. For 2017, only engine seven was operational. There are two revenue sources for engine seven “Supply Chain Finance and Management for Vertical Products”. They are supply chain management & structured finance and alternative finance & carry trade businesses. We intend to run the engine upon its Venus blockchain based platform, which includes TPaaS & VPaaS system. As of fourth quarter of 2017, TPaaS system went into trial operation. In 2018, we intend to strengthen our engine seven operation by including among other things i) Venus platform fully operational, and ii) establishing blockchain based supply chain finance model.

Supply Chain Management & Structured Finance

The growth rate of supply chain finance volume in developed countries is 10%-30% in 2011, while the growth rate of that in emerging economies in China and India is 20%-25%. Financing for small and medium-sized enterprises has always been difficult around the globe, especially during expanded reproduction period. As most small and medium-sized corporate issuers are not qualified to issue under regular asset backed securities and asset backed notes products on national credit market, innovative structured financing tools such as asset-backed specific plan scheme plays a key role as complementary financing tools in helping those firms to meet their potential financing needs. Also according to “2015-2020 China’s supply chain finance market forward-looking research report published by “Zhiyan Consulting”, it forecasts that China's supply chain finance market size will reach 15 trillion by 2020.

Alternative Finance & Carry Trade

Growth in global alternative finance market is accelerating and China is still dominating. By 2015, global market reached 918 billion RMB while China market reached 673.5 billion RMB. By the end of 2016, China market increased from about 673.5 billion RMB in 2015 to 1,603 billion RMB in 2016, accounting for 99.2%Note 10 of the total Asian financial market, and an estimated 85%Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 8 of the total global market in 2016.1

China is currently dominated by non-business alternative finance, which totaled 928 billion RMB in 2016 led by peer-to-peer consumer lending. However, it is likely that a sizable proportion of consumers in China are using personal loansthis Annual Report on Form 10-K for business purposes. Of which, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly turning to alternative sources of financing. In China, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up 99% of registered companies, are the most active forces in China and they are playing an important role in promoting economy, increasing taxation revenue and stabilizing employment rate. However, only 10% of SMEs are able to get financing from banks, and over 80% are relying on alternative financing sources, especially in the commodities trade market.2

From Carry Trade’s perspective, the RMB exchange rate is close to the highest level since October 2017, the expected volatility is near the lowest level in two consecutive years, and the interest rate is relatively high because of government’s deleveraging measures. Chinese currency has become Asia’s the most attractive carry trade over the same period of time.3

(Data Source:

1. Global insights from regional Alternative Studies by KPMG

2. The 2nd Asia Pacific Region Alternative Finance Industry Report

3. Yuan Carry Trade Is Back on Top as China Enforces Stability)further information.

 

Our Competition (For

Mobile Energy Group Services Business Unit

The Company’s EV business operates in the Supply Chain Finance & Management Businesses)market for fleet commercial vehicles, this market is still in its development stage. The Company could face competition for other companies that develop and operate a similar integrated platform for the procurement, purchase, financing, charging and energy management needs of fleet EV operators. The company could also face competition from companies that only operate in one part of the vehicle purchase and operation cycle, for example, an EV vehicle or battery manufacturer may sell directly to EV fleet operators while also participating in the MEG platform.

Delaware Board of Trade (DBOT) operates an ATS in the highly competitive market for trading Over-the-Counter (OTC) equities. The market that DBOT operates in is dominated by the OTC Markets group. 

Grapevine competes in the consumer marketing sector and specializes in designing and managing “influencer” led social media campaigns for brands and advertising agencies that do not have a capability to manage influencer marketing campaigns directly. This is a very competitive sector with multiple competitors. 

Seasonality Variations in Business

The Company’s MEG division operates in the market for fleet sales of commercial EVs and the Company expects that orders and sales will be influenced by the amount and timing of budgeted expenditure by its customers. Typically, the Company would expect to see higher sales at the start of the year when companies start executing on their capital programs and at the end of the year when companies are spending any surplus or uncommitted budget before the new budget cycle commences. The Company’s MEG division is building out its network and has not generated sufficient orders to allow it to establish with any degree of certainty an expected pattern of seasonality.

 

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In recent years, the market for supply chain finance business is faced with increasingly aggressive competitions. Our primary competitors are mainly from supply chain finance solutions providers in the B2B Supply Chain marketplace. Specifically, in terms of the commodities global trade market, our major competitors are primarily engaged in import/export finance through buying/selling commodity flows from global companies, financing for lower credit rated SME and asset liability management funding for bank treasuries using commodity trade flows SSC is aiming to strengthen competitiveness in utilizing dynamic ontology based methodology and Fintech powered risk management tools to rate and evaluate risks inherent in those borrowers distinguishes us from those competitors.

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Our EmployeesRevenue Recognition

 

AsThe Company records and reports revenues in accordance with US GAAP particularly ASC 606  Revenue from Contracts with Customers which provides guidance on how revenues should be reported and the timing of December 31, 2017, we hadwhen revenues should be reported. ASC 606 includes guidance on when revenue should be recognized on a total of 70 full-time employees including three located inGross (Principal) or Net (Agent) basis, the United States. The following table sets forthCompany’s contracts are typically with large enterprises and consequently are heavily negotiated as to the number of our employees by function on December 31, 2017.

FunctionNumber of Employees
Business Development15
Project Management and Operation11
Technology23
Finance and Legal12
Human Resource3
Administrative6
TOTAL70

Our employees are not represented by a labor organization or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages.

We are required under PRC law to make contributions to employee benefit plans at specified percentages of employee salary. In addition, we are required by the PRC law to cover employees in China with various types of social insurance. We believe that we are in compliance with the relevant PRC laws.

Seasonality

Our operating results and operating cash flows historically for our legacy YOD business have not been subject to seasonal variations. However, we expect a disproportionate amount of our revenues generated from Wecast Services quarter over quarterservices to be subject to seasoned fluctuations at holiday periods and due to introductionprovided; consequently the accounting treatment for the reporting of new products. This patternrevenues may change, however, asvary materially between contracts including whether the revenue is reported on a result of new market opportunitiesGross or new product introductions.Net basis.

 

Regulation

General Regulation of Businesses in the PRC

 

We are required to obtain government approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of ChinaPRC (“MOFCOM”), and other government agencies in Chinathe PRC for transactions, such as our acquisition or disposition of business entities in China.the PRC. Additionally, foreign ownership of business and assets in Chinathe PRC is not permitted without specific government approval. For this reason, Sinotop Beijing was acquired through our acquisition of YOD Hong Kong, which controls Sinotop Beijing through a series of contractual agreements with YOD Hong Kong and YOD WFOE. We use voting control agreements among the parties so as to obtain equitable and legal ownership or control of our subsidiaries and VIEs to conduct our legacy YOD business.

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Investment activitiesin Chinathe PRC by foreign investors are principally governed by the Guidance Catalogue of Industries for Foreign Investment, or the Catalogue, which was promulgated and is amended from time to time by the MOFCOM and the National Development and Reform Commission. The Catalogue sets forth the industries in which foreign investments are "encouraged"“encouraged”, "restricted"“restricted”, or "prohibited"“prohibited”. Industries that are not listed in any of the above three categories are permitted areas for foreign investments and are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations. Establishment of wholly foreign-ownedforeign owned enterprises is generally allowed in encouraged and permitted industries. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries in the prohibited category.

According to the latest version of the Catalogue, which came into effect on July 28, 2017, foreign investments in value-added telecommunications services (except for e-commerce) are "restricted". Therefore, we provide value-added telecommunications services through our VIE in China.

Other than value-added telecommunications, most of our PRC subsidiaries mainly engage in technical services, consultations and trading activities, which are "encouraged" under the latest version of the Catalogue.

 

Under PRC law, the establishment of a wholly foreign-ownedforeign owned enterprise is subject to the approval of or filing with the MOFCOM or its local counterparts and the wholly foreign-ownedforeign owned enterprise must register with the competent industry and commerce bureau. Our significant PRC subsidiaries have duly obtained all material approvals required for their business operations.

 

Foreign direct investment in telecommunications companies in China is governed by the Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises, which was promulgated by the State Council on December 11, 2001 and recently amended on February 6, 2016. The regulations provide that a foreign investor's beneficial equity ownership in an entity providing value-added telecommunications services in China is not permitted to exceed 50%. In addition, the main foreign investor who invests in a foreign-invested value-added telecommunications enterprise operating the value-added telecommunications business in China must demonstrate a good track record and experience in operating a value-added telecommunications business, provided such investor is a major one among the foreign investors investing in a value-added telecommunications enterprise in China. Moreover, foreign investors that meet these requirements must obtain approvals from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, and the MOFCOM, or their authorized local counterparts, which retain considerable discretion in granting approvals, for its commencement of value-added telecommunications business in China.

The MIIT's Notice Regarding Strengthening Administration of Foreign Investment in Operating Value-Added Telecommunication Businesses, or the MIIT Notice, issued on July 13, 2006 prohibits holders of these services licenses from leasing, transferring or selling their licenses in any form, or providing any resources, sites or facilities, to any foreign investors intending to conduct such businesses in China.

The PRC market in which the we operate our legacy YOD business poses certain macro-economic and regulatory risks and uncertainties. These uncertainties extend to the ability of us to conduct wireless telecommunication services through contractual arrangements in the PRC since the industry remains highly regulated. We conduct those operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing as the parent company of Zhong Hai Media, SSF and the respective legal shareholders of Sinotop Beijing and SSF. We believe that these contractual arrangements are in compliance with PRC law and are legally enforceable. If Sinotop Beijing, SSF or their respective legal shareholders fail to perform the obligations under the contractual arrangements or any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, YOD WFOE or YOD HK can enforce its rights under the VIE contracts through PRC law and courts. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the Company’s ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations involve uncertainties. If YOD WFOE had direct ownership of Sinotop Beijing and SSF, it would be able to exercise its rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Sinotop Beijing or SSF, which in turn could effect changes at the management level, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations. However, under the current contractual arrangements, the Company relies on Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective legal shareholders to perform their contractual obligations to exercise effective control. The Company also gives no assurance that PRC government authorities will not take a view in the future that is contrary to the opinion of the Company. If the current ownership structure of the Company and its contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their equity holders were found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, the Company’s ability to conduct its business could be impacted and the Company may be required to restructure its ownership structure and operations in the PRC to comply with the changes in the PRC laws which may result in deconsolidation of the VIEs.

In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations involve uncertainties. If YOD WFOE had direct ownership of Sinotop Beijing and SSF, it would be able to exercise its rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Sinotop Beijing or SSF, which in turn could effect changes at the management level, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations. However, under the current contractual arrangements, the Company relies on Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective legal shareholders to perform their contractual obligations to exercise effective control. The Company also gives no assurance that PRC government authorities will not take a view in the future that is contrary to the opinion of the Company. If the current ownership structure of the Company and its contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their equity holders were found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, the Company’s ability to conduct its business could be impacted and the Company may be required to restructure its ownership structure and operations in the PRC to comply with the changes in the PRC laws which may result in deconsolidation of the VIEs.


In addition, the telecommunications, informationtransportation sector is subject to regulation at the federal and media industries remain highly regulated. Restrictions are currently in place and are unclear with respect to which segments of these industries foreign owned entities, like YOD WFOE, may operate.provincial level. The PRC government may issue from time to time new laws or new interpretations on existing laws, to regulate areas such as telecommunications, information and media, some of which are not published on a timely basis or may have retroactive effect. For example, there is substantial uncertainty regarding the Draft Foreign Investment Law, including, among others, what the actual content of the law will be as well as the adoption and effective date of the final form of the law. Administrative and court proceedings in Chinathe PRC may also be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. While such uncertainty exists, we cannot assure that the new laws, when it is adopted and becomes effective, and potential related administrative proceedings will not have a material and adverse effect on our ability to control the affiliated entities through the contractual arrangements. Regulatory risk also encompasses the interpretation by the tax authorities of current tax laws, and our legal structure and scope of operations in the PRC, which could be subject to further restrictions resulting in limitations on our ability to conduct business in the PRC.

 

Our Digital Asset Trading Platforms represent ownedChinese regulations will also significantly impact our Mobile Energy Group Services business unit. For example, in September 2017, reports were published that the PRC may begin prohibiting the practice of using digital assets for capital fundraising. In 2018, reports surfaced that the PRC had banned local digital asset exchanges from operating within the country. Until there is greater regulatory clarity and partner exchanges that will supportacceptance of digital token and blockchain-based financial products in the PRC, we may not be able to provide services under our Digital Asset Products. These exchanges willMobile Energy Group Services business unit in thefuture exist in various sovereign jurisdictions. Once operational, the Company and the DBOT ATS shall comply with the requirements for alternative trading systems, unless an exemption is available. These requirements include registering the alternative trading system as a broker-dealer. PRC.

 

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Taxation

 

On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of Chinathe PRC passed the EIT Law, and on November 28, 2007, the State Council of China passed its implementing rules which took effect on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law and its implementing rules impose a unified earned income tax (“EIT”) rate of 25.0% on all domestic-invested enterprises and foreign invested enterprises (“FIEs”) unless they qualify under certain limited exceptions. In addition, under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of Chinathe PRC with “de facto management bodies” within Chinathe PRC is considered a resident enterprise and will normally be subject to an EIT of 25% on its global income. The implementing rules define the term “de facto management bodies” as “an establishment that exercises, in substance, overall management and control over the production, business, personnel, accounting, etc., of a Chinese enterprise.” If the PRC tax authorities subsequently determine that we should be classified as a resident enterprise, then our organization’s global income will be subject to PRC income tax of 25%. For detailed discussion of PRC tax issues related to resident enterprise status, see “Risk Factors - Part I—Item 1A—“Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China - Underthe PRC and to Our Legacy YOD Business —Under the New Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China.the PRC.” Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.”

 


On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Tax Reform, which among other effects, reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate to 21% from 34% (or 35% in certain cases) beginning in 2018, requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries that is payable over eight years, makes the receipt of future non-U.S. sourced income of non-U.S. subsidiaries tax-free to U.S. companies and creates a new minimum tax on the earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries relating to the parent’s deductions for payments to the subsidiaries. U.S. Tax Reform, also eliminates the expiration date for U.S. net operating loss carryovers (NOLs”). Such carryovers may now be carried forward indefinitely rather than for 20 years. In addition, NOLs can only be used to offset 80% of taxable income in any single year.Foreign Currency Exchange

 

Foreign Currency Exchange

Approximately 50% of our gross profit and most expenses are denominated in RMB. Under the PRC foreign currency exchange regulations applicable to us, RMB is convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest payments, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions. Currently, our PRC operating entities may purchase foreign currencies for settlement of current account transactions, including payments of dividends to us, without the approval of the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”), by complying with certain procedural requirements. Conversion of RMB for capital account items, such as direct investment, loan, security investment and repatriation of investment, however, is still subject to the approval of SAFE. In particular, if our PRC operating entities borrow foreign currency through loans from us or other foreign lenders, these loans must be registered with SAFE, and if we finance the subsidiaries by means of additional capital contributions, these capital contributions must be approved by certain government authorities, including the MOFCOM, or their respective local branches. These limitations could affect our PRC operating entities’ ability to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing.

 

Dividend Distributions

 

Approximately 50% of our gross profit are earned by our PRC entities. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC entities to make dividends and other payments to their offshore parent company. PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our PRC entities only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of our annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC GAAP to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Our PRC subsidiaries have the discretion to allocate a portion of their after-tax profits to staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation.

 

In addition, under the new EIT law, the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates (“Notice 112”)(Notice 112), which was issued on January 29, 2008, and the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation Regarding Interpretation and Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties (“Notice 601”)(Notice 601), which became effective on October 27, 2009, dividends from our PRC operating subsidiaries paid to us through our entities will be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 10%. Furthermore, the ultimate tax rate will be determined by treaty between the PRC and the tax residence of the holder of the PRC subsidiary. Dividends declared and paid from before January 1, 2008 on distributable profits are grandfathered under the EIT Law and are not subject to withholding tax.

 

The Company intends on reinvestingWe intend to reinvest profits, if any, and doesdo not intend on making cash distributions of dividends in the near future.

Regulation Regarding our Fintech Businesses

Blockchain and distributed ledger platforms are recent technological innovations, and the regulatory schemes to which digital assets may be subject have not been fully explored or developed. Regulation of digital assets varies from country to country as well as within countries. In some cases, existing laws have been interpreted to apply to blockchain based technologies and digital assets, and in other cases, jurisdictions have adopted laws, regulations or directives that specifically affect digital assets, and some jurisdictions have not taken any regulatory stance on digital assets and or have explicitly declined to apply regulation. Accordingly, there is no clear regulatory framework applicable to blockchain platforms or digital asset products, and laws that do apply at times may overlap.

As both the regulatory landscape develops and journalistic familiarity with digital assets increase, mainstream media’s understanding of such digital assets and the regulation thereof may improve. An increase in the regulation of digital assets may affect our proposed business by increasing compliance costs or prohibiting certain or all of our proposed activities.

Securities and Commodities Laws

Actions taken by securities regulators in the United States and internationally have confirmed that certain digital assets may be securities under the laws of applicable jurisdictions, as a result of which we will face government regulation and oversight. For example, under U.S. federal law, an instrument is generally considered to be an “investment contract,” and therefore a security, where there is (1) an investment of money; (2) money is made in a common enterprise; (3) with an expectation of profits; (4) to be derived from the efforts of others. We anticipate that all of the securitized digital assets we develop will be securities under U.S. federal law, as well as the securities laws of some overseas jurisdictions, such as Canada, Australia and Japan, which accordingly will trigger registration or qualification requirements with the SEC, or potentially, certain foreign jurisdiction where we may market such securitized digital assets, or require us to rely on any available exemptions.


Platforms for the exchange and trading of digital assets that qualify as securities under applicable laws, such as the four platforms we expect to offer, may also be subject to regulatory requirements and approvals. In order for a securities exchange to allow U.S. investors to participate on its platform, it must register as a broker-dealer with the SEC, become a member of FINRA, file a Form ATS with the SEC and comply with Regulation ATS. Depending on a securities exchange’s activities, it may be required to also register as a broker dealer on the state level. DBOT, one of our joint venture investments, has filed a Form ATS with the SEC. We, or our joint ventures, may also be required to comply with laws applicable to securities exchanges to the extent our exchange platforms are made available in jurisdictions where the securitized digital assets that trade on those platforms are treated as securities.

In addition, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has defined “virtual currencies” as a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value, but does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. The CFTC has considered digital assets as commodities or derivatives, depending on the facts of the offering. We do not plan to facilitate borrowing transactions that permit the trading of the securitized digital assets we develop on a “leveraged, margined or financed basis.”

Money Services and Transmitter Laws

FinCEN, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for the federal regulation of currency market participants, has issued interpretive guidance relating to the application of the Bank Secrecy Act to distributing, exchanging and transmitting “virtual currencies.” As a result of this guidance, some companies that act as an administrator or exchanger of digital assets may be considered a money service businesses (“MSB”). MSBs are required to register as an MSB under FinCEN’s money transmitter regulations, be subject to reporting requirements and perform recordkeeping functions. As a result, digital asset exchanges that offer services to U.S. residents or otherwise fall under U.S. jurisdiction are required to obtain licenses and comply with FinCEN regulations. FinCEN released additional guidance clarifying that most miners, software developers, hardware manufacturers, escrow service providers and investors in certain digital assets would not be required to register with FinCEN on the basis of such activity alone, but that digital asset exchanges, payment processors and convertible digital asset administrators would likely be required to register with FinCEN. We are currently evaluating whether our planned operations may be require our registration as an MSB.

In addition, various U.S. state regulators, including the California Department of Financial Institutions, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the Virginia Corporation Commission, the Idaho Department of Financial Services, and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, have released interpretations or mandates that digital asset exchanges and similar service providers register on a state-level as money transmitters (“MTs”) or MSBs. Many of the states have their own application and process to apply for an MT license.

Financial Crimes and Sanctions Compliance

The jurisdictions in which we operate and intend to operate generally have adopted laws to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud and other financial crime, as well as to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions regimes. Various aspects of our business require us to develop and implement policies and procedures that confirm the identity of customers, detect suspicious activities and ensure we do not do business with blocked persons. Accordingly, we have already implemented specific anti-money laundering (“AML”) and “know your customer” policies for the SSE oil trading operations and Amer consumer electronics operations through each entity’s bank.

Laws or Regulations Directed at Digital Assets

Certain jurisdictions may require specific licensees for companies operating blockchain and digital asset based businesses. Some jurisdictions, such as the PRC, Ecuador, Russia, South Korea and India, have prohibited or severely restricted the trading of digital assets and/or operation of exchanges that trade in such digital assets, which may prevent us from marketing the securitized digital assets we plan to develop in those countries, or from making the exchanges we are designing available in those countries.


European regulators generally have generally not yet implemented specific laws or regulations directed at digital assets, but reports suggest they may do so in the future. For example, in October 2012, the European Central Bank issued a report on “virtual currency” schemes indicating that digital assets may become the subject of regulatory interest in the European Union, in July 2016, the European Commission released a draft directive that proposed applying counter-terrorism and AML regulations to digital currencies, and in September 2016, the European Banking authority advised the European Commission to institute new regulation specific to digital currencies, with amendments to existing regulation as a stopgap measure. Australian lawmakers have also introduced legislation to regulate digital asset exchanges and increase AML policies. We intend to monitor the extent to which any such regulations are adopted and will apply to our business.

Environmental Disclosures

As part of the acquisition of the Fintech Village property (see Part I—Item 2—“Properties”), we agreed to assume responsibility for completing environmental remediation, previously initiated by the prior owner, relating to the cleanup of asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) from building materials on the property and any contamination of soil and groundwater on the land, an existing condition cited by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the State of Connecticut (“DEEP”). We were required, as part of the purchase of the land, to post an $8 million surety bond ($3.6 million of which was cash collateral), the approximate cost of previous remediation costs. The surety bond will serve either serve as collateral to the state if we do not complete the environmental remediation to state and federal requirements or be returned to us in full if remediation efforts are successful and completed.

Our remediation efforts are ongoing and are currently in the initial testing stage. We plan to remove or renovate the contaminated buildings on the property and, through a third party, are currently testing levels of contaminants in the groundwater in some of the wetlands and ponds on the property. DEEP and the Environmental Protection Agency continue to monitor our remediation efforts. Although there can be no assurance, based upon the information available, we do not expect expenses associated with these activities to be material. If we elect to sell, transfer or change the use of the facility, additional environmental testing may be required. We cannot assure that we will not discover further environmental contamination, that any planned timeline for remediation will not be delayed, that we would not be required by DEEP or the EPA to incur significant expenditures for environmental remediation in the future. 


Our Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we had a total of 60 full-time employees, including 30 located in the United States. The following table sets forth the number of our employees by function on December 31, 2019.

 

ITEM 1A.FunctionRISK FACTORS.Number of Employees
Business Development22
Project Management and Operations7
Technology1
Finance and Legal16
Administrative14
TOTAL60

Our employees are not represented by a labor organization or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages.

We are required under PRC law to make contributions to employee benefit plans at specified percentages of employee salary. In addition, we are required by the PRC law to cover employees in the PRC with various types of social insurance. We believe that we are in compliance with the relevant PRC laws.


ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS

The business, financial condition and operating results of the Company may be affected by a number of factors, whether currently known or unknown, including but not limited to those described below. Any one or more of such factors could directly or indirectly cause the Company’s actual results of operations and financial condition to vary materially from past or anticipated future results of operations and financial condition. Any of these factors, in whole or in part, could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price. The following information should be read in conjunction with Part II, II—Item 7 - “Management’s7—“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and related notes in Part II, II—Item 8, “Financial8—“Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report.

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RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND STRATEGY

 

Substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

As discussed in Note 3This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 includes disclosures and an opinion from our independent registered public accounting firm stating that our recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to thecontinue as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements included inas of December 31, 2019 were prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this report, the Company has incurred significant losses during 2017 and 2016 and has relied on debt and equity financings to fund our operations.uncertainty. As of December 31, 2017, the Company2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $125.9$249.0 million, with liabilities of $67.0 million and cash on hand of $2.6 million. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.

 

The Company must continueWe will need to rely on proceeds from debt and equity issuances to pay for ongoing operating expenses in order to execute its business plan. On March 28, 2016,Management has taken several actions to ensure that the Company completedwill continue as a common stock financing for $10.0 million. In addition, the Company completed five separate common stockgoing concern, including debit financings as follows: (i) with Seven Star Works Co. Ltd. (“SSW”) for $4.0 million on July 19, 2016; (ii) with Harvest Alternative Investment Opportunities SPC (“Harvest”) for $4.0 millionon August 12, 2016; (iii) with Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development Limited (“SSSHK”) for $2.0 million on November 17, 2016; (iv) with certain investors, officers & directors and affiliatesreductions in a private placement for $2.0 million on May 19, 2017business related expenses and (v) with Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited for $10 million on October 23, 2017. On March 17, 2018, the Company entered into a subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with GT Dollar Pte. Ltd. (“GTD”) for a private placement of a total amount of $40.0 million. Pursuant to the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Company (i) will issue and sell to GTD, an aggregate of 13,773,010 shares of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $25,066,878.20, and (ii) issue two convertible promissory notes (each a “Note” and together, the “Notes”) with a stated principal amount of $10 million and $4,933,121.80, respectively. GTD shall pay $30 million of the purchase price on or prior to March 31, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the 13,773,010 shares of Common Stock and the $4,933,121.80 Note, and the remaining $10 million on or prior to April 30, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the $10 million Note. The Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants and a 9 month lock-up period for GTD from the date of the Subscription Agreement. The Notes bear interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum and matures December 31, 2019. In the event of default, the Notes will become immediately due and payable. Until receipt of necessary shareholder approvals for the transactions contemplated by these agreements, the Notes note may not be converted, to the extent that such conversion would result in GTD and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 19.9% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock. Once the necessary shareholder approval is received, the unpaid principal and interest on the Notes will automatically convert into shares of Common Stock at a conversion rate of $1.82.discretionary expenditures.  

 

Although the Company may attempt to raise funds by issuing debt or equity instruments, howeverin the future additional financing may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to the Company or at all or such resources may not be received in a timely manner.

If the Company is unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, the Company may be required to scale back or to discontinue certain operations, scale back or discontinue the development of new business lines, reduce headcount, sell assets, file for bankruptcy, reorganize, merge with another entity, or cease operations.

 

These conditionsWe expect to require additional financing in the future to meet our business requirements. Such capital raising may be costly, difficult or not possible to obtain and, if obtained, could significantly dilute current stockholders’ equity interests

We must continue to rely on proceeds from debt and equity issuances to pay for ongoing operating expenses and repay existing debt in order to execute our business plan. Although we may attempt to raise substantial doubt about the Company’s abilityfunds by issuing debt or equity instruments, additional financing may not be available to continue asus on terms acceptable us or at all or such resources may not be received in a going concern. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.timely manner. If we are in fact unable to continue as a going concern, our shareholdersraise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may lose their entire investment in our Company.be required to scale back or to discontinue certain operations, scale back or discontinue the development of new business lines, reduce headcount, sell assets, file for bankruptcy, reorganize, merge with another entity, or cease operations.

 

The Company isWe are in the process of transforming itsour business model, such that there is only a limited basis to evaluate our business and thisprospects. This transformation may continue to evolve, and ultimately may not be successful.

The Company isWe are in the process of transforming itsour business model to becomedevelop a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & blockchain-powered, fintech company.platform for the procurement, purchase, financing battery charging and energy management for commercial fleets of Electric Vehicles. In connection with this transformation, the Company iswe are in the process of considerable changes, which attemptedincluding initiatives to assemble a new management team, reconfigure the business structure, and expand the Company’sour mission and business lines. It is uncertain whether these efforts will prove beneficial or whether we will be able to develop the necessary business models, infrastructure and systems to support the business. This includes having or hiring the right talent to execute our business strategy.strategy, and building a team with the technological capability and know-how to build the products and provide the services we envision. Market acceptance of new product and service offerings will be dependent in part on our ability to include functionality and usability that address customer requirements, and optimally price our products and services to meet customer demand and cover our costs.


Any failure toEven if we implement thisour plan in accordance with our expectations, will have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Evenassumptions regarding costs and growth of revenue may differ substantially from reality. Furthermore, even if the anticipated benefits and savings are realized in part, there may be consequences, internal control issues, or business impacts that were not expected. Additionally, as a result of our restructuring efforts in connection with our business transformation plan, we may experience a loss of continuity, loss of accumulated knowledge or loss of efficiency during transitional periods. Reorganization and restructuring can require a significant amount of management and other employees'employees’ time and focus, which may divert attention from operating activities and growing our business. If we fail to achieve some or all of the expected benefits of these activities, it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

 

The success of the Company’s efforts to develop its MEG business unit is highly dependent upon suitable financing structures being developed.

The market for commercial fleets of Electric Vehicles (EV) is in the early stage of development and provides unique challenges to fleet owners trying to finance the purchase of fleets of EV. Unlike vehicles powered by Internal Combustion Engines, the power source in an EV, the battery, can be separated from the vehicle which creates unique challenges for lenders in valuing the collateral for any loan. Additionally, the market for commercial EVs is very new and consequently there is no reliable history of resale values to support lending decisions. The Company is working with banks and insurance companies to create lending structures and pools of capital that can be used to finance fleet purchases of commercial EVs. Even if the Company can create the necessary pools of capital and lending structures there is no guarantee that any regulatory approvals required for these new structures will be obtained. If the Company is not able to develop a solution for the funding of fleet purchases then the companies MEG business may not be successful and generate minimal revenues and incur substantial losses.

Our operating results are likely to fluctuate significantly and may differ from market expectations.

Our annual and quarterly operating results have varied significantly in the past, and may vary significantly in the future, due to a number of factors which could have an adverse impact on our business. Our revenue may fluctuate as we expect a disproportionate amount of our revenues generated from Wecastour Mobile Energy Group Services business unit quarter over quarter due to the customers’ seasonal demand, as normally holiday demand for consumer electronics would increase our revenue. Furthermore, as the launch dates of our new products will mightmay not be the same as what we have planned, we expect the financial performance might fluctuate significantly depending on timing, quantity and outcome of such product launches.

 

The transformation of our business will put added pressure on our management and operational infrastructure, impeding our ability to meet any potential increased demand for our services and possibly hurting our future operating results.

Our business plan is to significantly grow our operations to meet anticipated growth in demand for the services that we offer, and by the introduction of new goods or services. Growth in our businesses will place a significant strain on our personnel, management, financial systems and other resources. The evolution of our business also presents numerous risks and challenges, including:

 

.·our ability to successfully and rapidly expand sales to potential new distributors in response to potentially increasing demand;

.·the costs associated with such growth, which are difficult to quantify, but could be significant; and

.·rapid technological change.

 

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To accommodate any such growth and compete effectively, we will need to obtain additional funding to improve information systems, procedures and controls and expand, train, motivate and manage our employees, and such funding may not be available in sufficient quantities, if at all. If we are not able to manage these activities and implement these strategies successfully to expand to meet any increased demand, our operating results could suffer.

 

Our supply chain business might not be successful as we expected.

Our current and future supply chain business operations are also impacted by the policies and regulations of the PRC government. Central government, provincial and local authorities and agencies regulate many aspects of Chinese industries, including but not limited to provision of (i) supply chain solutions, financial services, retail services and operation of high technology businesses; (ii) security laws and regulations; (iii) foreign exchange; (iv) taxes, duties and fees; and (v) customs. Failure to comply with relevant laws and regulations in our operations may result in various penalties and affect our business, operations, prospects and financial condition. There is no assurance that the laws and regulations of relevant government agencies will not change and no assurance that additional or more stringent laws or regulations will not be imposed. Moreover, compliance with such laws or regulations may require us to incur capital expenditures or other obligations or liabilities.

The emergence of “New Retail” (seamless integration of online and offline retail offering a consumer-centric, omni-channel and global shopping experience through digitization and just-in-time delivery) and transformation of the logistics and supply chain industry affect the demand for our supply chain services and our business opportunities. Our future supply chain business and growth are significantly affected by the emergence of New Retail, the continued global development of e-commerce, particularly in China, and the demand for integrated supply chain solutions. If New Retail, the e-commerce industry in China and the demand for integrated supply chain solutions fail to develop as we expect, our supply chain business and growth could be harmed. In addition, macroeconomic and other factors that reduce demand for supply chain services globally or in China could also have a material adverse impact on our future supply chain business

In order to comply with PRC regulatory requirements, we operate our legacy YOD businesses through companies with which we have contractual relationships. By virtue of these contractual relationships, we control the economic interests and have the power to direct the activities of these entities, and are therefore determined to be the primary beneficiary of these entities, but we do not have any equity ownership interest in these entities. If the PRC government determines that our contractual agreements with these entities are not in compliance with applicable regulations, our business in the PRC could be materially adversely affected.

We do not have direct or indirect equity ownership of our VIEs, which collectively operate all of our legacy YOD businesses in China, but instead have entered into contractual arrangements with our VIEs and each of its individual legal shareholder(s) pursuant to which we received an economic interest in, and have the power to direct the activities of the VIEs, in a manner substantially similar to a controlling equity interest. Although we believe that our business operations are in compliance with the current laws in China, we cannot be sure that the PRC government would view our operating arrangements to be in compliance with PRC regulations that may be adopted in the future. If we are determined not to be in compliance, the PRC government could levy fines, revoke our business and operating licenses, require us to restrict or discontinue our operations, restrict our right to collect revenues, require us to restructure our business, corporate structure or operations, impose additional conditions or requirements with which we may not be able to comply, impose restrictions on our business operations or on our customers, or take other regulatory or enforcement actions against us that could be harmful to our business. As a result, our legacy YOD business in the PRC could be materially adversely affected.

We rely on contractual arrangements with our VIEs for our operations, which may not be as effective for providing control over these entities as direct ownership.

Our legacy YOD operations and financial results are dependent on our VIEs in which we have no equity ownership interest and must rely on contractual arrangements to control and operate the businesses of our VIEs. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective for providing control over the VIEs as direct ownership. For example, the VIEs may be unwilling or unable to perform its contractual obligations under our commercial agreements. Consequently, we may not be able to conduct our operations in the manner currently planned. In addition, the VIEs may seek to renew their agreements on terms that are disadvantageous to us. Although we have entered into a series of agreements that provide us with the ability to control the VIEs, we may not succeed in enforcing our rights under them insofar as our contractual rights and legal remedies under PRC law are inadequate. In addition, if we are unable to renew these agreements on favorable terms when these agreements expire or to enter into similar agreements with other parties, our legacy YOD business may not be able to operate or expand, and our operating expenses may significantly increase.

Our arrangements with our VIEs and its respective shareholders may be subject to a transfer pricing adjustment by the PRC tax authorities which could have an adverse effect on our income and expenses.

We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that our contracts with our VIEs and their respective shareholders were not entered into based on arm’s length negotiations. Although our contractual arrangements are similar to those of other companies conducting similar operations in China, if the PRC tax authorities determine that these contracts were not entered into on an arm’s length basis, they may adjust our income and expenses for PRC tax purposes in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. Such an adjustment may require that we pay additional PRC taxes plus applicable penalties and interest, if any.

If we do not obtain shareholder approval of certain potential common stock issuances to BT Capital Global Limited, or BT Capital, a promissory note held by BT Capital will be due, and we may not have the resources to repay such note.

Under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market, we generally may not issue more than 4.99% of our outstanding shares in connection with an acquisition where a related party has an interest in the target, unless we obtain shareholder approval. On January 30, 2017, we entered into an Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with BT Capital for the purchase by us of all of the outstanding capital stock of Sun Video Group Hong Kong Limited (“SVG”), an affiliate of the Company’s chairman Bruno Wu, for an aggregate purchase price of (i) $800,000; and (ii) a convertible promissory note (the “SVG Note”) with the principal and interest thereon convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion rate of $1.50 per share. BT has guaranteed that SVG will achieve certain financial goals within 12 months of the closing. The SVG Note has a stated principal amount of $50 million, bears interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum and matures on December 31, 2017. In the event of default, the SVG Note will become immediately due and payable, subject to certain limitations set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement. Effective on December 31, 2017, the Company and BT entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Note pursuant to which the maturity date of the Note, which was December 31, 2017, is now extended to December 31, 2018. All other terms and conditions of the transaction remain the same.

Under the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, until receipt of necessary Company’s shareholder approvals, the SVG Note is not convertible into shares of Company common stock.

Although we will put this proposal to our shareholders for their approval, no assurances can be given that we will obtain such shareholder approval. If we fail to obtain such shareholder approval by December 31, 2018 (unless such maturity date for the SVG Note is extended), BT Capital may require us to satisfy all of our obligations under the SVG Note, including the payment in full of all principal and interest, and may pursue other legal or equitable remedies against us. Our ability to make such cash payments will depend on available cash resources at that time, and there can be no assurance that we will have the cash necessary to make such payments. Early payment of the SVG Note could therefore have a significantly adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

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The success of our business is dependent on our ability to retain our existing key employees and to add and retain senior officers to our management.

We depend on the services of our key employees. Our success will largely depend on our ability to retain these key employees and to attract and retain qualified senior and middle level managers to our management team.

We have recruited executives and management both in U.S.the United States and Chinathe PRC to assist in our ability to manage the business and to recruit and oversee employees. While we believe we offer compensation packages that are consistent with market practice, we cannot be certain that we will be able to hire and retain sufficient personnel to support our business. In addition, severe capital constraints have limited our ability to attract specialized personnel. Moreover, our budget limitations will restrict our ability to hire qualified personnel. The loss of any of our key employees, or failure to find a suitable successor, would significantly harm our business. Our future success will also depend on our ability to identify, hire, develop and retain skilled key employees. We do not maintain key person life insurance on any of our employees. Future sales or acquisitions by us may also cause uncertainty among our current employees and employees of an acquired entity, which could lead to the departure of key employees. Such departures could have an adverse impact on our business and the anticipated benefits of a sale or acquisition.


Changes in our management team may adversely affect our operations.

While we expect to engage in an orderly transition process as we integrate newly appointed officers and managers, we face a variety of risks and uncertainties relating to management transition, including diversion of management attention from business concerns, failure to retain other key personnel or loss of institutional knowledge. These risks and uncertainties could result in operational and administrative inefficiencies and added costs, which could adversely impact our results of operations, stock price and research and development of our products.

 

We are highly dependent on the services of Dr. Bruno Wu, our Chairman.

The Company experiences significant competitive pressure, which may negatively impact its results.

The market forWe are highly dependent on the Company’s productsservices of Dr. Bruno Wu, our Chairman and services is very competitive and subjectlargest stockholder, particularly as it relates to rapid technological advances, new market entrants, non-traditional competitors, changes in industry standards and changes in customer needs and consumption models. Not only does the Company compete with global distributors, it also competes for customers with regional distributors and some of the Company’s own suppliers that maintain direct sales efforts. In addition, as the Company expands its offerings and geographies, the Company may encounter increased competition from current or new competitors. The Company’s failure to maintain and enhance its competitive position could adversely affect its business and prospects. Furthermore, the Company’s efforts to competeour operations in the marketplace could cause deteriorationPRC and Asia. Although Dr. Wu spends significant time with Ideanomics and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Ideanomics. Dr. Wu also currently serves as CEO of gross profit margins and, thus, overall profitability.Sun Seven Stars Investment Group.

 

The size of the Company’s competitors varies across market sectors, as do the resources the Company has allocated to the sectors and geographic areas in which it does business. Therefore, many competitors will have greater resources or a more extensive customer or supplier base than the Company has in one or more of its market sectors and geographic areas, which may result in the Company not being able to effectively compete in certain markets which could impact the Company’s profitability and prospects.

Our International Operations Expose Usinternational operations expose us to a Numbernumber of Risks.risks.

Our international activities are significant to our revenues and profits, and we plan to further expand internationally. In certain international market segments, we have relatively little operating experience and may not benefit from any first-to-market advantages or otherwise succeed. It is costly to establish, develop, and maintain international operations and platforms, and promote our brand internationally.

 

Our international sales and operations are subject to a number of risks, including:

local economic and political conditions;
government regulation of e-commerce and other services, electronic devices, and competition, and restrictive governmental actions (such as trade protection measures, including export duties and quotas and custom duties and tariffs), nationalization, and restrictions on foreign ownership;
restrictions on sales or distribution of certain products or services and uncertainty regarding liability for products, services, and content, including uncertainty as a result of less Internet-friendly legal systems, local laws, lack of legal precedent, and varying rules, regulations, and practices regarding the physical and digital distribution of media products and enforcement of intellectual property rights;
limitations on the repatriation and investment of funds and foreign currency exchange restrictions;
limited technology infrastructure;
shorter payable and longer receivable cycles and the resultant negative impact on cash flow;
laws and regulations regarding consumer and data protection, privacy, network security, encryption, payments, and restrictions on pricing or discounts;
geopolitical events, including war and terrorism.

 

·local economic and political conditions;

·government regulation of e-commerce and other services, electronic devices, and competition, and restrictive governmental actions (such as trade protection measures, including export duties and quotas and custom duties and tariffs), nationalization, and restrictions on foreign ownership;

·restrictions on sales or distribution of certain products or services and uncertainty regarding liability for products, services, and content, including uncertainty as a result of less Internet-friendly legal systems, local laws, lack of legal precedent, and varying rules, regulations, and practices regarding the physical and digital distribution of media products and enforcement of IP rights;

·limitations on the repatriation and investment of funds and foreign currency exchange restrictions;

·limited technology infrastructure;

·environmental and health and safety liabilities and expenditures relating to the disposal and remediation of hazardous substances into the air, water and ground;

·shorter payable and longer receivable cycles and the resultant negative impact on cash flow;

·laws and regulations regarding consumer and data protection, privacy, network security, encryption, payments, and restrictions on pricing or discounts;

·geopolitical events, including war and terrorism.

We may face challenges in expanding our international and cross-border businesses and operations.

As we expand our international and cross-border businesses into an increasing number of international markets, we will face risks associated with expanding into markets in which we have limited or no experience and in which we may be less well-known. We may be unable to attract a sufficient number of customers and other participants, fail to anticipate competitive conditions or face difficulties in operating effectively in these new markets. The expansion of our international and cross-border businesses will also expose us to risks inherent in operating businesses globally, including:

 

• inability to recruit international and local talent and challenges in replicating or adapting our company policies and procedures to operating environments different than that of China;

• lack of acceptance of our product and service offerings;

• challenges and increased expenses associated with staffing and managing international and cross-border operations and managing an organization spread over multiple jurisdictions;

• trade barriers, such as import and export restrictions, customs duties and other taxes, competition law regimes and other trade restrictions, as well as other protectionist policies;

• differing and potentially adverse tax consequences;

• increased and conflicting regulatory compliance requirements;

• challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences;

• increased costs to protect the security and stability of our information technology systems, intellectual property and personal data, including compliance costs related to data localization laws;

 17·inability to recruit international and local talent and challenges in replicating or adapting our Company policies and procedures to operating environments different than that of the PRC;

 ·lack of acceptance of our product and service offerings;

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• availability and reliability of international and cross-border payment systems and logistics infrastructure;

��·challenges and increased expenses associated with staffing and managing international and cross-border operations and managing an organization spread over multiple jurisdictions;

 

• exchange rate fluctuations; and

·trade barriers, such as import and export restrictions, customs duties and other taxes, competition law regimes and other trade restrictions, as well as other protectionist policies;

 

·differing and potentially adverse tax consequences;

• political instability and general economic or political conditions in particular countries or regions.

·increased and conflicting regulatory compliance requirements;

·challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences;

·increased costs to protect the security and stability of our information technology systems, IP and personal data, including compliance costs related to data localization laws;

·availability and reliability of international and cross-border payment systems and logistics infrastructure;

·exchange rate fluctuations; and

·political instability and general economic or political conditions in particular countries or regions.

 

As we expand further into new regions and markets, these risks could intensify, and efforts we make to expand our international and cross-border businesses and operations may not be successful. Failure to expand our international and cross-border businesses and operations could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Transactions conducted through our international and cross-border platforms may be subject to different customs, taxes and rules and regulations, and we may be adversely affected by the complexity of and developments in customs and import/export laws, rules and regulations in the PRC and other jurisdictions. For example, effective as of April 8, 2016, the Notice on Tax Policies of Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Importation, or the New Cross-Border E-commerce Tax Notice, replaced the previous system for taxing consumer goods imported into the PRC and introduced a 17%16% value-added tax, or VAT, on most products sold through e-commerce platforms and consumption tax on high-end cosmetics.

Changes to trade policies, treaties and tariffs in the jurisdictions in which we operate, or the perception that these changes could occur, could adversely affect our international and cross-border operations, our financial condition and results of operations. For example, the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has advocated greater restrictions on trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States, particularly from China.

 

We may also have operations in various markets with volatile economic or political environments and may pursue growth opportunities in a number of newly developed and emerging markets. These investments may expose us to heightened risks of economic, geopolitical, or other events, including governmental takeover (i.e., nationalization) of our manufacturing facilities or intellectual property,IP, restrictive exchange or import controls, disruption of operations as a result of systemic political or economic instability, outbreak of war or expansion of hostilities, and acts of terrorism, each of which could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, the U.S. government, other governments, and international organizations could impose additional sanctions that could restrict us from doing business directly or indirectly in or with certain countries or parties, which could include affiliates.


As we acquire, dispose of or restructure our businesses, product lines, and technologies, we may encounter unforeseen costs and difficulties that could impair our financial performance

We derived a substantial portion

An important element of our revenuemanagement strategy is to review acquisition prospects that would complement our existing products, augment our market coverage and distribution ability, or enhance our capabilities. As a result, we may seek to make acquisitions of companies, products, or technologies, or we may reduce or dispose of certain product lines or technologies that no longer fit our business strategies. For regulatory or other reasons, we may not be successful in our attempts to acquire or dispose of businesses, products, or technologies, resulting in significant financial costs, reduced or lost opportunities, and diversion of management’s attention. Managing an acquired business, disposing of product technologies, or reducing personnel entails numerous operational and financial risks, including, among other things, (i) difficulties in assimilating acquired operations and new personnel or separating existing business or product groups, (ii) diversion of management’s attention away from several major customers. If we lose anyother business concerns, (iii) amortization of these customers, or if the volume of business with these distribution partners decline, our revenues may be significantly affected.

We have agreements with only one distribution partner to operate all legacy YOD business, and two customers individually accounted for more than 10% of our Wecast Service third party revenue. Dueacquired intangible assets, (iv) adverse customer reaction to our reliance on thosedecision to cease support for a product, and (v) potential loss of key employees or customers of acquired or disposed operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve and manage successfully any such integration of the following events may cause a material declinepotential acquisitions, disposition of product lines or technologies, or reduction in personnel or that our revenue andmanagement, personnel, or systems will be adequate to support continued operations. Any such inabilities or inadequacies could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and/or cash flows.

In addition, any acquisition could result in changes, such as potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, the amortization of related intangible assets, and goodwill impairment charges, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations:operations, cash flows, and/or the price of our common stock.

 

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reductions, delays or cessation of purchases from one or more significant customer;

Intellectual property litigation could cause us to spend substantial resources and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to IP claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development, sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of IP litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

Our ability to conduct our businesses may be materially adversely impacted by catastrophic events, including natural disasters, pandemics and other international health emergencies, weather-related events, terrorist attacks, and other disruptions.

.

loss of one or more significant customer and our inability to find new customers that can generate the same volume of business; and

.

failure of any customer to make timely payment of our products and services.

 

We cannot be certain whether these relationships willmay encounter disruptions involving power, communications, transportation or other utilities or essential services depended on by us or by third parties with whom we conduct business. This could include disruptions as the result of natural disasters, pandemics, other international health emergencies, or weather-related or similar events (such as fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, landslides and other natural conditions including the effects of climate change), political instability, labor strikes or turmoil, or terrorist attacks.In 2020, China and other countries have experienced the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. At a minimum, we believe this pandemic has a significant chance of effecting the timing and amount of our revenue for 2020. Similar potential disruptions may occur in any of the locations in which we, our counterparties or our customers do business. We continue to develop orassess the potential impact on our counterparties and customers of such events, and what impact, if any, these significant customers will continue to generate significant revenue for us in the future.

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Tableevents could have on our businesses, financial condition, results of Contentsoperations and prospects.

  

If we fail to develop and maintain effective disclosure controls and an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results or prevent fraud may be adversely affected, and investor confidence and market price of our shares may be adversely impacted.

As directed byOur reporting obligations as a public company place a significant strain on our management and our operational and financial resources and systems and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We are subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, (“SOX 404”as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), the SEC adopted rules requiring public companieswhich requires us to include a report of management on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting in their annual reports on Form 10-K. Under current law, we became subject to these requirements beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007. Ourmaintain internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controlsto report any material weaknesses in such internal control. Material weaknesses and procedures have been ineffective, and failure to improve them could lead to future errors in our financial statements that could require a restatementsignificant deficiencies may be identified during the audit process or untimely filings, which could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, and a decline in our stock price.

at other times. In 2016, a material weakness was identified in the internal control ofover financial reporting related to the design, documentation and implementation of effective internal controls overfor the review of the cash flow forecasts used in the accounting for licensed content recoverability. Specifically, the Companywe did not design and maintain effective internal controls related to management’s review of the data inputs and assumptions used in itsour cash flow forecasts for licensed content recoverability. License content forecasts are highly subjective, even though we no longer operate any license content business in 2017 and onwards, management believes thatrecoverability, However, the condition of this material weakness is still existed.

Management used the framework set forth in the report entitled Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2016) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizationsdoes not exist as of the Treadway Commission.date of this report as the licensed content was sold in March 2019. As of December 31, 2017, our2019, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is ineffective based on this assessment. See “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures - Management Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.”was effective.

 


If we fail to develop and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, in the future, our management may not be able to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level. This could in turn result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports. Any failure to improve and maintain the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting could lead to future errors in our financial statements that could require a restatement or untimely filings, which could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, and result in a decline in our stock price.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures. As a publicly traded company, we are required to file periodic reports containing our consolidated financial statements with the SEC within a specified time following the completion of quarterly and annual periods. Maintaining effective disclosure controls and procedures is necessary to identify information we must disclose in our periodic reports. Our disclosure controls and procedures have been ineffective in the past, and to the extent that our disclosure controls and procedures are found to be ineffective in the future, such finding could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our disclosures, harm our business, and negatively impact the trading price of our shares.common stock.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR MOBILE ENERGY GROUP SERVICES BUSINESS UNIT

We experience significant competitive pressure in the Mobile Energy Group Services business unit, which may negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The Company’s Mobile Energy Group business unit is operating in the fleet commercial Electric Vehicle (EV) market primarily in the PRC and the ASEAN region. The commercial EV market is still in its development stage and the rate at which the operators of fleets of commercial vehicles replace their internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles with EV is very dependent upon (i) environmental and clean air regulations that mandate conversion to EV, (ii) the subsidies that government bodies make available to cover the cost of conversion and (iii) the availability of financing to cover some or all of the cost of conversion.

Environmental and clean air regulations drive the timing and rate at which fleet operators convert to EV and by extension the size of the market and the type of vehicles that are in demand at any time. The company’s revenues and profits may be adversely impacted if demand for EV is lower than expected due to a change in regulation or regulations favor conversion of vehicle types that have lower profit margins.

Converting fleets to EV is very capital intensive and most operators require substantial amounts of funding in the form of PRC and provincial subsidies and bank financing. The amount and form of PRC and provincial subsidies are subject to change from time to time as the government bodies adjust subsidies to influence consumer behavior. The mechanisms for financing of EV are still being developed and large scale conversion from internal combustion engines to EV is highly dependent upon the amount and terms of financing available for the conversion to EV.

We will face significant competition with respect to the products and services we may offer in the blockchain- and AI-enabled fintech business we are building, and we currently face significant competition with respect to the businesses we operate that generate revenue for our Company.

One of the Company’s long term strategic goals is to leverage blockchain- and AI-based fintech solutions to offer products and services that will bring transparency, efficiency and cost savings to various markets, including logistics management and finance, consumer products, media, and financial services. We therefore face significant competitive pressure not only with other developers of blockchain and AI technologies in the fintech space, but also in the markets for the products and services we offer or plan to offer, which are very competitive and subject to rapid technological advances, new market entrants, non-traditional competitors, changes in industry standards and changes in customer needs and consumption models.

The blockchain industry is densely populated by companies touting blockchain capabilities, including Smart Valor, Polymath, tZero and Consensys, among others. Our competitors, both in the fintech space and in the markets we plan to service, may introduce new platforms and solutions that are superior to ours, or may offer additional, vertically integrated products and services that we do not yet plan to provide. Certain competitors may have entered these spaces much earlier than us, may be better capitalized, may have more industry connections, and may be able to adapt more quickly to new technologies or may be able to devote greater resources to the development, marketing and sale of their products than we can. In addition, we are competing not only with respect to potential business, but with respect to the acquisition of novel and effective technologies, receipt of required regulatory approvals and retention of human capital and talent.

In addition, the fintech market in general is seeing myriad new capabilities and solutions introduced by large established companies, such as IBM, Google and Amazon, as well as smaller emerging companies. These technologies may rely on blockchain technology or AI, as well as other innovative technologies such as machine learning or big data. As we apply our blockchain-and AI-based fintech solutions to the finance industry, we will compete with private and public financial institutions, investment banks, broker-dealers and financial consulting firms, among other institutions, that may have their own proprietary solutions (including trading platforms, web based and mobile algorithm trading platforms, social trading platforms, high-frequency trading platforms, back office solutions, risk management tools, and other software), and that may offer regulated services that we do not at this time plan to offer (including underwriting services, advisory services, and investment management services). Other potential competitors include national securities exchanges that may be developing blockchain-based solutions and other regulated securities exchange industry participants, including ATSs, market makers and other execution venues.


Our failure to maintain and enhance our competitive position could adversely affect our business and prospects. Furthermore, our efforts to compete in the marketplace could cause deterioration of gross profit margins and, thus, overall profitability.

There can be no assurance that we will ever develop, issue or support the trading of securitized digital assets, or that we or our partners will build blockchain-based trading and logistics management platforms, or that any such products will be well received.

We intend to securitize assets that may be owned by third parties or owned by our Company, to encode such securitized assets as digital tokens using blockchain technology, and to support the issuance and trading of such securitized digital assets. As part of our larger blockchain strategy, we also intend to enter into joint ventures, strategic investments and partnerships to explore the application of blockchain technologies to logistics management. There can be no assurance that we will ever develop, issue or support the trading of any securitized digital assets, whatsoever, or that we will ever develop a blockchain or AI enabled logistics management platform. Should we fail to do so, our financial position may be adversely affected.

Even if we do succeed in developing digital securitized assets, there can be no assurance that investors will be interested in purchasing such digital securitized assets, or that a robust ecosystem for their trading on our platforms will develop. For example, established financial institutions may refuse to process the digital assets for these transactions, process wire transfers, or maintain accounts for entities transacting in our digital assets. Conversely, a significant portion of demand for any digital securitized assets we develop may be generated by speculators and investors seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of our digital assets. Price volatility undermines the exchange of these digital assets and the liquidity of the digital assets we original may always be low, further fueling price volatility. Increased volatility may lead to a reduction in the value of the digital securitized assets we develop, which could adversely impact the value of any digital securitized assets we originate based on our own assets, and which could reduce demands for our digital financial services by reducing interest in using digital assets as a mean of creating liquidity from others’ owned assets.

In addition, the blockchain-enabled platforms and software upon which our products and services will be based, are in their early stages. Despite the efforts of our strategic partners and joint ventures to develop and complete the launch of, and subsequently to maintain, blockchain platforms for digital token trading and logistics management, it is possible that they will experience malfunctions or otherwise fail to be adequately secured and maintained. We may not have or may not be able to obtain the technical skills, expertise, or regulatory approvals needed to successfully develop blockchain platforms and products, including digital assets, and progress them to a successful launch. In addition, there are significant legal and regulatory considerations that will need to be addressed in order to develop and maintain a blockchain, and addressing such considerations will require significant time and resources. There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop the blockchain platform in such a way that achieves all of the features we anticipate that it will provide, or that the features provided will be sufficient to attract a significant number of users such that the blockchain platform will be widely adopted.

Blockchain technology and tokenized assets are subject to a number of inherent risks that may impact our ability to provide the services we are developing and adversely affect an investment in us.

Blockchain technology and tokenized assets are subject to a number of inherent risks, including reliability risks, security risks, and risks associated with human error, that may impact our ability to provide the services we are developing. For example, a blockchain platform’s functionality depends on the Internet, and a significant disruption in Internet connectivity could disrupt a platform’s operations until the disruption is resolved; such disruption may have an adverse effect on the value of the digital assets traded on a platform. In addition, a hacking or service attack on a platform may cause temporary delays in block creation on the blockchain and in the transfer of digital assets recorded on the chain. Any disruptions, attacks or other security breaches, or the perception that our blockchain technology is unreliable for any reason, may have a material adverse effect on the value of the digital assets, investment in the digital assets and the operations and success of our business operations and financial results.


In addition, tokenized digital assets based on blockchain technology can only be transferred with the private key associated with a platform’s address in which the digital assets are held. We intend to safeguard and securely store the private keys associated with a platform’s addresses by engaging a custodian. To the extent a private key is lost, destroyed, or otherwise compromised and no backup of the private key is accessible, the custodian will be unable to transfer the digital assets held in a platform’s addresses associated with that private key. Consequently, the digital assets associated with such address will effectively be lost, which would adversely affect an investment in digital assets.

We and our digital asset customers may be subject to the risks encountered by the digital asset exchanges we partner with, including a malicious hacking, sale of a digital asset exchange, loss of the digital assets by the exchange, and other risks. Many digital asset exchanges do not provide insurance and may lack the resources to protect against hacking and theft. If a material amount of our digital assets or the digital assets of our customers are held by exchanges, we and our customers may be materially and adversely affected if an exchange suffers a cyberattack or incurs financial problems

Further, the recording of digital asset transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction or, in theory, control or consent of a majority of the processing power on a certain blockchain platform. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to the blockchain, an incorrect transfer of digital assets or a theft of such digital assets generally will not be reversible. We, our customers and our partners may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, digital assets could be transferred in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties. To the extent that we, our customers or our partners are unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third party or are incapable of identifying the third party that has received the digital assets through error or theft, we, our customers or our partners will be unable to revert or otherwise recover incorrectly transferred digital assets. To the extent that we, our customers and our partners are unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could adversely affect our reputation and our business.

The growth of the blockchain industry in general, as well as the blockchain networks, is subject to a high degree of uncertainty.

The factors affecting the further development of the digital asset industries, as well as blockchain networks, include uncertainty regarding:

·worldwide growth in the adoption and use of digital assets, and other blockchain technologies;

·government and quasi-government regulation of digital assets and other blockchain assets and their use, or restrictions on or regulation of access to and operation of blockchain networks or similar systems;

·the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the blockchain networks;

·changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences;

·the availability and popularity of other forms or methods of buying and selling goods and services, or trading assets including new means of using traditional currencies or existing networks;

·general economic conditions and the regulatory environment relating to digital assets; and

·The popularity or acceptance of blockchain-enabled tokens.

The digital assets industries as a whole have been characterized by rapid changes and innovations and are continually evolving. Although blockchain networks and blockchain assets have experienced significant growth in recent years, the slowing or stopping of the development, general acceptance and adoption and usage of these networks and assets may materially adversely affect our business plans and results of operations.

We currently have limited intellectual property rights related to our new Mobile Energy Group Services business unit, and primarily rely on third parties through joint ventures to conduct research and development activities and protect proprietary information.

Although we believe our success will depend in part on our ability to acquire, invest in or develop proprietary technology to effectively compete with our competitors, we currently have, and for the foreseeable future will have, limited direct IP rights related to our new Mobile Energy Group Services business unit. The IP relevant to the products and services we plan to provide is held primarily by joint ventures and our strategic partners. Accordingly, we will rely on these third parties for research and development activities, which will present certain risks. For example, we will have limited control over the research and development activities of the business of our joint ventures, and may require licenses from these third parties if we wish to develop products directly. If our joint venture businesses are unable to effectively maintain a competitive edge relative to the market with their technologies and IP, it may adversely affect our business and financial position.


Our reliance on third parties also presents risks related to ownership, use and protection of proprietary information. We are required to rely on the terms of the joint venture and partnership agreements to protect our interests, as well as our joint ventures’ and partners’ trade secret protections, non-disclosure agreements, and invention assignment agreements to protect confidential and proprietary information. If the IP and other confidential information of our joint ventures and strategic partners are not adequately protected, competitors may be able to use their proprietary technologies and information, thereby eroding any competitive advantages that IP provides to us.

Domestic and international regulatory regimes governing blockchain technologies, digital assets, distribution and utilization of digital assets is uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect the development and the value of certain digital assets.

Blockchain and distributed ledger platforms are recent technological innovations, and the regulatory schemes to which digital assets may be subject have not been fully explored or developed. Regulation of digital assets varies from country to country as well as within countries. In some cases, existing laws have been interpreted to apply to blockchain-based technologies and digital assets, and in other cases, jurisdictions have adopted laws, regulations or directives that specifically affect digital assets, and some jurisdictions have not taken any regulatory stance on digital assets and or have explicitly declined to apply regulation. Accordingly, there is no clear regulatory framework applicable to blockchain platforms or digital asset products, and laws that do apply at times may overlap or change. Regulation in these areas is likely to rapidly evolve as government agencies take regulatory action to monitor companies and their activities with respect to these areas.

Various legislative and executive bodies in the United States and in other countries may in the future adopt laws, regulations, or guidance, or take other actions, which may severely impact the operability of blockchain platforms and the permissibility of digital assets generally, the technology behind the assets, or the means of transacting or in transferring such assets. Failure by us to comply with any laws, rules and regulations, some of which may not yet exist or are subject to interpretation and may be subject to change, could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including civil penalties and fines.

Digital assets are novel and the application of U.S. federal and state securities laws is unclear in many respects. Digital assets are not traditional investment securities and issues that might be resolved with traditional securities may not be resolved with digital assets if the offer or sale of such digital assets is not made in full compliance with applicable registration exemptions or the federal securities laws, the token issuer may be in violation of such laws. It is possible that regulators may interpret laws in a manner that adversely affects a digital asset’s value.

Blockchain-enabled networks and distributed ledger technologies also face an uncertain regulatory landscape in many foreign jurisdictions, including the PRC. Various foreign jurisdictions may, in the near future, adopt laws, regulations or directives that may conflict with those of the United States or may directly and negatively impact our business. The effect of any future regulatory change is impossible to predict, but such change could be substantial and materially adverse to our business.

The further development and acceptance of blockchain platforms, which represent a new and rapidly changing industry, are subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of blockchain platforms and blockchain assets would have a material adverse effect on our business plans and could have a material adverse effect on us.

Regulatory authorities may never permit a trading system or ATS on which digital assets could trade to become operational.

In order for a securities exchange to allow U.S. investors to participate on its platform, it must register as a broker-dealer with the SEC, become a member of FINRA, file a Form ATS with the SEC and comply with Regulation ATS. DBOT, one of our joint venture investments, has filed an initial operations report on Form ATS to give notice of operations of DBOT ATS. Our investment in DBOT’s ATS is not approved by the SEC or FINRA. If FINRA, the SEC or any other regulatory authority objected to such system, such regulatory authorities could prevent the system from ever becoming operational.


If the digital assets we develop are considered to be derivatives or commodities, we may be subject to the provisions of the Commodities Exchange Act and the CFTC regulations.

The CFTC has defined “virtual currencies” as a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value, but does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. The CFTC has considered digital assets as commodities or derivatives, depending on the facts of the offering. If we facilitate borrowing transactions that permit the trading of the securitized digital assets we develop on a “leveraged, margined or financed basis,” we must comply with the provisions of the Commodities Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Any regulatory issues encountered with respect to compliance with these regulations and laws would have a material adverse impact on our financial position.

In addition, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the CFTC and the Federal Trade Commission hold statutory authority to monitor certain segments of the physical energy commodities markets. The trading of digital assets linked to such energy commodities may be subject to such regulations. To the extent that any digital asset is deemed to fall within the definition of a commodity future, such as those represented by oil or energy assets, pursuant to subsequent rulemaking by the CFTC, we and/or the issuer of such digital asset may be required to register and comply with additional regulation under the CEA. Moreover, we or the issuer may be required to register as a commodity pool operator and register the platform, or such other entity created to hold the digital assets, as a commodity pool with the CFTC through the National Futures Association. Such additional registrations may result in extraordinary expenses to us, and adversely impact the value of our common stock.

If regulatory changes or interpretations of our activities require the registration as a MSB under the regulations promulgated by FinCEN under the authority of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, or licensing as a MT (or equivalent designation) under state law in any state in which we operate, compliance with these requirements would result in extraordinary expenses to us or the termination of our Company.

To the extent that our activities cause our Company to be deemed a MSB under the regulations promulgated by FinCEN under the authority of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, we may be required to comply with FinCEN regulations, including those that would mandate us to implement AML programs, make certain reports to FinCEN and maintain certain records.

To the extent that our activities cause our Company to be deemed a MT (or equivalent designation) under state law in any state in which we operates, we may be required to seek a license or otherwise register with a state regulator and comply with state regulations that may including the implementation of AML programs, maintenance of certain records and other operational requirements.

Such additional federal or state regulatory obligations may cause us to incur extraordinary expenses, possibly affecting an investment in our common stock in a material and adverse manner. Furthermore, our Company and our service providers may not be capable of complying with certain federal or state regulatory obligations applicable to MSBs and MTs. Such noncompliance or extraordinary expense to comply with regulations may have an adverse effect on the value of our common stock and affect the financial position of the business.

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RISKS RELATED TO DOING BUSINESS IN CHINATHE PRC

 

U.S. financial regulatory and law enforcement agencies, including without limitation the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,SEC, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. national securities exchanges, have limited ability, and in fact may have no ability, to conduct investigations within the People’s Republic of ChinaPRC concerning theour Company, our PRC-based officers, directors, market research services or other professional services or experts.

A substantial part of our assets and our current operations are conducted in the PRC, and some of our officers, directors and other professional service providers are nationals and residents of China.the PRC. U.S. financial regulatory and law enforcement agencies, including without limitation the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”),SEC, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. national securities exchanges, have limited ability, and in fact may have no ability, to conduct investigations within the PRC concerning theour Company, and Chinathe PRC may have limited or no agreements in place to facilitate cooperation with the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for investigations within its jurisdiction.

 

Adverse changes in political, economic and other policies of the Chinese government could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China,the PRC, which could materially and adversely affect the growth of our business and our competitive position.

Our business operations are conducted in China.the PRC. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are affected significantly by economic, political and legal developments in China.the PRC. The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including:

 

.·the degree of government involvement;
.·the level of development;
.·the growth rate;
.·the control of foreign exchange;
.·the allocation of resources;
.·an evolving and rapidly changing regulatory system; and
.·a lack of sufficient transparency in the regulatory process.

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While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth in the past 30 years, growth has been uneven, both geographically and across various sectors of the economy. The Chinese economy has also experienced certain adverse effects due to the global financial crisis. In addition, the growth rate of China’sthe PRC’s gross domestic product has slowed in recent years to 6.7%6.6% in 2016 and 6.9% in 2017,2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may also have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments, foreign currency exchange restrictions or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us.

 

The Chinese economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy. Although in recent years the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of sound corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of the productive assets in Chinathe PRC is still owned by the Chinese government. The continued control of these assets and other aspects of the national economy by the Chinese government could materially and adversely affect our business. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over Chinese economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

 

Any adverse change in the economic conditions or government policies in Chinathe PRC could have a material adverse effect on overall economic growth, which in turn could lead to a reduction in demand for our products and consequently have a material adverse effect on our businesses.

 


Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the legal protections available to you and to us, which could cause material adverse effects to our business operations.

We conduct part of our business through our subsidiaries and VIEs in the PRC. Our subsidiaries and VIEs are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in Chinathe PRC and, in particular, laws applicable to foreign invested entities established in the PRC (“FIEs”).FIEs. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes, and prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, a series of new PRC laws and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China.the PRC. For example, on January 19, 2015, MOFCOM published a draft of the PRC law on Foreign Investment (Draft for Comment), of the Draft Foreign Investment Law, which was open for public comments until February 17, 2015. At the same time, MOFCOM published an accompanying explanatory note of the Draft Foreign Investment Law, or the Explanatory Note, which contains important information about the Draft Foreign Investment Law, including its drafting philosophy and principles, main content, plans to transition to the new legal regime and treatment of business in Chinathe PRC controlled by FIEs, primarily through contractual arrangements such as VIE arrangements.FIEs. The Draft Foreign Investment Law is intended to replace the current foreign investment legal regime consisting of three laws: the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-Invested Enterprise Law, as well as detailed implementing rules. The Draft Foreign Investment Law proposes significant changes to the PRC foreign investment legal regime and may have a material impact on Chinese companies listed or to be listed overseas. The proposed Draft Foreign Investment Law is to regulate FIEs the same way as PRC domestic entities, except for those FIEs that operate in industries deemed to be either “restricted” or “prohibited” in a “Negative List.” As the Negative List has yet to be published, it is unclear whether it will differ from the current list of industries subject to restrictions or prohibitions on foreign investment. The Draft Foreign Investment Law also provides that only FIEs operating in industries on the Negative List will require entry clearance and other approvals that are not required of PRC domestic entities. As a result of the entry clearance and approvals, certain FIEs operating in industries on the Negative List may not be able to continue to conduct their operations through contractual arrangements. Moreover, it is uncertain whether business industries in which our VIEs operate will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list”Negative List to be issued.

 

The Draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions will be taken with respect to the existing VIE structures, while it is soliciting comments from the public on this point by illustrating several possible options. Under these varied options, a company that has a VIE structure and conducts the business on the “negative list” at the time of enactment of the new Foreign Investment Law has either the option or obligation to disclose its corporate structure to the authorities, while the authorities may either permit the company to continue to maintain the VIE structure (if the company is deemed ultimately controlled by PRC nationals), or require the company to dispose of its businesses and/or VIE structure based on circumstantial considerations. The Draft Foreign Investment Law also provides that only FIEs operating in industries on the Negative List will require entry clearance and other approvals that are not required of PRC domestic entities. As a result of such entry clearance and approvals or certain restructuring of our corporate structure and operations, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure like us, we face substantial uncertainties as to whether these actions can be timely completed, or at all, and our business and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.


Although the overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investment in China, Chinathe PRC, the PRC has not developed a fully integrated legal system. Recently enacted laws, rules and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in Chinathe PRC or may be subject to significant degree of interpretation by PRC regulatory agencies and courts. Since the PRC legal system continues to evolve rapidly, the interpretations of many laws, regulations, and rules are not always uniform, and enforcement of these laws, regulations, and rules involve uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to you and to us. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, and which may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until after the occurrence of the violation.

 

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In addition, any litigation in Chinathe PRC may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management’s attention. In addition, some of our executive officers and directors are residents of Chinathe PRC and not of the United States, and substantially all the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it could be difficult for investors to affect service of process in the United States or to enforce a judgment obtained in the United States against our Chinese operations and entities.

We depend upon contractual arrangements with our VIEs for the success of our legacy YOD business and these arrangements may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership of these businesses and may be difficult to enforce.

Our operations are partially conducted in the PRC, where the PRC government restricts or prohibits foreign-owned enterprises from owning certain other operations in the PRC. Accordingly, we depend on our VIEs, in which we have no direct ownership interest, to provide those services through contractual agreements among the parties and to hold some of our assets. These arrangements may not be as effective in providing control over our operations through direct ownership of these businesses. Due to our VIE structure, we have to rely on contractual rights to effect control and management of our VIEs, which exposes us to the risk of potential breach of contract by the VIEs or their shareholders. A failure by our VIEs or their shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition. Furthermore, if the shareholders of our VIEs were involved in proceedings that had an adverse impact on their shareholder interests in such VIEs or on our ability to enforce relevant contracts related to the VIE structure, our legacy YOD business would be adversely affected.

As all of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through either arbitration or litigation in the PRC, they would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. We would have to rely for enforcement on legal remedies under PRC law, including specific performance, injunctive relief or damages, which might not be effective. As these PRC governmental authorities have wide discretion in granting such approvals, we could fail to obtain such approval. In addition, our VIE contracts might not be enforceable in China if PRC governmental authorities, courts or arbitral tribunals took the view that such contracts contravened PRC law or were otherwise not enforceable for public policy reasons. In the event we were unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we would not be able to exert effective control over our VIEs, and our ability to conduct our legacy YOD business, and our financial condition and results of operations, would be severely adversely affected.


You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us.

Most of our assets are located outside of the United States and a substantial part of our current operations are conducted in the PRC. In addition, some of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons is located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors, that are not residents in the United States and the substantial majority of whose assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts. Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. Courts in Chinathe PRC may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based on treaties between Chinathe PRC and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. ChinaThe PRC does not have any treaties or other arrangements that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments with the United States. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security, or the public interest. So it is uncertain whether a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered against us by a court in the United States.


The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities.

The PRC government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in Chinathe PRC may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, property, and other matters. We believe that our operations in Chinathe PRC are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations.

 

Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in Chinathe PRC or particular regions thereof and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties or joint ventures.

 

Our Resultsresults could be adversely affected by the trade tensions between the United States and Chinathe PRC.

 

With the increasing interconnectedness of global economic and financial systems and our business related to China,the PRC, trade tensions between the United States and Chinathe PRC can have an immediate and material adverse impact on our business. Changes to trade policies, treaties and tariffs in the jurisdictions in which we operate, or the perception that these changes could occur, could adversely affect our international and cross-border operations, our financial condition and results of operations. For example, the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has advocated greater restrictions on trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States, particularly from China.the PRC. Such trade restrictions or tariffs could cause U.S. companies to respond by minimizing their use of Chinese suppliers, thereby moving the supply chain away from China and limiting our competitive advantage in developing our logistics management and financing business. Further, the U.S. or Chinathe PRC could impose additional sanctions that could restrict us from doing business directly or indirectly in either country. Such actions could have material adverse impact on our profitability and operations.

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The enforcement of the PRC labor contract law may materially increase our costs and decrease our net income.

ChinaThe PRC adopted a new Labor Contract Law, effective on January 1, 2008, issued its implementation rules and regulations, effective on September 18, 2008, and amended the Labor Contract Law, effective on July 1, 2013. The Labor Contract Law and related rules and regulations impose more stringent requirements on employers with regard to, among other things, minimum wages, severance payment and non-fixed-term employment contracts, time limits for probation periods, as well as the duration and the times that an employee can be placed on a fixed-term employment contract. Due to the limited period of effectiveness of the Labor Contract Law, its implementation rules and regulations and its amendment, and the lack of clarity with respect to its implementation and the potential penalties and fines, it is uncertain how it will impact our current employment policies and practices. In particular, compliance with the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules and regulations may increase our operating expenses. In the event that we decide to terminate some of our employees or otherwise change our employment or labor practices, the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules and regulations may also limit our ability to effect those changes in a manner that we believe to be cost-effective or desirable, and could result in a material decrease in our profitability.

 

Future inflation in Chinathe PRC may inhibit our ability to conduct business in China.the PRC.

In recent years, the Chinese economy has experienced periods of rapid expansion, significant stock market volatility and highly fluctuating rates of inflation. These factors have led to the adoption by the Chinese government, from time to time, of various corrective measures designed to restrict the availability of credit or regulate growth and contain inflation. In 2010 and 2011, for example, the Chinese economy experienced high inflation and to curb the accelerating inflation, the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”), Chinathe PRC central bank, raised benchmark interest rates three times in 2011. High inflation may in the future cause the Chinese government to impose controls on credit and/or prices, or to take other action, which could inhibit economic activity in China,the PRC, and thereby harm the market for our products and services and our company.

 

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use cash generated from sales in the PRC to fund our sales effectively.business activities outside of the PRC

At present, a substantial part of our sales will be settled in RMB, and any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use revenue generated in RMB to fund any future business activities outside Chinathe PRC or to make dividend or other payments in U.S. dollars. Although the Chinese government introduced regulations in 1996 to allow greater convertibility of the RMB for current account transactions, significant restrictions still remain, including primarily the restriction that FIEs may only buy, sell or remit foreign currencies after providing valid commercial documents, at those banks in Chinathe PRC authorized to conduct foreign exchange business. In addition, foreign exchange transactions under the capital account remain subject to limitations and require approvals from, or registration with, SAFE and other relevant PRC governmental authorities and companies are required to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account items. This could affect our ability to obtain foreign currency through debt or equity financing for our subsidiaries and the variable interest entities.VIEs. Recent volatility in the RMB foreign exchange rate as well as capital flight out of Chinathe PRC may lead to further foreign exchange restrictions and policies or practices which adversely affect our operations and ability to convert RMB. We cannot be certain that the Chinese regulatory authorities will not impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the RMB.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities.

The value of our common stock will be indirectly affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB and between those currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars, as well as earnings from, and the value of, any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.

Since July 2005, the RMB has no longer been pegged to the U.S. dollar. Although the People’s Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, the RMB may appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.

 

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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. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.

Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

At present, part of our sales are earned by our PRC operating entities. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make dividends and other payments to their offshore parent companies. PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries are also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of their annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC GAAP to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in said fund reaches 50% of their registered capital. Allocations to these statutory reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes and are not transferable to us in the form of loans, advances, or cash dividends. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to transfer funds to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

Failure to comply with PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability, limit our ability to acquire PRC companies or to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us or otherwise materially adversely affect us.

SAFE has promulgated several regulations, including the Notice Concerning Foreign Exchange Controls on Domestic Residents’ Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles (“Circular 75”), effective on November 1, 2005, and the Circular on Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration Over the Overseas Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment by Domestic Residents Via Special Purpose Vehicles (“Circular 37”), effective on July 4, 2015, which replaced Circular 75. Under Circular 37, PRC residents must register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity for the purpose of holding domestic or offshore assets or interests, referred to as a “special purpose vehicle” in Circular 37. In addition, amendments to the registration must be made in the event of any material change, such as an increase or decrease in share capital contributed by the individual PRC resident shareholder, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. Failure to comply with the specified registration procedures may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant PRC entity, including the payment of dividends and other distributions to its offshore parent, as well as restrictions on capital inflows from the offshore entity to the PRC entity. Further, failure to comply with the SAFE registration requirements may result in penalties under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange regulations.

 

We have asked our shareholders who are PRC residents as defined in Circular 37 and related rules to register with the relevant branch of SAFE, as currently required, in connection with their equity interests in us and our acquisitions of equity interests in our PRC subsidiaries. However, we cannot provide any assurances that they can obtain the above SAFE registrations required by Circular 37 and related rules. Moreover, because Circular 37 is newly issued, there is uncertainty over how Circular 37 and related rules will be interpreted and implemented and how or whether SAFE will apply it to us, and we cannot predict how it will affect our business operations or future strategies. For example, our present and prospective PRC subsidiaries’ ability to conduct foreign exchange activities, such as the remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings, may be subject to compliance with Circular 37 and related rules by our PRC resident beneficial holders. In addition, such PRC residents may not always be able to complete the necessary registration procedures required by Circular 37 and related rules. We have little control over either our present or prospective direct or indirect shareholders or the outcome of such registration procedures.

 

We may be unable to complete a business combination transaction efficiently or on favorable terms due to complicated merger and acquisition regulations which became effective on September 8, 2006.

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”), promulgated the Regulation on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended in June 2009. This regulation, among other things, governs the approval process by which a PRC company may participate in an acquisition of assets or equity interests. Depending on the structure of the transaction, the regulation will require the PRC parties to make a series of applications and supplemental applications to the government agencies. In some instances, the application process may require the presentation of economic data concerning a transaction, including appraisals of the target business and evaluations of the acquirer, which are designed to allow the government to assess the transaction. Government approvals will have expiration dates by which a transaction must be completed and reported to the government agencies. Compliance with the regulation is likely to be more time consuming and expensive than in the past and the government can now exert more control over the combination of two businesses. Accordingly, due to the regulation, our ability to engage in business combination transactions has become significantly more complicated, time consuming and expensive, and we may not be able to negotiate a transaction that is acceptable to our shareholders or sufficiently protect their interests in a transaction.

 

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The regulation allows PRC government agencies to assess the economic terms of a business combination transaction. Parties to a business combination transaction may have to submit to MOFCOM and other relevant government agencies an appraisal report, an evaluation report and the acquisition agreement, all of which form part of the application for approval, depending on the structure of the transaction. The regulation also prohibits a transaction at an acquisition price obviously lower than the appraised value of the PRC business or assets, and in certain transaction structures, may require that consideration be paid within defined periods, generally not in excess of a year. The regulation also limits our ability to negotiate various terms of the acquisition, including aspects of the initial consideration, contingent consideration, holdback provisions, indemnification provisions and provisions relating to the assumption and allocation of assets and liabilities. Transaction structures involving trusts, nominees and similar entities are prohibited. Therefore, such regulation may impede our ability to negotiate and complete a business combination transaction on financial terms that satisfy our investors and protect our shareholders’ economic interests.

 

Our existing contractual arrangements with Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective shareholders may be subject to national security review by MOFCOM, and the failure to receive the national security review could have a material adverse effect on our legacy YOD business and operating results.

In August 2011, MOFCOM promulgated the Rules of Ministry of Commerce on Implementation of Security Review System of Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (the “Security Review Rules”) to implement the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Establishing the Security Review System for Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated on February 3, 2011 (“Circular 6”). The Security Review Rules became effective on September 1, 2011. Under the Security Review Rules, a national security review is required for certain mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors raising concerns regarding national defense and security. Foreign investors are prohibited from circumventing the national security review requirements by structuring transactions through proxies, trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions. The application and interpretation of the Security Review Rules remain unclear. Based on our understanding of the Security Review Rules, we do not need to submit our existing contractual arrangements with Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective shareholders to the MOFCOM for national security review because, among other reasons, (i) we gained de facto control over Sinotop Beijing in 2010 prior to the effectiveness of Circular 6 and the Security Review Rules; and (ii) there are currently no explicit provisions or official interpretations indicating that our current businesses fall within the scope of national security review. Although we have no plan to submit our existing contractual arrangements with Sinotop Beijing and its shareholders to MOFCOM for national security review, the relevant PRC government agencies, such as MOFCOM, may reach a different conclusion. If MOFCOM or another PRC regulatory agency subsequently determines that we need to submit our existing contractual arrangements with Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective shareholders for national security review by interpretation, clarification or amendment of the Security Review Rules or by any new rules, regulations or directives promulgated, we may face sanctions by MOFCOM or another PRC regulatory agency. These sanctions may include revoking the business or operating licenses of our PRC entities, discontinuing or restricting our operations in China, confiscating our income or the income of Sinotop Beijing and SSF, and taking other regulatory or enforcement actions, such as levying fines, that could be harmful to our business. Any of these sanctions could cause significant disruption to our legacy YOD business operations.

The Security Review Rules may make it more difficult for us to make future acquisitions or dispositions of our business operations or assets in China.the PRC.

The Security Review Rules, effective as of September 1, 2011, provide that when deciding whether a specific merger or acquisition of a domestic enterprise by foreign investors is subject to the national security review by MOFCOM, the principle of substance-over-form should be applied. Foreign investors are prohibited from circumventing the national security review requirement by structuring transactions through proxies, trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions. If the business of any target company that we plan to acquire falls within the scope of national security review, we may not be able to successfully acquire such company by equity or asset acquisition, capital increase or even through any contractual arrangement.

 


Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in that dividends payable to our foreign investor and gains on sale of our common stock by our foreign investors may become subject to PRC taxation.

On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China passed a new Enterprise Income Tax Lawlaw (the “EIT Law”), and on November 28, 2007, the State Council of China passed its implementing rules, which took effect on January 1, 2008. Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of Chinathe PRC with “de facto management bodies” within Chinathe PRC is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define de facto management as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise.

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On April 22, 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Notice Concerning Relevant Issues Regarding Cognizance of Chinese Investment Controlled Enterprises Incorporated Offshore as Resident Enterprises pursuant to Criteria of de facto Management Bodies (the “Notice”), further interpreting the application of the EIT Law and its implementation non-Chinese enterprise or group controlled offshore entities. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or group will be classified as a “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise” if (i) its senior management in charge of daily operations reside or perform their duties mainly in China;the PRC; (ii) its financial or personnel decisions are made or approved by bodies or persons in China;the PRC; (iii) its substantial assets and properties, accounting books, corporate chops, board and shareholder minutes are kept in China;the PRC; and (iv) at least half of its directors with voting rights or senior management often reside in China.the PRC. A resident enterprise would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and must pay a withholding tax at a rate of 10% when paying dividends to its non-PRC shareholders that do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC or which have such establishment or place of business but the dividends are not effectively connected with such establishment or place of business, to the extent such dividends are derived from sources within the PRC. Similarly, any gains realized on the transfer of our shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10%, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in relevant tax treaties, if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Notice is applicable to an offshore enterprise incorporated by a Chinese natural person. Detailed measures on the imposition of tax from non-domestically incorporated resident enterprises are not readily available. Therefore, it is unclear how tax authorities will determine tax residency based on the facts of each case.

 

We may be deemed to be a resident enterprise by Chinese tax authorities. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. In our case, this would mean that income such as interest on financing proceeds and non-Chinanon-PRC source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Second, although under the EIT Law and its implementing rules dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income,” we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation in which a 10% withholding tax is imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC shareholders from transferring our shares.

 

If we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both the United States and China,the PRC, and our PRC tax may not be creditable against our U.S. tax.

 

Heightened scrutiny of acquisition transactions by PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on our business operations or the value of your investment in us.

Pursuant to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises (“SAT Circular 698”), effective on January 1, 2008, and the Announcement on Several Issues Related to Enterprise Income Tax for Indirect Asset Transfer by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises (“SAT Announcement 7”), effective on February 3, 2015, issued by the SAT, if a non-resident enterprise transfers the equity interests of or similar rights or interests in overseas companies which directly or indirectly own PRC taxable assets through an arrangement without a reasonable commercial purpose resulting in the avoidance of PRC corporate income taxes, such a transaction may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of PRC taxable assets subject to PRC corporate income tax. SAT Announcement 7 specifies certain factors that should be considered in determining whether an indirect transfer has a reasonable commercial purpose. However, as SAT Announcement 7 is newly issued, there is uncertainty as to its application and the interpretation of the term “reasonable commercial purpose.” In addition, under SAT Announcement 7, the entity which has the obligation to pay the consideration for the transfer to the transferring shareholders has the obligation to withhold any PRC corporate income tax that is due. If the transferring shareholders do not pay corporate income tax that is due for a transfer and the entity which has the obligation to pay the consideration does not withhold the tax due, the PRC tax authorities may impose a penalty on the entity that so fails to withhold, which may be relieved or exempted from the withholding obligation and any resulting penalty under certain circumstances if it reports such transfer to the PRC tax authorities.

 


As SAT Circular 698 and SAT Announcement 7 are relatively new and there is uncertainty over their application, we and our non-PRC resident investors may be subject to being taxed under Circular 698 and SAT Announcement 7 and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 698 and SAT Announcement 7 or to establish that we or our non-PRC resident investors should not be taxed under Circular 698 and SAT Announcement 7, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We may be subject to fines and legal sanctions if we or our employees who are PRC citizens fail to comply with PRC regulations relating to employee share options.

Under the Administration Measures on Individual Foreign Exchange Control issued by the PBOC and the related Implementation Rules issued by the SAFE, all foreign exchange transactions involving an employee share incentive plan, share option plan or similar plan participated in by PRC citizens may be conducted only with the approval of the SAFE. Under the Notice of Issues Related to the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Listed Company (“Offshore Share Incentives Rule”), issued by the SAFE on February 15, 2012, PRC citizens who are granted share options, restricted share units or restricted shares by an overseas publicly listed company are required to register with the SAFE or its authorized branch and comply with a series of other requirements. The Offshore Share Incentives Rule also provides procedures for registration of incentive plans, the opening and use of special accounts for the purpose of participation in incentive plans, and the remittance of funds for exercising options and gains realized from such exercises and sales of such options or the underlying shares, both outside and inside the PRC. We, and any of our PRC employees or members of our board of directorsBoard who have been granted share options, restricted share units or restricted shares, are subject to the Administration Measures on Individual Foreign Exchange Control, the related Implementation Rules, and the Offshore Share Incentives Rule. If we, or any of our PRC employees or members of our board of directorsBoard who receive or hold options, restricted share units or restricted shares in us or any of our subsidiaries, fail to comply with these registration and other procedural requirements, we may be subject to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

 

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption laws, and any determination that we violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (“FCPA”) and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations and agreements with third parties, and make most of our sales in China.the PRC. The PRC also strictly prohibits bribery of government officials. Our activities in Chinathe PRC create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our Company, which may not always be subject to our control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. However, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the U.S. government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

Our operations in foreign countries are subject to risks that could adversely impact our financial results, such as economic or political volatility, foreign legal and regulatory requirements, international trade factors (export controls, trade sanctions, duties, tariff barriers and other restrictions), protection of our proprietary technology in certain countries, potentially burdensome taxes, crime, employee turnover, staffing, managing personnel in diverse culture, labor instability, transportation delays, and foreign currency fluctuations.


If we become directly subject to the recent 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.

Over the past several years, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China,the PRC, particularly companies like ours 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 aroundis in connection with 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. As a result of 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. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effectaffect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our company,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 not, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our company.Company. This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from growing our company.Company.

 

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The disclosures in our reports and other filings with the SEC and our other public announcements are not subject to the scrutiny of any regulatory bodies in the PRC. Accordingly, our public disclosure should be reviewed in light of the fact that no governmental agency that is located in China,the PRC, where part of our operations and business are located, has conducted any due diligence on our operations or reviewed or cleared any of our disclosure.

We are regulated by the SEC and our reports and other filings with the SEC are subject to SEC review in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Unlike public reporting companies whose operations are located primarily in the United States, however, substantially all of our operations are located in China,the PRC, Hong Kong and Singapore. Since substantially all of our operations and business takes place outside of United States, it may be more difficult for the staff of the SEC to overcome the geographic and cultural obstacles that are present when reviewing our disclosure. These same obstacles are not present for similar companies whose operations or business take place entirely or primarily in the United States. Furthermore, our SEC reports and other disclosure and public announcements are not subject to the review or scrutiny of any PRC regulatory authority. For example, the disclosure in our SEC reports and other filings are not subject to the review of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”), a PRC regulator that is tasked with oversight of the capital markets in China.CSRC. Accordingly, you should review our SEC reports, filings and our other public announcements with the understanding that no local regulator has done any due diligence on our companyCompany and with the understanding that none of our SEC reports, other filings or any of our other public announcements has been reviewed or otherwise been scrutinized by any local regulator.

 


RISKS RELATED TO THE MARKET FOR OUR STOCK

 

The market price of our common stock is volatile, leading to the possibility of its value being depressed at a time when you may want to sell your holdings.

TheThe market price of our common stock is volatile, and this volatility may continue. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control or are not discernible or determinable by theour Company, may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly. In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our common stock may be highly volatile for specific business reasons. Factors such as variations in our revenues, earnings and cash flow, announcements of new investments, cooperation arrangements or acquisitions, and fluctuations in market prices for our products could cause the market price for our shares to change substantially.

 

Securities class action litigation is often instituted against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs to us and divert our management’s attention and resources.

 

Moreover, the trading market for our common stock will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock, the market price for our common stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price for our common stock or trading volume to decline.

 

The market price of our common stock could be also subject to volatility if the value of our business and common stock is viewed as being linked to the price and value of digital assets. If investors view our business and the value of our common stock as dependent upon or linked to the value or growth of digital assets, whether or not tokenized on our blockchain platforms, the price of such digital assets may influence significantly the market price of shares of our common stock.

Furthermore, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations for reasons unrelated to operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our common stock and other interests in our companyCompany at a time when you want to sell your interest in us.

 

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Although publicly traded, the trading market in our common stock has been substantially less liquid than the average trading market for a stock quoted on the Nasdaq Stock Market and this low trading volume may adversely affect the price of our common stock.

Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The trading volume of our common stock has been comparatively low compared to other companies listed on Nasdaq. Limited trading volume will subject our shares of common stock to greater price volatility and may make it difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at a price that is attractive to you.

 

Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws or Nevada law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of us or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of theour common stock.

Our articles of incorporation authorize our Board of Directors to issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by the Board of Directors without further action by the shareholders. These terms may include preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock, and therefore could reduce the value of such common stock. In addition, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock could make it more difficult, delay, discourage, prevent or make it costlier to acquire or effect a change-in-control, which in turn could prevent our shareholders from recognizing a gain in the event that a favorable offer is extended and could materially and negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

 

In addition, Section 78.438 of the Nevada Revised Statutes prohibits a publicly-held Nevada corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder (generally defined as a person which together with its affiliates owns, or within the last three years has owned, 10% of our voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder) unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. The existence of the foregoing provisions and other potential anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our Company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

Certain of our shareholders hold a significant percentage of our outstanding voting securities.

AsAs of August 10, 2018, Wecast Media Investment Management Limited, Seven Stars Global Cloud Group Limited, Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited and affiliates (controlled by ourMarch 11, 2020, Our Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wu) areDr. Wu, is the beneficial owners of approximately 42.0%18.8% of our outstanding voting securities (through their ownership of the Common Stock and 100% our Series A Preferred Stock, which entitle the holder to cast ten votes for every share of common stock that is issuable upon conversion of a share of Series A Preferred Stock (each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into 0.1333333 shares of common stock), or a total of 9,333,330 votes). Mr. Shane McMahon, our Vice Chairman, is the beneficial owner of approximately 7.6%3.4% of our outstanding voting securities, and our former director Mr. Xuesong Song and C Media Limited (of which Mr. Song is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) are the beneficial owners of approximately 7.3% of our outstanding voting securities. (as calculated in accordance with Rule 13d-3(d)(1) of the Exchange Act). As a result, each possesses significant influence over the election of our directors and the authorization of any proposed significant corporate transactions. Their respective ownership and control may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a future change in control, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer.

 

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock or Series A preferred stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our Board deems relevant. In addition, our ability to declare and pay dividends is dependent on our ability to declare dividends and profits in our PRC subsidiaries. PRC rules greatly restrict and limit the ability of our subsidiaries to declare dividends to us which, in addition to restricting our cash flow, limits our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC—Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.”

 


Even if we are able to pay dividends on our common stock or Series A preferred stock, our Board may choose not to declare dividends on our capital stock. In addition, financing agreements that we may enter into in the future may limit our ability to pay cash dividends. Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities.

The value of our common stock will be indirectly affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB and between those currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars, as well as earnings from, and the value of, any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.

Since July 2005, the RMB has no longer been pegged to the U.S. dollar. Although the PBOC regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, the RMB may appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.

Very limited hedging transactions are available in the PRC to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.

ITEM 1B.28UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 Table of Contents

PART IIThe Company has no unresolved Staff Comments

 

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES

In 2018, we relocated our principal executive office from Beijing, China to New York, New York. We lease our principal executive office, which is located at 55 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10006. We lease an approximately 6,085 square foot office space in Beijing, China, which is used by both our Mobile Energy Group Services business unit and legacy YOD business for our PRC-based operations. In October 2018, we completed the $5.2 million acquisition of a 58-acre property located at 1700 & 1800 Asylum Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut, which was formerly part of the University of Connecticut campus and will be the site of our new “Fintech Village.”

Except for FinTech Village, the Company believes that all its properties have been adequately maintained, are generally in good condition, and are suitable and adequate for our business.

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 19 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements under Item 8, which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.


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

Market Price Information

The Company’s common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “IDEX.” Trading of the Company’s common stock is sometimes limited and sporadic. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low closing bid prices of the Company’s common stock.

  Closing Bid Prices 
  High  Low 
Year Ended December 31, 2019        
1st Quarter $2.07  $1.13 
2nd Quarter $2.46  $1.28 
3rd Quarter $2.80  $1.46 
4th Quarter $1.59  $0.66 
         
Year Ended December 31, 2018        
1st Quarter $4.97  $1.46 
2nd Quarter $3.15  $1.79 
3rd Quarter $5.42  $1.78 
4th Quarter $3.93  $1.14 

Approximate Number of Holders of Our Common Stock

As of March 12, 2020, there were approximately 393 holders of record of the Company’s common stock. This number excludes the shares of the Company’s common stock beneficially owned by shareholders holding stock in securities trading accounts through DTC, or under nominee security position listings.

Dividend Policy

The Company has never declared or paid a cash dividend. Any future decisions regarding dividends will be made by the Company’s Board. The Company currently intends to retain and use any future earnings for the development and expansion of the business and does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company’s Board has complete discretion on whether to pay dividends, subject to the approval of the Company’s shareholders. Even if the Company’s Board decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, the Company’s ability to declare and pay dividends is dependent on the Company’s ability to declare dividends and profits in the PRC subsidiaries. PRC rules greatly restrict and limit the ability of the Company’s subsidiaries to declare dividends which, in addition to restricting the Company’s cash flow, limits its ability to pay dividends to its shareholders.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See Part III—Item 12—Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters—“Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.”

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

The Company did not sell any equity securities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 that were not previously disclosed in a quarterly report on Form 10-Q or a current report on Form 8-K that was filed during the 2019 fiscal year.

Purchases of Equity Securities

No repurchases of the Company’s common stock were made in the year ended December 31, 2019.

ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not Applicable.


PART II

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

The following management’s discussion and analysis is presented in five sections as below and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto and the other financial information appearing elsewhere in this report.report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical information, the following discussion contains certain forward-looking information. See “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” above for certain information concerning those forward-looking statements.

 

·Overview
·Results of Operations
·Liquidity and Capital Resources
·Outlook
·Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Overview

OVERVIEW

 

Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSC)(Nasdaq: IDEX) was incorporated in the State of Nevada on October 19, 2004. SinceFrom 2010 it has been athrough 2017, our primary business activities were providing premium content Video On Demandvideo on demand (“VOD”) services, provider with primary operations in the People’s Republic of ChinaPRC, through itsour subsidiaries and variable interest entities. It provided premium content and integrated value-added service solutions forentities under the delivery of VOD and paid video programming to digital cable providers, Internet Protocol Televisionbrand name You-on-Demand (“IPTV”YOD”) providers, Over-the-Top (“OTT”) streaming providers, mobile manufacturers and operators, as well as direct customers.. We closed the YOD business during 2019.

 

Starting fromin early 2017, it is aimingthe Company transitioned its business model to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered, Fintechnext-generation financial technology (“fintech”) company. By providing and managing an infrastructure and environment that facilitates the transformation of traditional financial markets such as commodities, currency and credit into the asset digitalization era, SSC hopes to provide asset owners and holders a seamless method and platform for digital asset securitization, tokenization and trading. Separately, SSC is aiming to offer a closed supply chain trading ecosystem for corporate buyers and sellers designed to eliminate standard transactional intermediaries and create a more direct and margin-expanding path for principals.

2017 has been a year of transition from the Company’s legacy business to the Company’s new business.

Pertaining to the Company’s efforts to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered, Fintech company, in early Q1 2017, the Company completed the acquisition of Sun Video Group HK Limited ("SVG"), which had a 51% ownership stake in M.Y. Products, LLC ("MYP"), a global, smart supply chain management operator. Functioning as a global smart supply chain management company, the acquisition was consummated in an effort to support the Company's brand licensing and video commerce business with B2B services. With the aforementioned service offerings under one roof, the Company could now provide Chinese manufacturers the opportunity to improve profitability within the distribution chain and allowing manufacturers to capture more robust margins as well as reapportioning cost savings to marketing and branding, thereby improving revenue volume.

Also in early February 2017, the Company announced it had acquired 55% of Wide Angle Group Limited ("WAG"). Coupling WAG's capabilities and offerings with those already existing under the SVG/MYP deal, including Supply Chain Management, Manufacturer Sourcing, Supply Chain Financing, VR (virtual reality)-Enabled Commerce Technology and AI-driven Big Data Technology Management, the Company was seeking to creating a diversified and robust business division, separate from the VOD business. 

For 2017, through the acquisition and operation of the SVG and WAG the two current revenue sources were initiated. They are supply chain management & structured finance and alternative finance & carry trade businesses. The Company is currently primarily engaged with consumer electronics and smart supply chain management operations. Our end customers include about 15 to 20 corporations across the world. Starting from October 2017, through partnership with another business partner, our newly controlled Singapore joint venture has been conducting oil trading businessbuilt a network of businesses, operating principally in Singapore. Other than the trading business that Company already operated in 2017, the Company also intends to run the engine upon its Venus blockchain based platform, which includes TPaaS & VPaaS system. As of fourth quarter of 2017, TPaaS system went into trial operation. A significant portion of our operations will consist of these new lines of business, however since these are new business lines, customer demand is in the process of being validated, and the global regulatory environment is constantly adapting to these new fintech products and technologies. As a result, it is not possible to make a definitive prediction on the rate of growth and profitability of these operations at this time. These services will be offered globally from our New York and China offices.

As part of our overall strategy, the Company is focused on trying to establish 4 digital asset product categories which are expected to trade on 4 digital asset global trading platforms and exchanges and are expected to be distributed and monetized through 4 digital asset global partner sales and monetization networks.

The 4 digital asset product categories are expected to be (i) financial, (ii) vertical industry, (iii) consumer and (iv) media. The products within these groups are in development and are expected to represent new digital financial assets that can be used for store of value, application platform-based transactions, supply chain transactions, transaction incentivization, and general payments. By nature, their storage and transactability in the various use cases that they are created and are expected to produce new value and fungibility with other digital assets and in some cases, fiat currency.

The 4 digital asset global trading platforms and exchanges are expected to be:

i.Global Financial Digital Asset Exchange Groups

ii.Global Vertical Industry Digital Asset Exchange Groups

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iii.Global Consumer Digital Asset Exchange Groups

iv.Global Media Digital Asset Exchange Groups

Our digital asset trading platforms are expected to represent owned and partner exchanges that will support our digital asset products.

The 4 digital asset global partner sales and monetization networks are expected to be:

i.GenXPlus (rebranded from NextGen X)

ii.Redrock Global Capital

iii.Partnerships with highly scalable, transparent and decentralized digital asset exchange platforms

iv.Launch of scalable, transparent and decentralized financial exchange platforms

The Company’s global partner sales and monetization networks are expected to enable the unlocking of value through fractionalization, tokenization and securitization of assets in digital form.

Our digital asset trading platforms are expected to represent owned and partner exchanges that will support our digital asset products.

In support of the Company’s overall strategy, in August, 2017, the Company subscribed to a strategic investment of US$250,000 in the Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”) to acquire 187,970 common shares. DBOT is an SEC recognized Alternative Trading System, which SSC believes can be developed into a distributed network. On December 18, 2017, the Company subscribed for another 27% purchase of DBOT, which would make the Company the largest shareholder of DBOT, and as part of this purchase, the Company’s President, Robert G. Benya, is expected to become a DBOT Board Director. DBOT (http://dbottrading.com/) operates three business lines: (i) DBOT ATS LLC, a FINRA Member Firm, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") and an SEC recognized fully automated, auto-execution Alternative Trading System ("ATS"); (ii) DBOT Issuer Services LLC, focused on setting and maintaining issuer standards, as well as the provision of issuer services to DBOT designated issuers; and (iii) DBOT Technology Services LLC, focused on the provision of market data and marketplace connectivity. These transactions are still pending and have not yet closed. These transactions will not close until DBOT gets FINRA’s approval. We will not be able to consolidate the results of DBOT.

DBOT  is an SEC recognized Alternative Trading System which SSC believes can be developed into its main distributed network. The system is run on a customized private Ethereum blockchain distributed ledger system that enables the issuance, trading, and settlement of financial assets. All financial transactions on the DBOT platform are recorded on a the customized private Ethereum blockchain. DBOT ATS scales to millions of executions per second and includes the following capabilities:

·SMART CONTRACTS. Smart contracts are utilized as part of the securities creation process on the system. When a security is added, a corresponding asset is added to the blockchain for tracking shareholder’s transaction and records. Real-time reconciliation of trades using smart contracts. Settle and clear between counterparties, peer to peer for locking-in trades and for daily real-time settlement.

·BLOCKCHAIN WALLETS that support smart contract settlement, smart contract for asset holdings, multi signature, distributed wallet security, and offline storage

·CENTRAL LIMIT ORDER BOOK. Processing – A centralized core process that receives market data and manages orders. This process determines if there are any crossing opportunities and executes crossing. This process is responsible for routing the order or resting it in the internal books.

·MARKET DATA TICKER PLANT. Processing – Receives market data from external venues for all asset classes and normalizes the data in to an internal format and feeds it to the book.

·INBOUND GATEWAY AND OUTBOUND GATEWAY. Processing – Gateways are used for inbound customer connectivity and outbound venue connectivity. The gateways support FIX and a binary proprietary application interface.

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·DIGITAL LEDGER TRADE REPORTING. The trade reporting engine receives updates on internal crosses and reports these to trade reporting facilities (TRF) and private or public blockchain deployment.

·TRADE SURVEILLANCE. The system includes real-time alerting for protection and monitoring of the technology system

Also, in support of the Company’s overall strategy, on October 19, 2017 the Company announced an agreement to establish a Joint Venture, BBD Digital Capital Group Ltd ("BDCG"), with management partners Tiger Sports Media Limited and Seasail Ventures Limited, ("Seasail") an affiliate of parent company BBD (https://en.bbdservice.com/introduction). The BDCG will focus on artificial intelligence-driven financial data services as well as transactional platforms for index, futures and derivative trading, for both global commodity and energy clients. By leveraging Seasail's technology, BDCG will look to capitalize on commodity and energy provider's needs for more precise risk management services, more informed operational planning and more strategic decision-making, specifically as they all relate to the trading of index, futurespetroleum products and commodities. In December 2017,electronic component that the Company acquired 20% equity interest of BDCGbelieved had significant potential to recognize benefits from Tiger Sports Media Limited, which gaveblockchain and AI technologies including, for example, enhancing operations, addressing cost inefficiencies, improving documentation and standardization, unlocking asset value and improving customer engagement. During 2018 the Company 60% total equity interest,ceased operations in the petroleum products and BDCG would become one subsidiaryelectronic components trading businesses and disposed of the Company. The valuation report of BDCG was received post- signing of the BDCG Purchase Agreement with both parties agreeingbusinesses during 2019. Fintech continues to be a priority for us as we look to invest in and develop businesses that there is no obligation to close the Transaction until a satisfactory valuation report has been received, evaluated and approved by the Company’s Audit Committee. On April 24, 2018, the Audit Committee approved the satisfactory valuation report provided by an independent third party and closed this transaction.

In early December 2016, in order to offset losses from a high upfront minimum guarantee licensing fees to studios, the Company announced a change to its business model with the Yanhua Operating Partnership, where Yanhua will act as the exclusive distribution operator (within the territory of the People's Republic of China) of the Company's licensed library of major studio films. The Yanhua Partnership modified and improved the Company's legacy major studio paid content business model by moving from a framework that included high and fixed cost upfront minimum guarantee payments, rising content costs from major Hollywood studios and low margins to a structure that will now include relatively nominal costs to the Company, upfront minimum guarantee payments to the Company and the opportunity to reach an even wider audience. With this partnership, Yanhua assumed all sales and marketing costs and will pay the Company a minimum guarantee in exchange for a percentage of the total revenue share. This completely transformed the legacy business by mitigating or removing the possibility of continuing to operate at a loss yet still providing the Company with the opportunity to benefit from revenue upside based on the Yanhua Partnership's success.

SSC still runs its legacy YOD business with limited resources and plans to continue to run its legacy YOD business through its Yanhua Operating Partnership, where Yanhua will act as the exclusive distribution operator (within the territory of the People's Republic of China) of the Company's licensed library of major studio films.. SSC launched its legacy VOD service through the acquisition of YOD Hong Kong (formerly Sinotop Group Limited) on July 30, 2010, through its subsidiary China CB Cayman. Through a series of contractual arrangements, YOD WFOE, the subsidiary of YOD Hong Kong, controls Sinotop Beijing, a corporation established in the PRC. Sinotop Beijing was the 80% owner of Zhong Hai Media until June 30, 2017, through which we provided: 1) integrated value–added business–to–business (“B2B”) service solutions for the delivery of VOD and enhanced premium content for digital cable; 2) integrated value–added business–to–business–to–customer (“B2B2C”) service solutions for the delivery of VOD and enhanced premium content for IPTV and OTT providers and; 3) a direct to user, or B2C, mobile video service app. The disposal of Zhong Hai Media is further described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.

The Company has strategically secured a management team with diversified expertise in operations, technology, fintech, blockchain, AI, capital markets andcan improve the financial services industry.

The Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bruno Wu is an experienced investor, technology and media entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Dr. Wu has been actively involved with blockchain based and big data technologies since October 2011. After four years of investment and research, in 2015, Dr. Wu and his companies proceededindustry, particularly as it relates to execute the strategy of becoming a leader in fintech and asset digitization services by aggregating AI,deploying blockchain and other big dataAI technologies. As we looked to deploy fintech solutions in late 2018 and Cloud based technologies, carefully sourced and selected oninto 2019, we found a global basis through joint ventures and partnerships. These partnerships focus on customizing and enabling actual business use case applications. Dr. Wu actively participatedunique opportunity in the build outChinese Electric Vehicle (EV) industry to facilitate large scale conversion of the worlds leading big data hub in Guiyang, China, particularly by endorsing the integration with AI and blockchain. Currently Dr. Wu has committed to transforming the Company into a flagship for fintech and asset digitization services, with multiple use case technologyfleet vehicles from internal combustion engines to be rolled out.

The Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Federico Tovar, is a seasonedEV. This led us to establish our Mobile Energy Global (MEG) business professional and subject matter expert in AI, FinTech, Blockchain, IoT and cybersecurity. He was previously the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Global Data Sentinel Inc, a privately held and high growth cybersecurity and AI technology company that supports data security across domains, including network, Cloud, mobile and IoT, with AI capabilities and next-generation applications in Blockchain, FinTech, energy, insurance, healthcare, and media industries, amongst others. He previously was a Director at Grant Thornton LLP, where he was responsible for advisory assignments during the global financial crisis, advising global private equity firms, hedge funds, and other large-scale financial institutions and insurance companies on their investment portfolios and matters related to complex financial instruments, derivatives, and other hard to price securities. In addition, he was part of large-scale and global multidisciplinary audit assignments involving companies in the United States, Europe and Asia, and served as a subject matter expert to audit teams on various Fair Value and IFRS matters. He also spent time with Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance practice in New York, where he provided M&A, valuation, and corporate restructuring advisory to large-scale Fortune 500 technology companies. He started his career in strategy and management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, exposing him to technology and innovation early on in his career, advising some of the world’s largest private and government organizations. In addition, he spent time at the World Bank, working closely on fixed income securities and debt instruments with Central Banks and Finance Ministers across emerging markets in Asia and Latin America.unit.

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Mr. Tovar has managed corporate, financial reporting, legal and investor relations matters, along with all daily operations and fiduciary duties at the executive and board level; including financial reporting and accounting pursuant to GAAP and IFRS, as well as tax and international transfer pricing matters across foreign tax jurisdictions. Mr. Tovar has developed strategic plans and business models, structured various intellectual property and technology licensing deals, closed on various M&A transactions and debt and equity financing rounds, and formulated corporate growth and financial strategies for technology companies which have resulted in measurable execution strategies. He is a seasoned finance professional and entrepreneur in the technology ecosystem, and a subject matter expert in FinTech, Blockchain, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity.

Chad Arroyo, the Company’s Chief Marketing Officer, is well-versed in blockchain technology, its uses in fintech platforms, financial transactions and various technology implementations on both public and private blockchain systems, and has developed operational and systems level experience in transaction management, order routing and management, digital securities, issuers services and funding portal operations, custodial wallet management, exchange operations, KYC/AML procedures.

Mr. Arroyo was deeply involved with marketing as well as general consulting and project management for Fundamental Interactions and the Delaware Board of Trade that together deliver a suite of blockchain capabilities for the issuance, trading and settlement of digital assets. Mr. Arroyo was previously a startup cofounder of SaaS-based platforms that were designed to integrate 3rd party payment and reporting systems for B2B transactions. Mr. Arroyo has worked with startups that are developing fintech solutions and has gained substantial experience in enterprise technology systems design, development and implementation through his experience as a Deloitte Technology Strategy Consultant as well as during his military career where he specialized in Defense telecommunications following his graduation from the US Naval Academy.

The Company notes that in addition to its own management expertise, additional fintech services managerial expertise comes directly from the company’s partnership relationships, including joint ventures as well as control and non-control investments of the Company which have created a confluent strategic scenario of leadership experience and proficiency.

For example, Dr. George Yuan is the Chief Technology Officer of BDG Digital Capital Group, a subsidiary of the Company (“BDCG”). Dr. Yuan is a world leading expert with a focus on dynamic ontology for credit risk assessment and risk management. He served as the leader for risk management consulting at KPMG (US) and the Director of China / Hong Kong Deloitte Financial Consulting. Dr. Yuan was selected as a National Distinguished Expert in Shanghai’s and Sichuan’s "The Thousand Talents Plan" in 2013 and 2018, and he is the Chief Editor for The Journal of Financial Engineering. Dr. Yuan’s is leading BDCG’s focus on artificial intelligence-driven financial data services as well as transactional platforms for index, futures and derivative trading, for both global commodity and energy clients. Dr.Yuan is the Chief Risk Officer and Chief Engineer of BBD Digital Finance, a subsiciary of the Company. Dr. Yuan has held a professorship at the Institute of Risk Management at Tongji University. Dr Yuan's study and work has centered around the valuation of Financial Derivatives and Value-at-Risk (VaR) Modeling for Market Risk, Credit Risk and Operational Risk under the framework of Basel II (Basel III) Accord, Financial and Credit Derivatives Pricing, Portfolio Optimization, Risk Limit Design, Commodity Forward Price Curve Design, Complex Position, Commodity Price Risk Assessment and Asset Valuation.

Recent Developments

On January 12, 2018, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “DBOT Purchase Agreement”) with Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”) and DBOT-I LLC (the “Seller”) pursuant to which the Seller agreed to sell 500,000 shares of common stock of DBOT to the Company and the Company issued an aggregate of 320,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company to the Seller. The Seller agreed to a 1 year lock up period for the shares of common stock of the Company received by the Seller pursuant to the DBOT Purchase Agreement.

On March 4, 2018, the Company entered into another Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Sloves Purchase Agreement”) with Shawn Sloves (“Sloves”), China Broadband, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SSC (the “Purchaser”) and DBOT pursuant to which Sloves agreed to sell 500,000 shares of common stock of DBOT to the Purchaser and the Company issued an aggregate of 320,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company to Sloves. Sloves agreed to a 1 year lock up period for the shares of common stock of the Company received by Sloves pursuant to the Sloves Purchase Agreement.

On March 17, 2018, the Company entered into a subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with GT Dollar Pte. Ltd. (“GTD”) for a private placement of a total amount of $40.0 million. Pursuant to the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Company (i) will issue and sell to GTD, an aggregate of 13,773,010 shares of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $25,066,878.20, and (ii) issue two convertible promissory notes (each a “Note” and together, the “Notes”) with a stated principal amount of $10 million and $4,933,121.80, respectively. GTD shall pay $30 million of the purchase price on or prior to March 31, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the 13,773,010 shares of Common Stock and the $4,933,121.80 Note, and the remaining $10 million on or prior to April 30, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the $10 million Note. The Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants and a 9 month lock-up period for GTD from the date of the Subscription Agreement. The Notes bear interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum and matures December 31, 2019. In the event of default, the Notes will become immediately due and payable. Until receipt of necessary shareholder approvals for the transactions contemplated by these agreements, the Notes note may not be converted, to the extent that such conversion would result in GTD and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 19.9% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock. Once the necessary shareholder approval is received, the unpaid principal and interest on the Notes will automatically convert into shares of Common Stock at a conversion rate of $1.82.

Our Unconsolidated Equity Investments

Investments in Shandong Media, Hua Cheng and Wecast Internet where the Company can exercise significant influence, but not control, is classified as a long-term equity investments and accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for the Company’s share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investee. Investment losses are recognized until the investment is written down to nil provided the Company does not guarantee the investee’s obligations nor it is committed to provide additional funding.

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Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance

 

Our operatingbusiness is expected to be impacted by both macroeconomic and Ideanomics-specific factors. The following factors have been part of the transformation of the Company which affected the results are primarily affected by the following factors:of our operations in 2019:

 


 .·

Our ability to transform our business and to meet internal or external expectations of future performance. We are aiming to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered, Fintech company. By managing and providing an infrastructure and environment that facilitates the transformation of traditional financial markets such as commodities, currency and credit into the asset digitalization era, SSC hopes to provide asset owners and holders a seamless method and platform for digital asset securitization, tokenization and trading.  Separately, SSC offers a closed supply chain trading ecosystem for corporate buyers and sellers designed to eliminate standard transactional intermediaries and create a more direct and margin-expanding path for principals. In connection with this transformation, the Company iswe are in the process of considerable changes, which including attempting to assembleinclude assembling a new management team in the United States and overseas, reconfiguring theour business structure, continuing to further enhance our controls, procedures, and oversight during this transformation, and expanding the Company’sour mission and business lines.lines for continued growth. It is uncertain whether these efforts will prove beneficial or whether we will be able to develop the necessary business models, infrastructure and systems to support the business. This includes havingour businesses. To succeed, among other things, we will need to have or hiringhire the right talent to execute our business strategy. Market acceptance of new product and service offerings will be dependent in part on our ability to include functionality and usability that address customer requirements, and optimally price our products and services to meet customer demand and cover our costs.

 

 .·

Our ability to makeremain competitive. We will continue to face intense competition: these new technologies are constantly evolving, and our competitors may introduce new platforms and solutions that are superior to ours. In addition, our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly to new technologies or may be able to devote greater resources to the development, marketing and sale of their products remain competitive. than we can. We may never establish and maintain a competitive position in the hybrid financing and logistics management businesses.

·The fluctuation in earnings from the deployment of the Mobile Energy Group Services business unit through acquisitions, strategic equity investments, the formation of joint ventures, and in-licenses of technology.Our current electronicresults of operations may fluctuate from period to period based on our entry into new transactions to expand our business. In addition, while we intend to contribute cash and crude oil productsother assets to our joint ventures, we do not intend for our holding company to conduct significant research and services competedevelopment activities. We intend research and development activities to be conducted by our technology partners and licensors. These fluctuations in highly competitive global markets characterized by aggressive price competitiongrowth or costs and resulting downward pressure on gross margins, frequent introduction of new products, short product life cycles, evolving industry standards, continual improvement in product price/performance characteristics, rapid adoption of technologicalour joint ventures and product advancements by competitors and price sensitivity onpartnerships may contribute to significant fluctuations in the part of consumers.As partresults of our blockchain and AI driven strategy, we are currently focused on consumer electronics and the crude oil trading business. As such, the Company is co-developing the underlying technology platform with its technology partner with an aim to become a smart supply chain management platform. In the near future, once the underlying technology platform is fully functional, the company will bring customers of traditional 3C consumer electronics business and crude oil trading business onto the platform, which will greatly improve the efficiency of capital utilization and inventory turnover for both consumer electronics and crude oil business by cutting middle-man cost. The above technology platforms with AI capability will help both the consumer electronic and crude oil business to transform from supply chain only operations into a digital ecosystem management platform.

operations.

 

TaxationInformation about segments

 

United StatesThe Company’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the chief executive officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company. Therefore, the Company operates in one segment with two business units: MEG and Ideanomics Capital. As the chief executive officer previously reviewed two operating segments separately for this purpose, the Company has changed its presentation accordingly, from two reportable segments to one reportable segment.

The segment reporting changes were retrospectively applied to all periods presented.

 

Seven Stars Cloud Group,Inc.42

Our Unconsolidated Equity Investments

The investments where the Company exercises significant influence, but not control, are classified as long-term equity investments and M. Y.accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for our share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investee. Investment losses are recognized until the investment is written down to nil, provided that we do not guarantee the investee’s obligations or we are committed to provide additional funding. Refer to Note 10 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part IV, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Taxation

United States

Ideanomics, Inc., M.Y. Products, LLC, Grapevine Logic, Inc., Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc., Fintech Village, LLC and Red Rock Global Capital Ltd. are United States companies subject to United States tax.the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. No provision for income taxes in the United States has been madeprovided as neither companynone of the companies had taxable profit since inception. At the acquisition of Grapevine Logic, Inc.in 2018, deferred tax liabilities were recorded relating to intangible assets recorded for financial reporting purposes but not recognized for income tax purposes. The intangible assets consequently could not provide deductible amortization expense for income tax purposes. The deferred tax liabilities were recorded on the acquisition to the extent that they could not be offset by usable net operating loss carryforwards acquired in the United States since inception. Under U.S.acquisition. These deferred tax liabilities were reduced, providing an income tax benefit, to the extent that the intangible assets were reduced by amortization expense and additional net operating loss carry forwards were created to offset the liabilities. These benefits amounted to $56,305 in 2018 and $152, 875 in 2019. The 2019 amount related to activities in the first two quarters of 2019. Ideanomics, Inc. increased its ownership in Grapevine Logic, Inc. such that beginning with the third quarter of 2019, the result of which was that Grapevine Logic, Inc. activities would be included in the consolidated tax return of Ideanomics, Inc. As a result, the valuation allowance provided against Ideanomics, Inc.’s deferred tax assets were reduced by $361,059, the amount of Grapevine Logic, Inc.’s remaining deferred tax liabilities as that portion of Ideanomics Inc.’s net operating loss carryovers could now be utilized to offset these liabilities

The Tax Reform Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. is required to pay,Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 includes provision for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) under which taxes on foreign income are imposed on the excess of a one-time transition taxdeemed return on tangible assets of certain foreign subsidiaries. TCJA also enacted the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) under which taxes are imposed on certain unrepatriated earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries that is payable over eight years. We have subsequentlybase eroding payments to related foreign companies, subject to certain requirements.

Based on current year financial results, the company has determined that there is only less than $150,000 unrepatriated eatnings for each non-US subsidiary in aggregate. Therefore, only a minimalno GILTI nor BEAT tax is due under this provision.

liability.

 

In addition, the TCJA now entitles US companies that owns 10% or more of a foreign corporation a 100% dividends-received deduction for the foreign-source portion of dividends paid by such foreign corporation. Also, net operating losses (NOLs) arising after December 31, 2017 are deductible only to the extent of 80% of the taxpayer’s taxable income, and may be carried forward indefinitely but generally not allowed to be carried back.


Cayman Islandsand the British Virgin Islands

 

Under current laws of the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, we arethe company is not subject to tax on ourits income or capital gains. In addition, dividend payments are not subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands or British Virgin Islands.

 

Hong Kong

 

OurThe company’s subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong are under the current laws of Hong Kong are subject to Profits Tax of 16.5%. No provision for$84,574 tax expense was recorded in 2019 relating to the income on one Hong Kong Profits Tax has been made as net operatingsubsidiary relating to a gain recorded on the sale of VIE related assets. All other Hong Kong subsidiaries had losses for 2019 and the resulting deferred tax assets relating to the loss carryovers were fully offset current taxable income.by a valuation allowance.

 

The People’s Republic of China (“PRC”)

 

Under the PRC’s Enterprise Income Tax Law, ourthe company’s Chinese subsidiaries and VIEs are subject to an earned income taxEIT of 25.0%.

 

OurThe company’s future effective income tax rate depends on various factors, such as tax legislation, the geographic composition of ourits pre-tax income and non-tax deductible expenses incurred. OurThe company’s management carefullyregularly monitors these legislative developments to determine if there will be any changeare changes in the statutory income tax rate.

 

33

TableDuring 2019, one of Contentsthe Company’s PRC subsidiaries incurred a tax obligation of $622,608 tax expense relating to its electric vehicle sales. The entity did not have operating loss carryovers and is not able to utilize the loss carryovers of other subsidiaries. The transactions under which the VIE agreements were terminated resulted in gains to one VIE entity, prior to deconsolidation, that triggered a tax expense pf $224,206. Other PRC entities either had losses that created additional operating loss carryovers, where the related deferred tax assets were offset a valuation allowance, or had income that would have resulted in a current tax liability, except that they were able to offset those liabilities with operating loss carryovers from prior years. The use of prior year carryovers, in all cases for which the related deferred tax assets all had previously been offset by a valuation allowance, avoided $176,107 of income tax expense.

 


Consolidated Results of OperationsRESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018

 

  Year Ended       
  

December 31,

2017

  

December 31,

2016

  

Amount

Change

  

%

Change

 
Revenue (including related party revenue of $18,973,054 and nil for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively) $144,338,805  $35,185,508  $109,153,297   310%
Cost of revenue  137,188,353   35,551,198   101,637,155   286%
Gross profit (loss)  7,150,452   (365,690)  7,516,142   2055%
                 
Operating expenses:                
Selling, general and administrative expenses  12,848,184   10,898,323   1,949,861   18%
Research and development expenses  406,845   -   406,845   100%
Professional fees  3,153,697   1,400,139   1,753,558   125%
Depreciation and amortization  306,801   505,028   (198,227)  (39)%
Impairments of other intangible assets  216,468   2,018,628   (1,802,160)  (89)%
Earn-out share award expenses  -   13,700,000   (13,700,000)  (100)%
Total operating expense  16,931,995   28,522,118   (11,590,123)  (41)%
                 
Loss from operations  (9,781,543)  (28,887,808)  19,106,265   (66)%)
                 
Interest & other income/(expense):                
Interest expense, net  (95,658)  (254,725)  159,067   (62)%
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities  (112,642)  324,432   (437,074)  (135)%
Equity in loss of equity method investees  (129,193)  (31,557)  (97,636)  309%
Impairment of equity method investments  -   (38,448)  38,448   (100)%
Others  (73,833)  57,017   (130,850)  (229)%
                 
Loss before income taxes and non-controlling interests  (10,192,869)  (28,831,089)  18,638,220   (65)%
                 
Income tax benefit  -   330,124   (330,124)  (100)%
                 
Net loss  (10,192,869)  (28,500,965)  18,308,096   (64)%
                 
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests  357,268   2,092,991   (1,735,723)  (83)%
                 
Net loss attributable to SSC shareholders  (9,835,601)  (26,407,974)  16,572,373   (63)%

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Table of Contents

For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018  Amount Change  % Change 
Revenue $44,566,955  $377,742,872  $(333,175,917)  (88)%
Cost of revenue  1,457,773   374,575,038   (373,117,265)  (100)%
Gross profit  43,109,182   3,167,834   39,941,348   1,261%
                 
Operating expenses:                
Selling, general and administrative expenses  24,862,208   22,471,976   2,390,232   11%
Research and development expense  -   1,654,491   (1,654,491)  (100)%
Professional fees  5,828,385   4,749,799   1,078,586   23%
Depreciation and amortization  2,228,653   352,332   1,876,321   n/m 
Impairment of assets  73,668,525   134,290   73,534,235   n/m 
Acquisition earn-out expense  5,094,095   -   5,094,095   n/m
Total operating expenses  111,681,866   29,362,888   

82,318,978

   n/m 
                 
Loss from operations  (68,572,684)  (26,195,054)  (42,377,630)  n/m 
                 
Interest and other income (expense):                
Interest expense, net  (5,616,282)  (804,595)  (4,811,687)  n/m 
Loss on extinguishment of debt  (3,940,196)  -   (3,940,196)  0 
Impairment of and equity in loss of equity method investees  (13,718,280)  (180,625)  (13,537,655)  n/m 
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net  (951,594)  (1,183,289)  

231,695

   (20)%
Loss on remeasurement of DBOT investment  (3,178,702)  -   (3,178,702)  0 
Other  (433,184)  (99,765)  (333,419)  n/m 
Loss before income taxes and non-controlling interest  (96,410,922)  (28,463,328)  (67,947,594)  n/m 
                 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (417,453)  40,244   (457,697)  n/m 
                 
Net loss  (96,828,375)  (28,423,084)  (68,405,291)  n/m 
                 
Deemed dividend related to warrant repricing  (826,909)  -   (826,909)  n/m 
                 
Net loss attributable to common shareholders  (97,655,284)  (28,423,084)  (69,232,200)  n/m 
                 
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest  (852,240)  996,728   (1,848,968)  n/m 
                 
Net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders $(98,507,524) $(27,426,356)  (71,081,168)  n/m 
                 
Basic and diluted loss per share $(0.82) $(0.35)        

 

Revenues

 

For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018  Amount Change  % Change 
Crude oil $-  $260,034,401  $(260,034,401)  n/m 
Consumer electronics  -   116,723,251   (116,723,251)  n/m 
Digital asset management services  40,700,000   -   40,700,000   n/m 
Electric vehicles  2,693,891   -   2,693,891   n/m 
Other  1,173,064   985,220   187,844   19 
Total $44,566,955  $377,742,872  $(333,175,917)  (88)

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, since the Company acquired Wecast Services Limited and Wide Angle Group Limited, the Company has operated two segments; (1) the Legacy YOD segment, and (2) the Wecast Service segment:

n/m = Not Meaningful

 

1>    OTT, Mobile App, IPTV and Digital Cable VOD Businesses (Legacy YOD)

Provides premium content and integrated value-added service solutions for the delivery of VOD and paid video programming to digital cable providers, Internet Protocol Television (“IPTV”) providers. The core revenues are being generated from both minimum guarantee payments and revenue sharing arrangements with distribution partners as well as subscription or transactional fees from subscribers.

2>    Wecast Services

On January 30, 2017, the Company completed the acquisition of Sun Video Group HK Limited ("SVG"), which has a 51% ownership stake in Shanghai Wecast Supply Chain Management Limited ("Wecast SH"). On January 31, 2017, the Company acquired 55% of the outstanding capital stock of Wide Angle Group Limited (“Wide Angle”). The holdings and businesses from both these acquisitions now reside under “Wecast Services”, our wholly-owned subsidiary Wecast Services Limited. Wecast Services (which resides under the Product Sales Cloud) business unit, is currently primarily engaged with consumer electronics and smart supply chain management operations. Our end customers include about 15 to 20 corporations across the world.  Starting from October, through partnership with another business partner, our newly controlled Singapore joint venture has been conducting oil trading business in Singapore.

  2017  2016  Difference 
  USD  USD  USD  % 
Legacy YOD  794,273   4,543,616   (3,749,343)  (83)%
Wecast Services  143,544,532   30,641,892   112,902,640   368%
 Total  144,338,805   35,185,508   109,153,297   310%

Revenuefor the year ended December 31, 20172019 was $144.3$44.6 million as compared to $35.2$377.7 million for the same period in 2016, an increase2018, a decrease of approximately $109.2$333.2 million, or 310%88%. The increasedecrease was mainly due to a change to our new business line acquired in January 2017, andfocus from logistics management to a lesser extent, one-timedigital business consulting services and electric vehicle businesses. Our business strategy and the primary goal for entering the crude oil and electronic trading businesses was to learn about the needs of buyers and sellers in these industries that rely heavily on the shipment of goods. Our activities in the crude oil trading and electronic trading business have been successful in various aspects in 2018, and for strategic reasons we have now phased out of our crude oil trading business and electronics trading business so that we provided to certain customers. The main growth drivers for can work towards enablingthe Company’s revenues from salesapplication of electronicsour Fintech Ecosystem and crude oil products with respect to our supply chain management business lie in two aspects:th

e operation of MEG as well.

 

A.The technology platforms which remove middleman through linking both buyers and sellers in the B2B marketplace.

B.A blockchain based digital asset management platform.

In October, 2016, the Company signed an agreement to form a five years’ partnership with Yanhua, where Yanhua will act as the exclusive distribution operator (within the territory of PRC) of the Company’s licensed library of major studio films. Pursuant to the Yanhua agreement, the existing legacy Hollywood studio paid content as well as other IP content specified in the agreement, along with the corresponding authorized rights letter that the Company is entitled to, will be transferred over to Yanhua, which was agreed to be priced at RMB13,000,000 (approximately $2 million). According to the agreement, as a whole package, the payment is agreed to be paid in two installments equally in the amount of RMB6,500,000. As of the December 31, 2017, the Company only received the first installments and recorded it as revenue within Legacy YOD business, however, considering the second installment was due to be received if the license content fees due to studios for the existing legacy Hollywood paid contents was settled, while the Company did not expect and did not make the payment to the studios, we deemed this portion of the fee to be not fixed or determinable and therefore, this portion of the revenue did not meet the revenue recognition criteria to be recognized as of December 31, 2017. Meanwhile, as revenue generated by Yanhua did not exceed the revenue sharing threshold, no additional revenue was recorded.

In January, 2017, the Company completed acquisitions of SVG and Wide Angle, and considering these acquisitions were incurred under common control, the financials for the year 2016 was adjusted respectively as if they had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 when common control existed in accordance with US GAAP. Within the Wecast Service segment, the Company conducted its supply chain business in different industrial vehicles. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had already set up two industrial vehicles for commercial electronics in Hong Kong and oil trading in Singapore. The Company expects to use its own platforms to expand its supply chain business.


Cost of revenue

 

  2017  2016  Difference 
  USD  USD  USD  % 
Legacy YOD  762,614   4,434,260   (3,671,646)  (83)%
Wecast Services  136,425,739   31,116,938   105,308,801   338%
Total  137,188,353   35,551,198   101,637,155   286%
For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018  Amount Change  % Change 
Crude oil $-  $260,006,382  $(260,006,382)  n/m 
Consumer electronics  -   114,477,226   (114,477,226)  n/m 
Digital asset management services  466,894   -   466,894   n/m 
Electric vehicles  -   -   -     
Other  990,879   91,430   899,449   n/m 
Total $1,457,773  $374,575,038  $(373,117,265)  n/m 

 

35

Table of Contentsn/m = Not Meaningful

 

Cost of revenues was $137.2$ 1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,2019, as compared to $35.6$374.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.2018. Our cost of revenues increaseddecreased by $101.6$373.1 million, which is in line with our increase in revenues. Our cost of revenues is primarily comprised of costs to purchase electronics products and crude oil from suppliers in our supply chain business as well asor 100%. From a comparability perspective, the cost of salesrevenue during 2018 is not indicative of the new business in 2019. The cost of revenue during 2018 was primarily associated with the logistics management business (oil trading and electronics trading), which traditionally has a very high cost of revenue and low gross margin, while the cost of revenue during 2019 primarily include the personnel cost associated with our digital asset management services and creator payments from the Legacy YOD business which is primarily comprisedGrapevine business. Majority of content licensing fees. Our content license agreementsthe cost associated with production companies incorporate minimum guaranteed payment levels.the development of the master plan services have already been incurred in 2018. In 2018, due to the uncertainty associated with the future economic benefits when such costs were incurred, the Company expensed those costs during 2018.

 

Gross profit

 

  2017  2016  Difference 
  USD  USD  USD  % 
Legacy YOD  31,659   109,356   (77,697)  (71)%
Wecast Services  7,118,793   (475,046)  7,593,839   1,599%
Total  7,150,452   (365,690)  7,516,142   2055%
For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018  Amount Change  % Change 
Crude oil $-  $28,019  $

(28,019) 

   n/m
Consumer electronics  -   2,246,025   

(2,246,025) 

    n/m
Digital asset management services  40,233,106   -   

40,233,106 

    n/m
Electric vehicles  2,693,891   -   

2,693,891 

    n/m
Other  182,185    893,790   

(711,605) 

    n/m
Total $43,109,182  $3,167,834  $

39,941,348 

    n/m

 

n/m = Not Meaningful

46

Gross profit ratio

For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018 
-Mobile Energy Group Service        
Crude oil  0%  0%
Consumer electronics  0%  2%
Digital asset management services  99%  - 
Electric Vehicles (“EV”)  100%  - 
Other  16%  91%
Total  97%  1%

Our gross profit for the year ended December 31, 20172019 was approximately $7.2$43.1 million, as compared to a gross loss of $0.4$3.2 million during the same period in 2016. Gross2018. The increase was mainly due to: 1) the Company recorded service revenue from digital asset management services in 2019 and 2) the low cost of revenue with our digital asset management services, which resulted in higher gross profit ratio for the year ended December 31, 2017 was 5.0%, whilemargin in 2016, it was negative. The reason for the gross loss in 2016 was due2019 compared to the costslow gross profit margin of the logistics management business in 2018; 3) the revenue from EV is commission revenue and no cost associated with the commercial electronic supply chain business that had large startup costs in its infancy, as the Company looked to expand its customer base and sales volume. For the year ended December 31, 2017, gross margin for the electronic supply chain business has increased to 2.7%, which contributed gross profit in the amount of $3.3 million.this.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Our selling, general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2017 2019was $12.8 million$24.9 million as compared to $10.9$22.5 million for the same period in 2016,2018, an increase of approximately $1.9$2.4 million or 18%11%. The majority of the increase was due to 1)

·an increase of $5.7 million in share based compensation that were paid to our employees
·an increase of $0.8 million in severance payments to the former Chief Executive Officer, former Chief Investment Officer and former Chief Strategy Officer; partially offset by
·a decrease of $3.3 million in salary and employee benefits expenses due to the headcount reduction in China operation.

Research and development expense

Research and development expense decreased to zero for the year ended December 31, 2019 from $1.7 million in our sales and marketingthe same period in 2018. The majority of the expense in the amount of $1.6 million to introduce and promote our business to various new potential business partners; 2) an increase of approximately of $0.9 million of share based compensation due2018 was related to the option and restricted shares units that the Company approved for grant to independent board members for their 2017 compensation, which included a significant increase in board related work during 2017 compared with prior years; 3) an increase in headcount and relevant traveling expenses in the amount of $1.1 million and 4) leasehold improvement disposal losses of approximately $0.7 million that were incurred when the Company canceled its purchase of Beijing office building in 2017.early stage technology development.

 

Professional fees

 

Professional fees are generally related to public company reporting and governance expenses as well as legal fees related to business transition and expansion. Our professional fees increased approximately by $1.8 million, or 125%, for the year ended December 31, 2017,2019 was $5.8 million as compared withto $4.7 million for the same period in 2016.2018, an increase of approximately $1.1 million. The increase in professional fees was related to an increase in legal, valuation, audit service fees, which increased from $0.6 million in 2016 to $1.2 million in 2017. This increase can be primarily attributed to the non-recurring opening audit fess due to the auditor changeand tax as well as increasing legal, finance advisory, valuationfees associated with establishing the MEG operation, continuing to build out our technology ecosystem and auditing service fees incurred in relation to acquisitionsIdeanomics Capital, and generalalso establishing strategic partnerships and merger and acquisition activity for these business activity in 2017.units.

 

47

Depreciation and amortization

Depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $2.2 million as compared to $0.4 million for the same period in 2018, an increase of approximately $1.8 million. The increase was mainly due to the increase in amortization expense from intangible assets acquired during 2019.

Impairment of assets

The following table summarizes the impairment losses recorded in the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company did not record any material impairment losses in the year ended December 31, 2018.

The following table summarizes the impairment losses recorded in the year ended December 31, 2019:

Asset Impaired Note Caption Amount 
GTB – digital currency Note 9 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets  Impairment of assets $61,124,406 
         
Glory – equity method investment Note 10 Long-term Investments Impairment of and equity in loss of equity method investments  13,061,844 
         
FinTalk assets – other assets Note 9 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets  Impairment of assets  5,715,000 
         
Cost method investments Note 10 Long-term Investments  Impairment of assets  3,026,347 
         
Fintech buildings Note 8 Property and Equipment, net Impairment of assets  2,298,887 
         
Fintech buildings asset retirement cost Note 8 Property and Equipment, net Impairment of assets  1,503,885 
Total     $86,730,369 

Additional information related to the impairment losses recorded in the year ended December 31, 2019 is as follows:

·The Company recorded an impairment loss of $61.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 related to GTB of $61.1 million which the Company had received in connections with a services agreement and an asset purchase agreement with GT Dollar Pte, a minority shareholder at the time of the transaction. On October 29, 2019, GTB had an unexpected significant decline in quoted price, from $17.00 to $1.84. This decline continued through the fourth quarter of 2019, and on December 31, 2019 the quoted price was $0.23. As a result of this decline in quoted price, and its inability to convert GTB into other digital currencies which were more liquid, or fiat currency, the Company performed an impairment analysis and recorded an impairment loss.
·The Company recorded a $13.1 million impairment loss in Glory, an equity method investment, in the fourth quarter of 2019, when it became apparent that Glory’s subsidiary, Tree Manufacturing, would not receive the land use rights to 250 acres of vacant land and other assets.
·The Company recorded a $5.7 million impairment loss related to a secure mobile financial information, social, and messaging platform that has been designed for streamlining financial-based communication for professional and retail users. Management determined these assets had no future use and recorded an impairment loss.
·The Company recorded impairment losses of $3.0 million in two non-marketable equity investments after management evaluated their performance.
·The Company recorded an impairment loss of $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2019 in connection with four buildings in Fintech Village, which were later demolished, and recorded an impairment loss of $1.5 million for the related asset retirement cost.

Acquisition earn-out expense

The acquisition earn-out expense of $5.1 million represents the remeasurement of the contingent consideration payable to the former DBOT shareholders due to the decline in Ideanomics’ stock price.

Loss from operations

 

Our depreciation and amortization expense decreased approximately $0.2loss from operations was increased by $42.3 million or 39%, to $0.3$68.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017,2019, from $0.5$26.2 million during 2016. The decrease2018. This was mainlymostly due to the sale of our Beijing office buildingimpairment losses land acquisition earn-out expense losses incurred in early 2017.2019, partly offset by the gross profit from the MEG operation.


Interest expense, net

 

Impairment of other intangible assets

On July 30, 2010, the Company entered into an Ordinary Share Purchase Agreement by and among the Company, CB Cayman, and Weicheng Liu, an individual, where the Company recognized additional assets identified from the business acquisition. Our impairment of other intangible assets are generally relatedinterest expense increased $4.8 million to the impairment of mobile app development, the Charter/Cooperation agreement and work force for $0.2 million and $2.0$5.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively,2019, from $0.8 million during 2018. The interest expense increase during 2019 was primarily due to no significant revenue or cash flows generated from the Charter/Cooperation agreementamortization of beneficial conversion features and the decision to stop developinginterest associated with convertible notes issued in 2019. The following table summarizes the APP and the terminationbreakdown of the working group.interest expense:

 

36

Table of Contents

Earn-out share award expenses

Our earn-out share award expenses are related to the 10,000,000 share awards issued to SSS at the closing price $1.37 on the stock issuance date.

Pursuant to the Amended Tianjin Agreement dated December 21, 2015, contingent on the performance of SSF, Tianjin Enternet will receive shares of the Company’s common stock over three years, with the exact number not exceeding 5.0 million per year, provided the earn-out provisions for each of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 annual periods (the “Earn-Out Share Award”) are achieved. The earn-out provision for 2016, 2017 and 2018, based on SSF performance, are either 50.0 million homes/users passed or $4.0 million net income, 100.0 million homes/users passed or $6.0 million net income and 150.0 million homes/users passed or $8.0 million net income, respectively. The earn-out provision is based on either the number of home/user pass or the net income of SSF.

On November 10, 2016, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Wecast Network held a special meeting. At the recommendation of the Company’s audit committee, the Board determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and the Company’s shareholders to amend the terms of the Earn-Out Share Award to (1) reduce the total Earn-Out Share Award from 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock to 10,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (2) measure the achievement of the earn-out provisions based on the Companywide achievement of homes passed in lieu of the measurement being measured by SFF’s stand-alone achievement of homes passed. Based on evidence provided to the Board, the requisite thresholds necessary to trigger issuance of all shares of Common Stock subject to the Earn-Out Share Award have been achieved. Accordingly, on November 10, 2016, the Board approved the issuance of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock to SSS”) and the shares were issued on November 11, 2016.

The Company recognized the fair value of the Common Stock to SSS of approximately $13,700,000 in 2016, based on the market price of the Company’s Common Stock, as Earn-out share award expense.

In 2017, there was no such expense incurred.

  Year ended December 31,
2019
  Year ended December 31,
2018
 
Interest, net $1,380,838  $577,004 
Amortization of beneficial conversion feature  4,235,444   227,591 
Total $5,616,282  $804,595 

 

Loss from operationson extinguishment of debts

 

OurThe loss on extinguishment of debt of $3.9 million results from operations was decreased by $19.1 millionmodifications made to $9.8 million forvarious convertible notes in the year ended December 31, 2017, from $28.9 million loss during 2016. This was mostly due to the increase in gross profit from our Wecast Service segment and a decrease in earn-out share award expenses.

Interest expense, net

Our interest expense decreased $0.2 million to $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, from $0.3 million during 2016. The interest expense decrease during 2017 was primarily attributable to interest expenses recorded and related to the amortization of debt issuance costs related to the $17.7 million convertible note to SSS in 2016 which was not incurred in 2017. 2019.

 

Change in fair valueImpairment of warrant liabilities

Certain of our warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities and re-measured at the end of every reporting period and upon settlement, with the change in value reported in the statement of operations. We reported loss of $0.1 million and gain of $0.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The changes are primarily due to fluctuation in our closing stock price.

Equityequity in loss of equity method investees

 

OurImpairment of and equity in loss of equity method investeesinvestments increased $0.1by $13.5 million to $0.1$13.7 million forin the year ended December 31, 2017. This was primarily2019 from $0.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2018. The most significant increases are due to Wecast Internetthe losses recorded due to DBOT of $3.7 million, which recognized a $0.1was an equity-method investee for part of 2019, and an impairment loss of $13.1 million lossfor Glory. Refer to “Impairment of assets” above.

Loss on investment in 2017 and recognized $17 thousand loss on investment in 2016 as the operation went worse in 2017.disposal of subsidiaries, net

 

The following table summarizes (gains) and losses recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

Subsidiary Year ended December 31,
2019
  Year ended December 31,
2018
 
Wide Angle and Shanghai Huicang Supplychain Management Ltd. $-  $1,183,289 
Red Rock Global Capital LTD  (552,215)  - 
Amer Global Technology Limited  (505,148)  - 
Deconsolidation of VIEs  2,008,957   - 
Total $951,594  $1,183,289 

Loss on disposal of subsidiaries increased $2.0 million for year ended December 31, 2019 comparing to the same period in 2018 was due to the disposal of the entities listed above.

Net lossgain/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interest

 

Hua Cheng previously had a 20% non-controlling interest in Zhong Hai Media and accounting for that interest under the equity method by recording 20% of the operating losses of Zhong Hai Media. For the year ended December 31, 2017, operating lossNet gain/(loss) attributable to Hua Chengnon-controlling interests was approximately $1.6 million.$0.8 million gain in 2019 compared to a net loss of $1.0 million in 2018. The Company sold Zhong Hai Media on June 30, 2017 and only $0.03 million operating loss were attributablegain in 2019 is primarily due to Hua Cheng for the same period in 2017.net gain of taxi revenue from JV with iUnicorn .

 

Dillon Yu has a 49% non-controlling interest in Shanghai Wecast Supply Chain Management Limited (“Wecast SH”) and as such we allocate 49% of the operating loss of Wecast SH to Dillon Yu. During the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately $0.6 million of our operating loss from Wecast SH was allocated to Dillon Yu, which was $0.2 million in the same period in 2016.

Swiss Guorong Limited has a 45% non-controlling interest in Wide Angle and as such we allocate 45% of the operating profit of Wide Angle to Swiss Guorong Limited. During the year ended December 31, 2017, approximately $0.2 million of our operating profit from Wide Angle was allocated to Swiss Guorong Limited, which was $0.01 million operating loss for the same period in 2016. 

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Liquidity and Capital ResourcesLIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

As of December 31, 2017,2019, we had cash of approximately $7.2$2.6 million. Approximately $6.3$2.4 million was held in our Hong Kong, US and Singapore entities and $0.9$0.2 million was held in our mainland ChinaPRC entities. The Company has no plans to repatriate these funds.

 

As discussed in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report for going concern and management’s plan, the Company has incurred significant continuing losses in 20172019 and 2016,2018, and the total accumulated deficits were $125.9$249.0 million and $115.7$150.0 million as of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, respectively. The Company also used cash for operations of approximately $10.0$13.8 million and $9.4$20.2 million for the year ended December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, respectively. The Company’s ability to continue operating is highly dependent upon continued funding from the debt and equity markets. Based on past experience, the Company believes that it will be able to raise the necessary capital to continue operations. We must continue to rely on proceeds from debt and equity issuances to fund ongoing operating expenses to date, which could raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements in this report. The consolidated financial statements included in this report have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Due to the strict regulations governing the transfer of funds held in the PRC to other jurisdictions, the Company does not consider funds held in its PRC entities to be available to fund operations and investment outside of the PRC and consequently does not include them when evaluating the liquidity needs of its businesses operating outside of the PRC.

 

On March 28, 2016, the Company completed a common stock financing for $10.0 million. In addition, the Company completed five separate common stock financings with Seven Star Works Co. Ltd. (“SSW”) for $4.0 million on July 19, 2016, with Harvest Alternative Investment Opportunities SPC (“Harvest”) for $4.0 million on August 12, 2016, with Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development Limited (“SSSHK”) for $2.0 million on November 17, 2016, with certain investors, officers & directors and affiliates in a private placement for $2.0 million on May 19, 2017, and with Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited for $10.0 million on October 23, 2017, respectively.


The following table provides a summary of our net cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities.

 

 Year Ended  Year Ended 
 December 31, December 31,  December 31, December 31, 
 2017 2016  2019 2018 
Net cash used in operating activities $(9,972,693) $(9,426,940) $(13,783,980) $(20,160,210)
Net cash used in investing activities  (510,134)  (10,197,379) (1,794,856) (19,140,641)
Net cash provided by financing activities  13,864,700   19,705,110  15,114,864 34,898,919 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  61,409   (87,874)  (9,386)  (69,141)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash  3,443,282   (7,083)
Total cash at beginning of period  3,761,814   3,768,897 
Cash at end of period $7,205,096  $3,761,814 
Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (473,358) (4,471,073 
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period  3,106,244  7,577,317 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $2,632,886 $3,106,244 

Operating Activities

 

Cash used in operating activities only increaseddecreased by $0.6$6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 20172019 compared to 2016,2018, primarily due to (1) an increase in accounts receivable because of a longer turnover period, but partially offset by a decreasenet loss from $28.4 million in 2018 to $96.8 million in 2019, (2) total non-cash adjustments to net loss was $67.9 million and $6.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively; and (3) total changes in operating losses compared with 2016.assets and liabilities resulted in an increase of $15.1 million and $2.5 million in cash used in operations activities for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively .

 

Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we entered into a subscription agreement with certain investors, including officers, directors and other affiliates, pursuant to which we issued and sold to such investors, in a private placement, an aggregate of 727,273 shares of the common stock of the Company, for $2.75 per share, or a total purchase price of $2.0 million. On October 23, 2017, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the Company has agreed to sell and issue 5,494,505 shares of the Company’s common stock to the Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $10.0 million. While in the same period in 2016, we received 1) $10 million investment proceeds from the sales of 4,545,455 shares of our common stock and issuance of a two-year warrant to acquire an additional 1,818,182 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $2.75 per share to SSS; 2) proceeds of $4.0 million received from the sales of 2,272,727 shares of the Company’s common stock to SSW; 3) proceeds of $4 million received from the sales of 2,272,727 shares of the Company’s common stock to Harvest; and 4) proceeds of $2.0 million received from the sales of 1,136,365 shares of the Company’s common stock to SSS.

Investing Activities

Cash used in investing activities decreased by $17.4 million, primarily because the acquisition of Fintech Village, the related costs and surety bond (approximately $10.7 million) and acquisitions of subsidiaries and long-term investments ($8.0 million) during 2018.

Financing Activities

The Company received $9.1 million from the issuance of convertible notes and $6 million in proceeds in a private placement from the issuance of common shares, warrant and options for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $0.5 million which was mainly used for long term investment, which was significantly decreased compared with 2016. In 2016, we used $10.2 million for investing activities,2019, to certain investors, including 1) investment of $3.1 millionofficers, directors and other affiliates. While in acquisition of real estate property; 2) investment of $3.0 million of intellectual property; 3) acquisition of $0.6 millionthe same period in leasehold improvement; 4) investment of $3.7 million of long term investment in Frequency and Topgame; and 5) good faith deposit of $1.0 million for acquisition of SVG.2018, the Company received $34.9 million.

 

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Effects of Inflation

Inflation and changing prices have had an effect on our business and we expect that inflation or changing prices could materially affect our business in the foreseeable future. Our management will closely monitor the price change and make efforts to maintain effective cost control in operations.

 

Off BalanceOff-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

Off-balance sheet arrangements are obligations the Company has with nonconsolidated entities related to transactions, agreements or other contractual arrangements. The Company holds variable interests in joint ventures accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these joint ventures and therefore is not required to consolidate these entities (see Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements).


We do not have anyother off balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity or capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to an investor in our securities.

Contractual Obligations

 

AsThe tabular presentation of December 31, 2017, we have the following contractual obligations:

  Payments due by Period 
     Less than        More than 
Contractual Obligations Total  1 year  1-3 years  3-5 years  5 years 
Operating lease $

1,203,783

  $733,439  $375,377  $94,967  $- 
Total $

1,203,783

  $733,439  $375,377  $94,967  $- 

Seasonalityobligations is not required for Smaller Reporting Companies.

 

Our operating resultsSeasonality

The Company’s MEG division operates in the market for fleet sales of commercial EVs and operating cash flows historicallythe Company expects that orders and sales will be influenced by the amount and timing of budgeted expenditure by its customers. Typically, the Company would expect to see higher sales at the start of the year when companies start executing on their capital programs and at the end of the year when companies are spending any surplus or uncommitted budget before the new budget cycle commences. The Company’s MEG division is building out its network and has not generated sufficient orders to allow it to establish with any degree of certainty an expected pattern of seasonality.

OUTLOOK

The Company anticipates that its Mobile Energy Group business unit will be the largest contributor to revenues in 2020. The rate at which the MEG division grows is highly correlated with the development of financing structures for our legacy YODfleet purchases of commercial EV.

The Company will continue to seek ways to deploy its Delaware Board of Trade (DBOT) ATS as a platform for the issuance of digital securities and tokens, trading of commodities and origination and distribution of private placements. The Company does not anticipate that DBOT will generate material amounts of revenue in 2020 due to the developmental stage the business have not beenis in.


Environmental Matters

We are subject to seasonal variations. However, wevarious federal, state and local laws and regulations governing, among other things, hazardous materials, environmental contamination and the protection of the environment. We have made, and expect a disproportionateto make in the future, expenditures to comply with such laws and regulations, but cannot predict the full amount of such future expenditures. We may also incur fines and penalties from time to time associated with noncompliance with such laws and regulations. Starting from year 2018, we had $8 million accrued for Asset Retirement Obligations. The increase is related to our revenues generated from Wecast Services quarter over quarter to be subject to seasoned fluctuations at holiday periods and due to introductionlegal contractual obligation in connection with the acquisition of new products. This pattern may change, however, as a result of new market opportunities or new product introductions.Fintech Village.

 

Critical Accounting PoliciesCRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires ourthe Company’s management to make assumptions, estimates, and judgments that affect the amounts reported, including the notes thereto, and related disclosures of commitments and contingencies, if any. We haveCompany management has identified certain accounting policies that are significant to the preparation of ourits financial statements. These accounting policies are important for an understanding of ourthe Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Critical accounting policies are those that are most important to the portrayal of ourits financial condition and results of operations and require management’s difficult, subjective, or complex judgment, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain and may change in subsequent periods. Certain accounting estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting the estimate may differ significantly from management’s current judgments. We believeCompany management believes the following critical accounting policies involve the most significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of ourits financial statements. Company management has reviewed the critical accounting policies and estimates with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.

 

Variable Interest Entities

 

We accountThe Company accounts for entities qualifying as variable interest entities (VIEs) in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Boards (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810,Consolidation. For our consolidated VIEs, management has made evaluations ofManagement evaluates the relationships between ourthe Company and the various VIEs and the economic benefit flow of the contractual arrangement with the VIEs. In connection with such evaluation, management also took into account the fact that,considers whether or not, as a result of such contractual arrangements, we controlthe Company controls the legal shareholders’ voting interests and havehas power of attorney in the VIEs, and therefore we arewhich counterparty is able to direct all business activities of the VIEs. As a result of such evaluation, management concluded that we arethe Company is the primary beneficiary of ourcertain VIEs, which are consolidated, VIEs.and that the Company is not the primary beneficiary of one investment in which the Company holds a 60.0% interest, and of one investment in which the Company holds a 34.0% investment and which has a supply agreement with a consolidated entity. Both of these investments are accounted for as an equity method investment.

 

We haveManagement has consulted ourthe Company’s PRC legal counsel in assessing ourthe ability to control ourthe Company’s PRC VIEs. Any changes in PRC laws and regulations that affect our ability to control ourAs of December 31, 2019, the Company has terminated the agreements with the PRC VIEs may preclude us from consolidating these companies in the future.and will not consolidate them beyond that date.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

InThe Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of the first quarter of 2018, we adopted ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), using the modified retrospective method. Topic 606 requires revenue to be recognized when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in amountsan amount that reflectreflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitledreceive in exchange for those goods or services. BecauseTo determine the Company's primary sourceamount and timing of revenues isrevenue recognition for the arrangements that the Company determines are within the scope of ASC 606,Revenue from industrial trading business,Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), the impact on its consolidated financial statements is not material.

Company performs the following five steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with the customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies the respective performance obligations.

 

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Product sales, including electronic products and crude oil sales are recognized whenAdditionally, an analysis is performed in order to evaluate whether the Company is acting as a principal, in which case revenue is reported on a gross basis, or as we transferan agent, in which case revenue is reported on a net basis. This analysis considers whether or not the Company obtains control of the promised productsspecified goods or services before they are transferred to our customer. Revenue is measuredthe customer, as well as other indicators such as the amount of consideration we expect to receiveparty primarily responsible for fulfillment, inventory risk, and discretion in exchange for transferring goods. Sales ordersestablishing price.

The Company’s contracts are confirmed after negotiation on price between customerstypically with large enterprises and us. Purchase ordersconsequently are confirmed after careful selection of suppliers and negotiation on price. The Company purchases finished goods from suppliers in accordance with sales orders from customers. Our suppliers then deliver goods to our customers directly. The Company is required to bear the direct risk of damageheavily negotiated as to the goods thatservices to be provided; consequently the direct default risk that cannot be delivered to the customer. When the delivery is completed, the Company recognizes revenue and the related cost at the same time. According to purchase orders with suppliers, the Company, as the owner of the goods, become the first responsible partyaccounting treatment for the goods.

Thereforereporting of revenues may vary materially between contracts including whether the Company accounst for revenue from sales of goodsis reported on a gross or net basis. The Company isthe primary obligor in the arrangements, as Company has the ability to establish prices, and has discretion in selecting the independent suppliers and other third-party that will perform the delivery service, the Company is are responsible for the defective products and the Company bears credit risk with customer payments. Accordingly, all such revenue billed to customers is classified as revenue and all corresponding payments to suppliers are classified as cost of revenues.

For certain contracts that involve sub-licensing content within the specified license period, revenue is recognized upon delivery of films when the arrangement includes a nonrefundable minimum guarantee, delivery is complete and we have no substantive future obligations to provide future additional services. Payments received from customers for the performance of future services are recognized as deferred revenue, and subsequently recognized as revenue in the period that the service obligations are completed.

 

Licensed ContentLong-lived Assets

 

We obtain content through content licensing agreements with studiosLong-lived assets, including property and distributors. We recognize licensed content when the license fee and the specified content titles are known or reasonably determinable. Prepaid license fees are classified as an asset on the consolidated balance sheets as licensed content and accrued license fees payable are classified as a liability on the consolidated balance sheets.

We amortize licensed content in cost of revenues over the content contractual window of availability based on the expected revenue derived from the licensed content, beginning with the month of first availability, such that our revenues bear a representative amount of the cost of the licensed content. We review factors that impact the amortization of licensed content on a regular basis, including factors that may bear direct impact on expected revenue from specific content titles. We estimate expected revenue by reviewing relevant factors, including marketing considerations, programming efforts, relationship with our channel partners, expected customer renewals and content offered by other distributors on the same platform. Changes in our expected revenue from licensed content could have a significant impact on our amortization pattern.

Intangible Assets and Goodwill

We account for intangible assets and goodwill, in accordance with ASC 350,Intangibles- Goodwill and Other. ASC 350 requires that goodwillequipment and intangible assets, with indefinite useful lives no longer be amortized, but instead be evaluated for impairment at least annually. ASC 350 also requires that intangible assets with estimable useful lives be amortized over their respective estimated useful lives andexcluding goodwill, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In accordance with ASC 350, goodwillThe evaluation is allocatedperformed at the lowest level of identifiable cash flows independent of other assets. An impairment loss would be recognized when estimated undiscounted future cash flows generated from the assets are less than their carrying amount.

Factors which could result in the Company performing an impairment review include significant underperformance relative to reporting units,historical or projected future operating results, significant changes in the manner of use of the assets or the strategy for our business, and significant negative industry or economic trends.


The Company received a specific type of digital currency, GTB, as a result of two transactions in the three months ended March 31, 2019, and recorded the GTB currency as indefinite-lived intangible assets. On October 29, 2019, GTB had an unexpected significant decline in quoted price, from $17.00 to $1.84. This decline continued through the fourth quarter of 2019, and on December 31, 2019 the quoted price was $0.23. As a result of this decline in quoted price, and its inability to convert GTB into other digital currencies which are eitherwere more liquid, or fiat currency, the operating segment or one reporting level belowCompany performed an impairment analysis in the operating segment. Onfourth quarter of 2019 and recorded an annual basis, we review goodwill for impairment by first assessing qualitative factorsloss of $61.1 million.

The assumptions and estimates used to determine whetherfuture values and remaining useful lives of our intangible and other long-lived assets are complex and subjective. They can be affected by various factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors such as changes in our business strategy and our forecasts for future expansion development. Based on the existenceimpairment analyses performed, the Company recorded an impairment loss related to a secure mobile financial information, social and messaging platform of events$5.7 million, in the year ended December 31, 2019. No impairment losses were recorded in the year ended December 31, 2018.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset retirement obligations generally apply to legal obligations associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset that result from the acquisition, construction or circumstances makes it more-likely-than-not thatdevelopment and the normal operation of a long-lived asset. If a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made, the fair value of a reporting unitliability for an asset retirement obligation is less than its carrying amount. If we determine thatrecognized in the period in which it is more-likely-than-not thatincurred or a change in estimate occurs. The estimate of the liability for asset retirement obligations is dependent upon many factors, including the type of remediation which is required, the magnitude of the required remediation, and the time frame for the required steps. Asset retirement costs associated with asset retirement obligations are capitalized with the carrying amount of the related long-lived assets and will be depreciated over the related asset’s estimated useful life. The Company’s asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 are associated with the acquisition of Fintech Village, in which the Company is contractually obligated to remediate certain existing environmental conditions. The asset retirement cost is included in construction in progress and asset retirement obligation (long-term) in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company will start to amortize the asset retirement costs when the related assets are completed, put into use, and their depreciation commences. In the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company impaired buildings with a carrying amount of $2.3 million, and impaired related asset retirement costs of $1.5 million.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of identifiable net assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is further tested for impairment by comparing the carrying value to the estimated fair value of its reporting units, determined using externally quoted prices (if available) or a discounted cash flow model and, when deemed necessary, a market approach.

business combination. Application of goodwill impairment tests requires significant management judgement,judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets, liabilities and goodwill to reporting units and determination of fair value of each reporting unit. The Company performs goodwill impairment testing at the reporting unit level which is defined as the operating segment or one level below the operating segment. One level below the operating segment, or component, is a business for which discrete financial information is available and regularly reviewed by segment management. The Company tests goodwill for impairment annually (during the fourth quarter), or more frequently when events or changes in circumstances indicate it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit has declined below its carrying amount. Goodwill is evaluated for impairment using qualitative and/or quantitative testing procedures.

The Company has the option to first perform qualitative testing to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. Judgment applied when performing the qualitative analysis includes consideration of macroeconomic, industry and market conditions, overall financial performance of the reporting unit, composition, personnel or strategy changes affecting the reporting unit and recoverability of asset groups within a reporting unit. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, the Company determines it is not more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, then performing the quantitative impairment test is unnecessary. However, if the Company concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the quantitative impairment test by calculating the fair value of the reporting unit and comparing the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount.

The fair value of a reporting unit may be determined using externally quoted prices (if available), a discounted cash flow model, or a market approach. Judgments applied when performing the quantitative analysis includes estimating future cash flows, determining appropriate discount rates and making other assumptions. Changes in these judgments, estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value for each reporting unit.

 

40

TableAn impairment loss, if any, is recorded when the fair value of Contentsa reporting unit has declined below its carrying amount. The Company has not recorded goodwill impairment charges in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

 

Standards IssuedLong-term Investments

The Company accounts for equity investments through which management exercises significant influence but does not have control over the investee under the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and Not Yet Implemented adjusted for the Company’s share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investee. The Company’s share of losses is not recognized when the investment is reduced to zero since the Company does not guarantee the investees’ obligations nor is the Company committed to providing additional funding.

 

In February 2016,Beginning on January 1, 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issuedequity investments which are not consolidated or accounted for under the equity method are either carried at fair value or under the measurement alternative upon the adoption of the Accounting Standards Update (ASU)(“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842)2016-01,Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10)(“ASU No 2016-01”).


The Company utilizes the measurement alternative for equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values and measures these investments at cost less impairment plus or minus observable price changes in orderly transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same issuer.

Management periodically reviews long-term investments for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investment may not be fully recoverable. Management considers impairment indicators such as negative changes in industry and market conditions, financial performance, business prospects, and other relevant events and factors. If indicators exist, further analysis must be performed in order to determine if the impairment, if any, is other-than-temporary. If the impairment is deemed to be other-than-temporary, the fair value of the investment must be determined. In the absence of quoted market prices, management must use judgement to determine the fair value of the investment, considering such factors as current economic and market conditions, the operating performance of the entities, including current earnings trends and forecasted cash flows, and other company and industry specific information. If the fair value of the investment is below the carrying amount, an impairment loss is recorded to record the investment at fair value. The Company recorded impairment losses of $3.0 million and $0 in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, for equity investments accounted for under the measurement alternative, and recorded impairment losses of $13.1 million and $0 in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, for investments accounted for as equity method investments.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Information regarding new standardaccounting pronouncements is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. The standard will require lessees to report most leases as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet, while lessor accounting will remain substantially unchanged. The standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for existing leases, whereby the new rules will be appliedincluded in Note 2 to the earliest year presented. We do not expect the new lease standard to have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326)”. The pronouncement changes the impairment model for most financial assets, and will require the use of an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. Under this model, entities will be required to estimate the lifetime expected credit loss on such instruments and record an allowance to offset the amortized cost basis of the financial asset, resulting in a net presentation of the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. This pronouncement is effective for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. We do not expect a material impact to its consolidated financial statement upon adoption of this ASU.Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

ITEM 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

This Item 7A is not required for Smaller Reporting Companies.


ITEM 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

The full text of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 begins on page F-1 of this annual report.

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PART III

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

Directors and Executive Officers

The following sets forth the name and position of each of our current executive officers and directors.

NAMEDATAAGEPOSITION
Bruno Wu50Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Shane McMahon47Vice Chairman
Robert G. Benya58Chief Revenue Officer and Director
Federico Tovar45Chief Financial Officer 
James Cassano71Director
Jerry Fan51Director
Jin Shi47Director
Kang Zhao35Director

Bruno Wu. Mr. Wu has served as our Chairman since January 12, 2016. Mr. Wu is the founder, co-chairman and CEO of Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, a private media and investment company in China, since 2007. Its predecessor is Sun Media Group Holdings Limited, which was established by Mr. Wu and his spouse in 1999. Mr. Wu served as chairman of Sun Media Group from 1999 to 2007 and was former director of Shanda Group, a private investment group, from 2006 to 2009 and as former co-chairman of Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA), a Chinese media and Internet services company, from 2001 to 2002. Additionally, Mr. Wu served as the chief operating officer for ATV, a free-to-air television broadcaster in Hong Kong, from 1998 to 1999. Mr. Wu served as a director of Seven Star Works Co Ltd (KOSDAQ:121800) between 2015 to 2017, and served as a director of Semir Garment Co. Ltd (SHE:00256) between 2008 and 2012. Mr. Wu received a Ph.D. from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University in 2001 and prior to that received an M.A. in International Relations from Washington University, a B.A. in Business Management from Culver-Stockton College of Missouri and a diploma in Superior Studies in French Literature from the School of French Language and Literature at the University of Savoie in Chambery, France.

Shane McMahon. Mr. McMahon was appointed Vice Chairman as of January 12, 2016 and was previously our Chairman from July 2010 to January 2016. Prior to joining us, from 2000 to December 31, 2009, Mr. McMahon served in various executive level positions with World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE). Mr. McMahon also sits on the Boards of Directors of International Sports Management (USA) Inc., a Delaware corporation, and Global Power of Literacy, a New York not-for-profit corporation.

Robert G. Benya. Mr. Benya was appointed as Chief Revenue Officer and director of the Company effective as of October 9, 2017. Mr. Benya is a highly distinguished media executive with over 35 years of experience who has pioneered numerous businesses and product innovations in the U.S. and Scandinavian cable television industries. Prior to joining the Company, from January 2010 to June 2017, he was the President & CEO of iN DEMAND L.L.C., the pioneer & world leader in providing transactional entertainment through TV’s most innovative technologies. Prior to joining iN DEMAND, Mr. Benya led numerous innovations at Time Warner Cable (“TWC”) and helped create new, multi-billion dollar businesses including: Road Runner High Speed Internet, Broadband Portals, Online Video Stores, Advertising Sales Interconnect Joint Ventures, Pay Per View, Video on Demand, Interactive TV and Cloud DVR services. During his career he was the Chief Revenue Officer for Road Runner High Speed Internet, Senior Vice President of AOL/Time Warner Interactive Video and Corporate Senior Vice President for Time Warner Cable (TWC). Mr. Benya has received numerous industry awards including the Cable TV Vanguard Award, multiple ACE and CTAM Awards, two Marketing Executive of the Year Awards, the Paragon Communication President's Award and a Time Warner Cable Innovation Award. He also holds six patents and has won a Technical Emmy Award.

Federico Tovar.Mr. Federico Tovar, is a seasoned business professional and subject matter expert in AI, FinTech, Blockchain, IoT and cybersecurity. He was previously the Chief Financial and Strategy Officer of Global Data Sentinel Inc, a privately held and high growth cybersecurity and AI technology company that supports data security across domains, including network, Cloud, mobile and IoT, with AI capabilities and next-generation applications in Blockchain, FinTech, energy, insurance, healthcare, and media industries, amongst others. He previously was a Director at Grant Thornton LLP, where he was responsible for advisory assignments during the global financial crisis, advising global private equity firms, hedge funds, and other large-scale financial institutions and insurance companies on their investment portfolios and matters related to complex financial instruments, derivatives, and other hard to price securities. In addition, he was part of large-scale and global multidisciplinary audit assignments involving companies in the United States, Europe and Asia, and served as a subject matter expert to audit teams on various Fair Value and IFRS matters. He also spent time with Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance practice in New York, where he provided M&A, valuation, and corporate restructuring advisory to large-scale Fortune 500 technology companies. He started his career in strategy and management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, exposing him to technology and innovation early on in his career, advising some of the world’s largest private and government organizations. In addition, he spent time at the World Bank, working closely on fixed income securities and debt instruments with Central Banks and Finance Ministers across emerging markets in Asia and Latin America.

Mr. Tovar has managed corporate, financial reporting, legal and investor relations matters, along with all daily operations and fiduciary duties at the executive and board level; including financial reporting and accounting pursuant to GAAP and IFRS, as well as tax and international transfer pricing matters across foreign tax jurisdictions. Mr. Tovar has developed strategic plans and business models, structured various intellectual property and technology licensing deals, closed on various M&A transactions and debt and equity financing rounds, and formulated corporate growth and financial strategies for technology companies which have resulted in measurable execution strategies. He is a seasoned finance professional and entrepreneur in the technology ecosystem, and a subject matter expert in FinTech, Blockchain, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity. Mr. Tovar holds a Bachelor”s Degree in Economics from the University of Maryland.

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James S. Cassano. Mr. Cassano was appointed as director of the Company effective as of January 11, 2008. Mr. Cassano is currently a Partner & Chief Financial Officer of CoActive Health Solutions, LLC, a worldwide contract research organization, supporting the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Mr. Cassano has served as executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and director of Jaguar Acquisition Corporation a Delaware corporation (OTCBB: JGAC), a blank check company, since its formation in June 2005. Mr. Cassano has served as a managing director of Katalyst LLC, a company which provides certain administrative services to Jaguar Acquisition Corporation, since January 2005. In June 1998, Mr. Cassano founded New Forum Publishers, an electronic publisher of educational material for secondary schools, and served as its chairman of the Board and chief executive officer until it was sold to Apex Learning, Inc., a company controlled by Warburg Pincus, in August 2003. He remained with Apex until November 2003 in transition as vice president business development and served as a consultant to the company through February 2004. In June 1995, Mr. Cassano co-founded Advantix, Inc., a high volume electronic ticketing software and transaction services company which handled event related client and customer payments, that was renamed Tickets.com and went public through an IPO in 1999. From March 1987 to June 1995, Mr. Cassano served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Hill Group, Inc., a privately-held engineering and consulting organization, and from February 1986 to March 1987, Mr. Cassano served as vice president of investments and acquisitions for Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a public venture development company. From May 1973 to February 1986, Mr. Cassano served as partner and director of strategic management services (Europe) for the strategic management group of Hay Associates. Mr. Cassano received a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jerry Fan. Mr. Fan was appointed as director of the Company on January 12, 2016. Mr. Fan has served as Managing Director and Country Manager for the Greater China region at Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI), a global semiconductor company since November, 2012. Prior to ADI, Mr. Fan worked for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) for 15 years between 1997 and 2012 in a number of senior management roles, including Sales Managing Director for Cisco China, Sale Director for Cisco Australia and Senior Manager for Operations and Strategy for the Cisco Service Provider business based in Hong Kong. Mr. Fan started his career in 1998 working at Fudan University as a faculty member in both teaching and research roles. He graduated from Fudan University with a Computer Science Bachelor degree and an Executive MBA degree from CEIBS (China European International Business School) in 1999.

Jin Shi. Mr. Shi was appointed as director of the Company in February 2014. Mr. Shi has been a managing partner of Chum Capital Group Limited since 2007, a merchant banking firm that invests in Chinese growth companies and advises them on financings, mergers & acquisitions and restructurings. From 2011 through 2013, Mr. Shi served as the chief executive officer and a director on the board of China Growth Equity Investment Limited, which acquired Pingtan Marine Enterprise Limited in February 2013. From 2010 through 2011, he served as the vice-chairman and a director of the board of China Growth Equity Investment Limited. From 2006 through 2009, Mr. Shi served as the chief executive officer and a director of the board of ChinaGrowth North Acquisition Corporation, which acquired UIB Group Limited in January 2009, the second largest insurance brokerage firm in China. From 2006 through 2009, Mr. Shi also served as the chief financial officer and a director of the board of ChinaGrowth South Acquisition Corporation, which acquired Olympia Media Holdings Ltd. in January 2009, the largest privately-owned newspaper aggregator and operator in China. Mr. Shi has also been the chairman of Shanghai RayChem Industries Co., Ltd., a research & development based active pharmaceutical ingredient producer, since he founded the company in 2005. Mr. Shi is also the president of PharmaSource Inc., a company he founded in 1997. Mr. Shi received an EMBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University and a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University.

Kang Zhao. Mr. Zhao was appointed as director of the Company on January 10, 2018. Mr. Zhao currently serves as General Manager in Yunnan Energy Investment (Shanghai) Energy Development Co., Ltd, since December 2016. Prior to that, he was Vice President in Shanghai Gaoqiao Cable Group Co., Ltd, responsible for operations and supervising around 200 employees. Mr. Zhao was nominated by Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited, with which the Company signed the Securities Purchase Agreement on October 23, 2017 and entitled to designate one individual to join the Board. Mr. Zhao received his MBA from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and a BA in Economics.

Chao Yang.Mr Yang was appointed as a director of the Company on August 7, 2018. Mr. Yang has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Fosun International Limited since December 2014. Mr. Yang was the chairman of China Life Insurance Company Limited (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock code: 02628) from July 2005 to June 2011, the president and secretary of party committee of China Life Insurance (Group) Company from May 2005 to May 2011 and an independent non-executive director of SRE Group Limited (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock code: 01207) from November 2013 to December 2015. As at 31 December 2017, Mr. Yang has been a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and its Social and Legislative Committee. Mr. Yang, a Senior Economist, has more than 40 years of experience in the insurance and banking industries, and was awarded special allowance by the State Council. Mr. Yang graduated from Shanghai International Studies University and Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, majoring in English and business administration respectively, and received a master’s degree in business administration.

There are no agreements or understandings between any of our executive officers or directors and any other persons to resign at the request of another such other person and to act on behalf of or at the direction of any such other person.

Directors are elected for one-year term and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Corporate Governance

Our current corporate governance practices and policies are designed to promote shareholder value and we are committed to the highest standards of corporate ethics and diligent compliance with financial accounting and reporting rules. Our Board provides independent leadership in the exercise of its responsibilities. Our management oversees a system of internal controls and compliance with corporate policies and applicable laws and regulations, and our employees operate in a climate of responsibility, candor and integrity.

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Corporate Governance Guidelines

We and our Board are committed to high standards of corporate governance as an important component in building and maintaining shareholder value. To this end, we regularly review our corporate governance policies and practices to ensure that they are consistent with the high standards of other companies. We also closely monitor guidance issued or proposed by the SEC and the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as the emerging best practices of other companies. The current corporate governance guidelines are available on the Company’s website http://corporate.sevenstarscloud.com. Printed copies of our corporate governance guidelines may be obtained, without charge, by contacting our Corporate Secretary at 55 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10006.

The Board and Committees of the Board

The Companyis governed by the Board that currently consists of seven members: Bruno Wu, Shane McMahon, Robert Benya, James Cassano, Jerry Fan, Jin Shi, Chao Yangand Kang Zhao. The Board has established three Committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. Each of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee are comprised entirely of independent directors. From time to time, the Board may establish other committees. The Board has adopted a written charter for each of the Committees which are available on the Company’s website http://corporate.sevenstarscloud.com.Printed copies of these charters may be obtained, without charge, by contacting our Corporate Secretary at 55 Broadway, New York, NY 10006.

Governance Structure

Our Board of Directors is responsible for corporate governance in compliance with reporting laws and for representing the interests of our shareholders. As of March 2018,the Board was composed of seven members, five  of whom are considered independent, non-executive directors. Details on Board membership, oversight and activity are reported below.

We encourage our shareholders to learn more about our Company’s governance practices at our website, http://corporate.sevenstarscloud.com.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

The Board oversees that the assets of the Company are properly safeguarded, that the appropriate financial and other controls are maintained, and that the Company’s business is conducted wisely and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and proper governance. Included in these responsibilities is the Board of Directors’ oversight of the various risks facing the Company. In this regard, the Board seeks to understand and oversee critical business risks. The Board does not view risk in isolation. Risks are considered in virtually every business decision and as part of the Company’s business strategy. The Board recognizes that it is neither possible nor prudent to eliminate all risk. Indeed, purposeful and appropriate risk-taking is essential for the Company to be competitive on a global basis and to achieve its objectives.

While the Board oversees risk management, Company management is charged with managing risk. The Company has robust internal processes and a strong internal control environment to identify and manage risks and to communicate with the Board. The Board and the Audit Committee monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the internal controls and the risk management program at least annually. Management communicates routinely with the Board, Board committees and individual directors on the significant risks identified and how they are being managed. Directors are free to, and indeed often do, communicate directly with senior management.

The Board implements its risk oversight function both as a whole and through Committees. Much of the work is delegated to various Committees, which meet regularly and report back to the full Board. All Committees play significant roles in carrying out the risk oversight function. In particular:

.The Audit Committee oversees risks related to the Company’s financial statements, the financial reporting process, accounting and legal matters. The Audit Committee members meet separately with representatives of the independent auditing firm.

.The Compensation Committee evaluates the risks and rewards associated with the Company’s compensation philosophy and programs. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves compensation programs with features that mitigate risk without diminishing the incentive nature of the compensation. Management discusses with the Compensation Committee the procedures that have been put in place to identify and mitigate potential risks in compensation.

Independent Directors

In considering and making decisions as to the independence of each of the directors of the Company, the Board considered transactions and relationships between the Company (and its subsidiaries) and each director (and each member of such director’s immediate family and any entity with which the director or family member has an affiliation such that the director or family member may have a material direct or indirect interest in a transaction or relationship with such entity). The Board has determined that James Cassano, Jerry Fan, Jin Shi and Kang Zhao are independent as defined in applicable SEC and NASDAQ rules and regulations, and that each constitutes an “Independent Director” as defined in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605.

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Audit Committee

Our Audit Committee consists of James Cassano, Jerry Fan and Jin Shi with Mr. Cassano acting as Chair. The Audit Committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. Mr. Cassano serves as our Audit Committee financial experts as that term is defined by the applicable SEC rules. The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things:

.selecting our independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by our independent auditors;
.reviewing with our independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response;
.reviewing and approving all proposed related-party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
.discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and our independent auditors;
.reviewing major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special audit steps adopted in light of significant internal control deficiencies;
.annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our Audit Committee charter;
.overseeing the work of our independent auditor, including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting;
.reporting regularly to and reviewing with the full Board any issues that arise with respect to the quality or integrity of the Company’s financial statements, the performance and independence of the independent auditors and any other matters that the Audit Committee deems appropriate or is requested to review for the benefit of the Board.

The Audit Committee may engage independent counsel and such other advisors it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities and powers, and, if such counsel or other advisors are engaged, shall determine the compensation or fees payable to such counsel or other advisors. The Audit Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more of its members as the Audit Committee deems appropriate to carry out its responsibilities and exercise its powers.

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee consists of Jin Shi and James Cassano with Mr. Shi acting as Chair. Our Compensation Committee assists the Board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure of our directors and executive officers, including all forms of compensation to be provided to our directors and executive officers. The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things:

.reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our chief executive officer, evaluating the performance of our chief executive officer in light of those goals and objectives, and setting the compensation level of our chief executive officer based on this evaluation;
.reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with regard to the compensation of other executive officers;
.reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to the compensation of our directors; and
.reviewing and making recommendations to the Board regarding all incentive-based compensation plans and equity-based plans.

The Compensation Committee has sole authority to retain and terminate any consulting firm or other outside advisor to assist the committee in the evaluation of director, chief executive officer or senior executive compensation and other compensation-related matters, including sole authority to approve the firms’ fees and other retention terms. The Compensation Committee may also form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members of the Compensation Committee.

Governance and Nominating Committee

Our Governance and Nominating Committee consists of Jerry Fan and Jin Shi with Mr. Shi acting as Chair. The Governance and Nominating Committee assists the Board of Directors in identifying individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the Board and its committees. The Governance and Nominating Committee is responsible for, among other things:

.identifying and recommending to the Board nominees for election or re-election to the Board, or for appointment to fill any vacancy;
.selecting directors for appointment to committees of the Board; and
.overseeing annual evaluation of the Board and its committees for the prior fiscal year

 

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The Governance and Nominating Committee has sole authority to retain and terminate any search firm that is to be used by the Company to assist in identifying director candidates, including sole authority to approve the firms’ fees and other retention terms. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members of the Governance and Nominating Committee.

Director Qualifications

Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s business consistent with their fiduciary duty to shareholders. This significant responsibility requires highly-skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes and professional experience. The Board believes that there are general requirements for service on the Company’s Board of Directors that are applicable to all directors and that there are other skills and experience that should be represented on the Board as a whole but not necessarily by each director. The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board consider the qualifications of directors and director candidates individually and in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition and the Company’s current and future needs.

Qualifications for All Directors

In its assessment of each potential director candidate, including those recommended by shareholders, the Governance and Nominating Committee considers the nominee’s judgment, integrity, experience, independence, understanding of the Company’s business or other related industries and such other factors the Governance and Nominating Committee determines are pertinent in light of the current needs of the Board. The Governance and Nominating Committee also takes into account the ability of a director to devote the time and effort necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities to the Company.

The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee require that each director be a recognized person of high integrity with a proven record of success in his or her field. Each director must demonstrate innovative thinking, familiarity with and respect for corporate governance requirements and practices, an appreciation of multiple cultures and a commitment to sustainability and to dealing responsibly with social issues. In addition to the qualifications required of all directors, the Board assesses intangible qualities including the individual’s ability to ask difficult questions and, simultaneously, to work collegially.

The Board does not have a specific diversity policy, but considers diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, age, cultural background and professional experiences in evaluating candidates for Board membership. Diversity is important because a variety of points of view contribute to a more effective decision-making process.

Qualifications, Attributes, Skills and Experience to be Represented on the Board as a Whole

The Board has identified particular qualifications, attributes, skills and experience that are important to be represented on the Board as a whole, in light of the Company’s current needs and business priorities. The Company’s services are performed in areas of future growth located outside of the United States. Accordingly, the Board believes that international experience or specific knowledge of key geographic growth areas and diversity of professional experiences should be represented on the Board. In addition, the Company’s business is multifaceted and involves complex financial transactions. Therefore, the Board believes that the Board should include some directors with a high level of financial literacy and some directors who possess relevant business experience as a Chief Executive Officer or President. Our business involves complex technologies in a highly specialized industry. Therefore, the Board believes that extensive knowledge of the Company’s business and industry should be represented on the Board.

Summary of Qualifications of Current Directors

Set forth below is a narrative disclosure that summarizes some of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences of our directors. For more detailed information, please refer to the biographical information for each director set forth above.

Bruno Wu. The Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bruno Wu is an experienced investor, technology and media entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Dr. Wu has been actively involved with blockchain based and big data technologies since October 2011. After four years of investment and research, in 2015, Dr. Wu and his companies proceeded to execute the strategy of becoming a leader in fintech and asset digitization services by aggregating AI, blockchain and other big data and Cloud based technologies, carefully sourced and selected on a global basis through joint ventures and partnerships. These partnerships focus on customizing and enabling actual business use case applications. Dr. Wu actively participated in the build out of the worlds leading big data hub in Guiyang, China, particularly by endorsing the integration with AI and blockchain. Currently Dr. Wu has committed to transforming the Company into a flagship for fintech and asset digitization services, with multiple use case technology engines to be rolled out.

Shane McMahon. Mr. McMahon has significant marketing and promotion experience and has been instrumental in exploiting pay-per-view programming on a global basis. In light of our business and structure, Mr. McMahon’s extensive executive and industry experience led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Robert G. Benya. Mr. Benya has significant operational, revenue and executive management experience in the content distribution and, cloud services space and has significant experience serving in senior executive positions, including chief revenue officer. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Benya’s extensive industry and management experience led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

James Cassano. Mr. Cassano has significant senior management experience, including service as chief executive officer, executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and director. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Cassano’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

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Jerry Fan. Mr. Fan has more than 20 years of experience in top management positions in China and the Asia Pacific region, working for several multinational technology companies. He also has served in senior management positions of several U.S. public companies. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Fan’s extensive industry and business experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Jin Shi. Mr. Shi provides our Board with significant executive-level leadership expertise as well as extensive experience as a director of various companies. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Shi’s business experience and education background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Kang Zhao. Mr. Zhao provides our Board with technological expertise with regards to energy investment and products in the China region. Mr. Zhao’s unique background in the energy technology industry led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Chao Yang.Mr. Yang provides our Board with significant executive-level leadership expertise as well as extensive experience as a director of various large companies. Mr. Yang’s unique background and experience in the insurance industry led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our directors and officers.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

To the best of our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has, during the past ten years:

.been convicted in a criminal proceeding or been subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offences);
.had any bankruptcy petition filed by or against the business or property of the person, or of any partnership, corporation or business association of which he was a general partner or executive officer, either at the time of the bankruptcy filing or within two years prior to that time;
.been subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction or federal or state authority, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting, his involvement in any type of business, securities, futures, commodities, investment, banking, savings and loan, or insurance activities, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such activity;
.been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law, and the judgment has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated;
.been the subject of, or a party to, any federal or state judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated (not including any settlement of a civil proceeding among private litigants), relating to an alleged violation of any federal or state securities or commodities law or regulation, any law or regulation respecting financial institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution, civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease-and-desist order, or removal or prohibition order, or any law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or
.been the subject of, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26))), any registered entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1(a)(29))), or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member.

Except as set forth in our discussion below in Item 13- Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence - Transactions with Related Persons, none of our directors, director nominees or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Section 16(A) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Under U.S. securities laws, Directors, certain executive officers and persons holding more than 10% of our common stock must report their initial ownership of the common stock, and any changes in that ownership, to the SEC. The SEC has designated specific due dates for these reports. Based solely on our review of copies of such reports filed with the SEC by and representations of our Directors and executive officers, except for the Form 3 Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership to be filed by our directors Robert Benya and Kang Zhao, and the Form 4 in connection with grants of stock options to be filed by our directors Jim Cassano, Shane McMahon, Jin Shi and Jerry Fan, we believe that our Directors and executive officers filed the required reports on time during 2017.

Code of Ethics

Our board of directors adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers, employees and advisors, which became effective in January 2015. We have posted a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics on our website at corporate.sevenstarscloud.com.

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PART IV

ITEM 15.EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

Financial Statements and Schedules

The financial statements are set forth under Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. Financial statement schedules have been omitted since they are either not required, not applicable, or the information is otherwise included.

Exhibit List

The list of exhibits in the Exhibit Index to this Report is incorporated herein by reference.

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SIGNATURES

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

Date: August 28,2018

SEVEN STARS CLOUD GROUP,IDEANOMICS, INC.
By:/s/ Bruno Wu
Bruno Wu
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
By:/s/ Federico Tovar
Federico Tovar
Chief Financial Officer

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Exhibit index

Exhibit

No.

Description
23.1*Consent of BF Borgers CPA PC.
31.3*Certifications of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.4*Certifications of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

*Filed herewith.

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SEVEN STARS CLOUD GROUP, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting FirmF-2
Consolidated Financial Statements: 
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 20172019 and 20162018F-3
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018F-4
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018F-5
Consolidated Statements of Equity for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018F-6
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018F-8F-7
Notes to Consolidated Financial StatementsF-9F-8

 

F-1

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the shareholders and the board of directors of Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc.

 

OpinionOpinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics Inc. and its subsidiaries and variable interest entities (the "Company") as of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss,income, equity, and cash flows for each of the two years thenin the period ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”).

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, and the results of the its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years thenin the period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

 

Going concern uncertainty

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in noteNote 3 to the financial statements, the Company incurred recurring losses from operations, has net current liabilities and an accumulated deficit that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in noteNote 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

TheseThe Company's management is responsible for these financial statements, are the responsibilityfor maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the Company's management.effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements and an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

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

 

Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of Mattersopinions.

 

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

As described in Note 5

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements the Company’s financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 have been retrospectively adjustedexternal purposes in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 805-50 duegenerally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to businessthe maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of entities controlled by the Company’s Chairmancompany's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in January 2017.conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Emphasis of Matters

 

The Company has significant transactions and relationships with related parties including entities controlled by the Company’s Chairman,, which are described in Note 1215 to the financial statements. Transactions involving related parties cannot be presumed to be carried out on an arm's length basis, as the requisite conditions of competitive, free market dealings may not exist.

 

/s/B F Borgers CPA PC

/s/ B F Borgers CPA PC

 

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.

 

Lakewood, Colorado

 

March 30, 201816, 2020 

F-2


Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
     (As adjusted*) 
ASSETS        
Current assets:        
Cash $7,205,096  $3,761,814 
Accounts receivable, net  26,962,085   9,522,151 
Licensed content, current  16,958,149   124,319 
Notes receivable  -   1,749,830 
Inventory  216,453   203,697 
Prepaid expenses  2,202,728   375,944 
Other current assets  2,256,727   3,581,822 
Total current assets  55,801,238   19,319,577 
Property and equipment, net  113,993   4,963,725 
Licensed content, non-current  -   17,593,528 
Intangible assets, net  148,874   453,242 
Goodwill  -   6,648,911 
Long-term investments  6,975,511   6,654,664 
Other non-current assets  -   112,643 
Total assets $63,039,616  $55,746,290 
         
LIABILITIES, CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK AND EQUITY        
Current liabilities:(including amounts of consolidated VIEs without recourse to Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. See note 4)        
Accounts payable  26,829,593   13,341,680 
Advance from customers  222,350   1,350,054 
Accrued interest due to a related party  20,055   557,918 
Accrued other expenses  

174,358

   708,987 
Accrued salaries  737,072   766,957 
Payable for purchase of building  -   987,015 
Amount due to related parties  45,639   1,060,817 
Other current liabilities  625,942   934,480 
Accrued license content fees  -   1,236,661 
Convertible promissory note due to a related party  3,000,000   3,000,000 
Warrant liabilities  -   70,785 
Total current liabilities  31,655,009   24,015,354 
Total liabilities  31,655,009   24,015,354 
Commitments and contingencies:(Note 18)        
Convertible redeemable preferred stock:        
Series A - 7,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, liquidation and deemed liquidation preference of $3,500,000 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively  1,261,995   1,261,995 
Equity:        
Series E Preferred Stock - $0.001 par value; 16,500,000 shares authorized, nil and 7,154,997 shares issued and outstanding, liquidation preference of nil and $12,521,245 as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively  -   7,155 
Common stock - $0.001 par value; 1,500,000,000 shares authorized, 68,509,090 and 53,918,523 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively  68,509   53,918 
Additional paid-in capital  157,968,548   152,755,919 
Accumulated deficit  (125,865,391)  (115,669,268)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (759,687)  (1,353,302)
Total Seven Stars Cloud shareholder’s equity  31,411,979   35,794,422 
Non-controlling interest  (1,289,367)  (5,325,481)
Total equity  30,122,612   30,468,941 
Total liabilities, convertible redeemable preferred stock and equity $63,039,616  $55,746,290 

As of December 31, 2019  2018 
ASSETS        
Current assets:        
Cash and cash equivalents $2,632,886  $3,106,244 
Accounts receivable, net  2,404,869   19,370,665 
Licensed content  -   16,958,149 
Prepaid expenses  572,346   2,042,041 
Other current assets  1,841,720   3,594,942 
Total current assets  7,451,821   45,072,041 
Property and equipment, net  12,939,480   15,029,427 
Intangible assets, net  52,770,639   3,036,352 
Goodwill  23,344,299   704,884 
Long-term investments  22,621,497   26,408,609 
Operating lease right of use assets  6,933,582   - 
Other non-current assets  883,126   3,983,799 
Total assets $126,944,444  $94,235,112 
         
LIABILITIES, CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK AND EQUITY        
Current liabilities: (including amounts of the consolidated VIEs without recourse to Ideanomics, Inc. See note 5)        
Accounts payable $3,380,482  $19,265,094 
Deferred revenue  476,716   405,929 
Accrued salaries  923,323   706,351 
Amount due to related parties  3,962,061   800,822 
Other current liabilities  6,466,007   4,615,346 
Current portion of operating lease liabilities  1,112,733   - 
Current acquisition earn-out liability  12,421,399   - 
Promissory note-short term  3,000,000    
Convertible promissory note due to third-parties  1,752,790     
Convertible promissory note due to related parties  3,260,055   4,140,055 
Total current liabilities  36,755,566   29,933,597 
Deferred tax liabilities  -   513,935 
Asset retirement obligations  5,094,200  ��8,000,000 
Convertible promissory note due to third parties-long term  5,088,854   11,313,770 
Convertible promissory note due to related parties-long term  1,550,657     
Operating lease liability-long term  6,222,420   - 
Non-current acquisition earn-out liability  12,234,830   - 
Other non-current liabilities  -   - 
Total liabilities  66,946,527   49,761,302 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 19)        
Convertible redeemable preferred stock:        
Series A - 7,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, liquidation and deemed liquidation preference of $3,500,000 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively  1,261,995   1,261,995 
Equity:        
Common stock - $0.001 par value; 1,500,000,000 shares authorized, 149,692,953 and 102,766,006 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively  149,692   102,765 
Additional paid-in capital  282,553,877   195,779,576 
Accumulated deficit  (248,482,826)  (149,975,302)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (663,579)  (1,664,598)
Total IDEX shareholder’s equity  33,557,164   44,242,441 
Non-controlling interest  25,178,758   (1,030,626)
Total equity  58,735,922   43,211,815 
Total liabilities, convertible redeemable preferred stock and equity $126,944,444  $94,235,112 

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Servicesinclude Shanghai Guang Ming Investment Management Limited (“Guang Ming”). The acquisition of Guang Ming was completed on April 4, 2018 and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control and January 31, 2017, respectively as if theyit had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition6 “Acquisitions and Divestitures”)

 

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

 

F-3


Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

 2017  2016 
    (As adjusted*) 
Revenue from third parties $125,365,751  $35,185,508 
Revenue from related party  18,973,054   - 
For the years ended December 31, 2019 2018 
Revenue from third-parties $1,295,486 $278,024,867 
Revenue from related parties  43,271,469  99,718,005 
Total revenue  144,338,805   35,185,508  44,566,955 377,742,872 
Cost of revenue  137,188,353   35,551,198 
Cost of revenue from third-parties 990,879 130,464,906 
Cost of revenue from related parties  466,894  244,110,132 
Gross profit  7,150,452   (365,690)  43,109,182  3,167,834 
             
Operating expenses:             
Selling, general and administrative expenses  12,848,184   10,898,323  24,862,208 22,471,976 
Research and development expense  406,845   -   1,654,491 
Professional fees  3,153,697   1,400,139  5,828,385 4,749,799 
Depreciation and amortization  306,801   505,028  2,228,653 352,332 
Impairment of other intangible assets (Note 8)  216,468   2,018,628 
Earn-out share award expense (Note 13)  -   13,700,000 
Acquisition earn-out expense 5,094,095  
Impairment of assets  73,668,525  134,290 
Total operating expenses  16,931,995   28,522,118   111,681,866  29,362,888 
             
Loss from operations  (9,781,543)  (28,887,808) (68,572,684) (26,195,054)
             
Interest and other income (expense):             
Interest expense, net  (95,658)  (254,725) (5,616,282) (804,595)
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities  (112,642)  324,432 
Equity in loss of equity method investees  (129,193)  (31,557)
Impairment of equity method investments  -   (38,448)
Others  (73,833)  57,017 
Loss on extinguishment of debt (3,940,196) - 
Impairment of and equity in loss of equity method investees (13,718,280) (180,625)
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net (951,594) (1,183,289)
Loss on remeasurement of DBOT investment (3,178,702) - 
Other  (433,184)  (99,765)
Loss before income taxes and non-controlling interest  (10,192,869)  (28,831,089) (96,410,922) (28,463,328)
             
Income tax benefit  -   330,124 
Income tax (expense) benefit  (417,453)  40,244 
             
Net loss  (10,192,869)  (28,500,965) (96,828,375) (28,423,084)
             
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest  357,268   2,092,991 
Deemed dividend related to warrant repricing  (826,909)  - 
             
Net loss attributable to Seven Stars Cloud shareholders $(9,835,601) $(26,407,974)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders (97,655,284) (28,423,084)
     
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest  (852,240)  996,728 
     
Net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders $(98,507,524) $(27,426,356)
              
Basic and diluted loss per share $(0.16) $(0.73) $(0.82) $(0.35)
             
Weighted average shares outstanding:             
             
Basic and diluted  61,182,209   35,998,001  119,766,859 78,386,116 

 

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Services Limitedstatements of operations include Guang Ming. The acquisition of Guang Ming was completed on April 4, 2018 and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control and January 31, 2017, respectively as if theyit had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition6 “Acquisitions and Divestitures”)

 

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

 

F-4

Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

 

For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018 
Net loss $(96,828,375) $(28,423,084)
Other comprehensive loss, net of nil tax        
Foreign currency translation adjustments  407,288   (882,516)
Comprehensive loss  (96,421,087)  (29,305,600)
Deemed dividend related to warrant repricing  (826,909)   
Comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interest  (844,050)  978,282 
Comprehensive loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders $(98,092,046) $(28,327,318)

  2017  2016 
     (As adjusted*) 
Net loss $(10,192,869) $(28,500,965)
Other comprehensive loss, net of nil tax        
Foreign currency translation adjustments  770,261   (928,776)
Comprehensive loss  (9,422,608)  (29,429,741)
Comprehensive loss attributable to non-controlling interest  401,359   2,051,010 
Comprehensive loss attributable to Seven Stars Cloud shareholders $(9,021,249) $(27,378,731)

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Services Limitedstatements of cash flows include Guang Ming. The acquisition of Guang Ming was completed on April 4, 2018 and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control and January 31, 2017, respectively as if theyit had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition6 “Acquisitions and Divestitures”)

 

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

 

F-5

Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

For the Year Endedyears ended December 31, 20172019 and 2018

 

  

Series E

Preferred

Stock

  

Series

E

Par

Value

  

Common

Stock

  

Par

Value

  

Additional

Paid-in

Capital

  

Accumulated

Deficit

  

Accumulated

Other

Comprehensive

Loss

  

Seven Stars Cloud
Shareholders’

Equity

  

Non-

controlling

Interest

  

Total

Equity

 
Balance,
January 1, 2017 (As adjusted*)
  7,154,997  $7,155   53,918,523  $53,918  $152,755,919  $(115,669,268) $(1,353,302) $35,794,422  $(5,325,481) $30,468,941 
Share-based compensation  -   -   -   -   1,305,829   -   -   1,305,829   -   1,305,829 
Common stock issuance  -   -   6,221,778   6,222   11,969,368   -   -   11,975,590   -   11,975,590 
Common stock issuance
for RSU vested
  -   -   117,715   118   (118)  -   -   -   -   - 
Common stock issuance
for option exercised
  -   -   188,687   189   100,129   -   -   100,318   -   100,318 
Common stock issued for warrant exercised  -   -   907,390   907   1,724,819   -   -   1,725,726   -   1,725,726 
Common stock issued
from conversion of
series E preferred
stock
  (7,154,997)  (7,155)  7,154,997   7,155  -   -   -   -   -   - 
Disposal of one subsidiary  -   -   -   -   (9,887,398)  (360,522)  (220,737)  (10,468,657)  3,947,473   (6,521,184)
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest shareholder  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   490,000   490,000 
Net loss  -   -   -   -   -   (9,835,601)  -   (9,835,601)  (357,268)  (10,192,869)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax  -   -   -   -   -   -   814,352   814,352   (44,091)  770,261 

Balance, 
December 31, 2017

  -   -   68,509,090   68,509   157,968,548   (125,865,391)  (759,687)  31,411,979   (1,289,367)  30,122,612 
  Series E
Preferred
Stock
  Series E
Par
Value
  Common
Stock
  Par
Value
  Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
  Ideanomics
Shareholders'
equity
  Non-
controlling
Interest
  Total
Equity
 
Balance, December 31, 2017 (As adjusted*)        -  $          -   68,509,090  $68,509  $158,449,544  $(126,693,022) $(782,074) $31,042,957  $(1,289,367) $29,753,590 
Share-based compensation  -   -   -   -   3,412,977   -   -   3,412,977   -   3,412,977 
Common stock issuance (GTD)  -   -   5,494,505   5,494   9,994,506   -   -   10,000,000   -   10,000,000 
Common stock to be issued (SSSIG)          -   -   1,177,585   -   -   1,177,585   -   1,177,585 
Common stock issuance (STAR)  -   -   5,027,324   5,027   9,194,973   -   -   9,200,000   -   9,200,000 
Common stock issuance for option exercised  -   -   82,797   82   27,960   -   -   28,042   -   28,042 
Common stock issued for warrant exercised  -   -   643,714   644   1,125,856   -   -   1,126,500   -   1,126,500 
Common stock issuance for RSU vested  -   -   1,240,707   1,241   (1,241)  -   -   -   -   - 
Common stock issuance for acquisition (BDCG)  -   -   3,000,000   3,000   7,797,000   -   -   7,800,000   -   7,800,000 
Common stock issuance for acquisition (DBOT)  -   -   2,267,869   2,268   6,724,078   -   -   6,726,346   -   6,726,346 
Beneficial conversion feature of convertible note-long term  -   -   -   -   1,384,615   -   -   1,384,615   -   1,384,615 
Earnout shares to SSSIG  -   -   16,500,000   16,500   (16,500)  -   -   -   -   - 
Acquisition resulting in non-controlling interest (Grapevine)  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   678,651   678,651 
Disposal of subsidiaries          -   -   (3,491,777)  4,144,076   18,438   670,737   558,372   1,229,109 
Net loss  -   -   -   -   -   (27,426,356)      (27,426,356)  (996,728)  (28,423,084)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax  -   -   -   -   -   -   (900,962)  (900,962)  18,446   (882,516)
Balance, December 31, 2018  -   -   102,766,006   102,765   195,779,576   (149,975,302)  (1,664,598)  44,242,441   (1,030,626)  43,211,815 
Share-based compensation  -   -   -   -   9,112,633   -   -   9,112,633   -   9,112,633 
Common stock issuance for convertible note (ID Venturas)  -   -   4,838,399   4,838   9,639,499   -   -   9,644,337   -   9,644,337 
Common stock issuance for convertible note (YA II)          2,136,987   2,137   1,543,259   -   -   1,545,396   -   1,545,396 
Common stock issuance for convertible note conversion (ID Venturas)  -   -   1,211,504   1,211   1,198,800   -   -   1,200,011   -   1,200,011 
Common stock issuance for debt  -   -   67,878   68   109,932   -   -   110,000   -   110,000 
Common stock issuance for RSU vested  -   -   129,840   130   (130)  -   -   -   -   - 
Common stock issuance for assets (SolidOpinion)  -   -   4,500,000   4,500   7,150,500   -   -   7,155,000   -   7,155,000 
Common stock issuance for assets (Fintalk)  -   -   2,860,963   2,861   5,347,139   -   -   5,350,000   -   5,350,000 
Common stock issuance for acquisition (Grapevine)  -   -   590,671   591   491,027   -   -   491,618   (491,618)  - 
Common stock issuance for investment  -   -   815,217   815   1,499,475   -   -   1,500,290   -   1,500,290 
Common stock issuance for investment (Glory)  -   -   12,190,000   12,190   19,979,410   -   -   19,991,600   -   19,991,600 
Common stock issuance for acquisition (DBOT)  -   -   5,851,830   5,852   9,708,186   -   -   9,714,038   104,648   9,818,686 
Common stock issuance for investment  -   -   1,658,227   1,658   1,225,430   -   -   1,227,088   -   1,227,088 
Common stock issuance for acquisition (Tree Technologies)  -   -   9,500,000   9,500   7,780,500   -   -   7,790,000   24,985,086   32,775,086 
Investment from SSSIG  -   -   575,431   576   (576)  -   -   -   -   - 
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest shareholder  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   321,324   321,324 
Convertible note reset conversion price (Advantech)  -   -   -   -   10,615,385   -   -   10,615,385   -   10,615,385 
Deconsolidation of Amer  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   445,894   445,894 
Deconsolidation of VIEs  -   -   -   -   1,373,832   -  585,540   1,959,372  -   1,959,372
Net loss  -   -   -   -   -   (98,507,524)  -   (98,507,524)  852,240   (97,655,284)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax  -   -   -   -   -   -   415,479   415,479   (8,191)  407,288 
Balance, December 31, 2019  -   -   149,692,953  $149,692  $282,553,877  $(248,482,826) $(663,579) $33,557,164  $25,178,758  $58,735,922 

 

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Services Limitedstatements of equity include Guang Min. The acquisition of Guang Min was completed on April 4, 2018 and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control and January 31, 2017, respectively as if theyit had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition6 “Acquisitions and Divestitures”)

 

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

 

F-6


Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

For the Year Ended December 31, 2016CASH FLOWS

 

                    Accumulated          
  Series E  Series E        Additional     Other  Seven Stars Cloud  Non-    
  Preferred  Par  Common  Par  Paid-in  Accumulated  Comprehensive  Shareholders’  controlling  Total 
  Stock  Value  Stock  Value  Capital  Deficit  Loss  Equity  Interest  Equity 
Balance, January 1, 2016  7,254,997  $7,255   24,249,109  $24,249  $97,512,542  $(86,457,840) $(414,910) $10,671,296  $(2,388,031) $8,283,265 
Share-based compensation  -   -   25,000   25   319,693   -   -   319,718   -   319,718 
Common stock issuance  -   -   5,681,819   5,681   9,994,319   -   -   10,000,000   -   10,000,000 
Common stock issued to SSS  -   -   4,545,455   4,545   9,270,665   -   -   9,275,210   -   9,275,210 
Warrant issued to SSS  -   -   -   -   724,790   -   -   724,790   -   724,790 
Issuance cost in connection with the issuance of common stock and warrant to SSS  -   -   -   -   (411,223)  -   -   (411,223)      (411,223)
Earn-out shares issued to SSS  -   -   10,000,000   10,000   13,690,000   -   -   13,700,000   -   13,700,000 
Common stock issued from conversion of convertible note  -   -   9,208,860   9,209   17,724,088   -   -   17,733,297   -   17,733,297 
Restricted shares granted in connection with acquisition of intangible assets  -   -   66,500   67   121,628   -   -   121,695   -   121,695 
Common stock issued for settlement of liability  -   -   41,780   42   74,958   -   -   75,000   -   75,000 
Common stock issued from conversion of series E preferred stock  (100,000)  (100)  100,000   100   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Acquisition of MYP and WAG  -   -   -   -   3,734,459   (2,803,454)  32,365   963,370   (886,440)  76,930 
Net loss  -   -   -   -   -   (26,407,974)  -   (26,407,974)  (2,092,991)  (28,500,965)
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of nil tax  -   -   -   -   -   -   (970,757)  (970,757)  41,981   (928,776)
Balance, December 31, 2016 (As adjusted*)  7,154,997  $7,155   53,918,523  $53,918  $152,755,919  $(115,669,268) $(1,353,302) $35,794,422  $(5,325,481) $30,468,941 

For the years ended December 31, 2019  2018 
Cash flows from operating activities:        
Net loss $(96,828,375) $(28,423,084)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities        
Share-based compensation expense  9,112,633   3,412,977 
Depreciation and amortization  2,228,653   352,332 
Non-cash interest expense  5,510,604   698,385 
Impairment of and equity in losses of equity method investees  13,718,280   180,625 
Loss on impairment of intangible assets  66,839,406   134,290 
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries  951,579   1,183,289 
Loss on remeasurement of DBOT investment  3,178,702   - 
Digital tokens received as payment for services  (40,700,000)  - 
Impairment of property and equipment  3,802,772   - 
Disposal of equity method investments  245,139     
Impairment of cost method investment  3,026,347   - 
         
Change in assets and liabilities:        
Accounts receivable  (2,277,822)  7,591,420 
Inventory      216,453 
Prepaid expenses and other assets  2,880,674   (1,296,872)
Accounts payable  2,861,561   (7,564,499)
Deferred revenue  167,545   183,579 
Amount due to related parties (interest)  (1,256,382)  120,000 
Accrued expenses, salary and other current liabilities  12,754,704   3,050,895 
Net cash used in operating activities  (13,783,980)  (20,160,210)
         
Cash flows from investing activities:        
Acquisition of property and equipment  (1,816,390)  (6,762,248)
Disposal of subsidiaries, VIEs, net of cash disposed  644,712   (41,976)
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired  (623,178)  (2,784,243)
Investments in intangible assets  -   (301,495)
Payments for long term investments  -   (5,266,880)
Deposit for surety bond and other  -   (3,983,799)
Net cash used in investing activities  (1,794,856)  (19,140,641)
         
Cash flows from financing activities        
Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes  9,132,300   13,000,000 
Proceeds from issuance of shares, stock options and warrant  2,821,323   21,532,127 
Proceeds from amounts due to related parties  3,161,241   366,792 
Net cash provided by financing activities  15,114,864   34,898,919 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  (9,386)  (69,141)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  (473,358)  (4,471,073)
         
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of the year  3,106,244   7,577,317 
         
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of the year $2,632,886  $3,106,244 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:        
Cash paid for income tax $-  $- 
Cash paid for interest  72,889   - 
         
Disposal of assets in exchange of GTB  20,218,920    - 
Service revenue received in GTB  40,700,000   - 
Issuance of shares for acquisition of intangible assets  10,005,000   - 
Issuance of shares for acquisition of long-term investments  40,714,634   14,526,346 
Issuance of earn-out shares  -   16,500 
Asset retirement obligations acquired  -   8,000,000 

 

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Services Limitedstatements of cash flows include Guang Ming. The acquisition of Guang Ming was completed on April 4, 2018 and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control and January 31, 2017, respectively as if theyit had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition6 “Acquisitions and Divestitures”)

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

 

F-7


 

Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Its Subsidiaries and Variable Interest EntitiesIDEANOMICS, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

  2017  2016 
     As adjusted* 
Cash flows from operating activities:        
Net loss $(10,192,869) $(28,500,965)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities        
Share-based compensation expense  1,305,829   319,718 
Provision for doubtful accounts  145,512   2,825,124 
Depreciation and amortization  306,801   505,028 
Amortization of debt issuance costs  -   122,696 
Income tax benefit  -   (330,124)
Equity in losses of equity method investees  129,193   31,557 
Loss on disposal of assets  688,098   - 
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities  112,642   (324,432)
Earn-out share award expense  -   13,700,000 
Impairment of other intangible assets  216,468   2,018,628 
Impairment of equity method investments  -   38,448 
Impairment of licensed content  -   496,467 
Foreign currency exchange gain  -   (81,666)
         
Change in assets and liabilities:        
Accounts receivable  (18,802,766)  (4,263,094)
Licensed content  759,698   37,568 
Inventory  -   122,107 
Prepaid expenses and other assets  3,748,873   (4,788,796)
Accounts payable  13,493,865   6,960,916 
Accrued expenses, salary and other current liabilities  (759,918)  10,489 
Deferred revenue  (1,124,119)  1,294,427 
Accrued license content fees  -   378,964 
Net cash used in operating activities  (9,972,693)  (9,426,940)
         
Cash flows from investing activities:        
Acquisition of property and equipment  (48,555)  (3,826,697)
Proceeds from disposal of property and equipment  2,515,923   - 
Disposal of subsidiaries, net of cash disposed  (8,753)  - 
Cash paid for the acquisition of subsidiaries  (754,361)  - 
Investments in intangible assets  -   (2,992,072)
Acquisition of MYP and WAG, net of cash acquired  -   527,217 
Payments for long term investments  (2,250,000)  (3,733,750)
Capital decrease in long term investment  35,612   - 
Deposit for investment  -   (172,077)
Net cash used in investing activities  (510,134)  (10,197,379)
         
Cash flows from financing activities        
Proceeds from issuance of shares and warrant (Note 10 and Note 13)  13,618,207   20,000,000 
Repayment of amounts due to related parties  (243,507)  - 
Capital contribution from noncontrolling interest shareholder  490,000   - 
Cost associated with financing activities  -   (294,890)
Net cash provided by financing activities  13,864,700   19,705,110 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash  61,409   (87,874)
Net increase (decrease) in cash  3,443,282   (7,083)
         
Cash at the beginning of the year  3,761,814   3,768,897 
         
Cash at the end of the year $7,205,096  $3,761,814 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:        
         
Exchange of Series E Preferred Stock for Common stock $7,155  $100 
Issuance of convertible note for licensed content (Note 13) $-  $17,717,847 
Issuance of shares for the settlement of liability $-  $75,000 
Issuance of shares upon conversion of convertible note, including accrued interest and debt issuance cost (Note 13) $-  $17,733,297 
Issuance of earn-out shares (Note 13) $-  $13,700,000 
Acquisition of long term investment through transfer of Game IP rights (Note 12) $-  $2,714,441 
Workforce intangible acquired for shares (Note 8) $-  $121,695 
Payable for purchase of building $-  $987,015 

*The above consolidated balance sheets present the Wecast Services Limited and Wide Angle Group Limited acquired fromBT Capital Global Limited (“BT”)on January 30 and January 31, 2017, respectively as if they had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50 (See Note 5 “Acquisition”)

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

F-8

1. Organization and Principal Activities

 

Seven Stars Cloud Group,

Ideanomics, Inc. (the “Company”), formerly known as Wecast Network, Inc.,(Nasdaq: IDEX) is a Nevada corporation that primarily operates in China (“PRC”)Asia and the United States through its subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”). The Company,Unless the context otherwise requires, the use of the terms "we," "us", "our" and the “Company” in these notes to consolidated financial statements refers to Ideanomics, Inc, its consolidated subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs are collectively referred to as Seven Stars Cloudvariable interest entities (“SSC”, “we”, “us”, or “the Company”VIEs.”).

 

SSC is aimingThe Company’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the chief executive officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company. Therefore, the Company operates in one segment with two business units, the Mobile Energy Group (“MEG”), and Ideanomics Capital. As the chief executive officer previously reviewed two operating segments separately for this purpose, the Company has changed its presentation accordingly, from two reportable segments to become a digital financial services company with seven products engines which are financial technologies based. Through acquisitions made in 2017 and establishment of joint ventures, engine seven “Supply Chain Finance and Management for Vertical Products” is in operation. SSC is also leveraging its legacy operations as a premium content Video On Demand (“VOD”) service provider in China.one reportable segment.

 

On January 30, 2017, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sun Video SPA”) with BT Capital Global Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“BT”) and affiliate of the Company’s Chairman Bruno Wu, for the purchase by the Company ofThe segment reporting changes were retrospectively applied to all of the outstanding capital stock of Sun Video Group Hong Kong Limited (“Wecast Services”). On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into another Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Wide Angle SPA”) with BT and Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, one of the Company’s largest shareholders, controlled by Mr. Wu, as guarantor, for the purchase by us of 55% of the outstanding capital stock of Wide Angle Group Limited (“Wide Angle”). Details of these two acquisitions are in Note 5. After acquiring these two entities, other than Company’s legacy You On Demand (“YOD”) business, the Company became engaged in consumer electronics e-commerce and smart supply chain management operations.periods presented.

 

In 2017,MEG’s mission is to use electronic vehicles (“EVs”) and EV battery sales and financing to attract commercial fleet operators that will generate large scale demand for energy, energy storage systems, and energy management contracts. MEG operates as an end-to-end solutions provider for the Company entered into another Securities Purchase Agreement (the “BT SPA”) with BT, pursuant to which the issuedprocurement, financing, charging and outstanding stock that SSC holds in one loss-generating non-core assets was sold to BTenergy management needs for zero. The detailfleet operators of this transaction has been disclosed in Note 12.commercial EVs.

 

Ideanomics Capital is focused on the trading of traditional over the counter (“OTC”) securities, and is implementing a new trading platform to improve its competitive position in the trading of traditional OTC securities and provide enhanced functionality to allow for the trading of digital securities when all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.

The Company also seeks to identify industries and business processes where blockchain and AI technologies can be profitably deployed to disrupt established industries and business processes.

Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(a) PrinciplesBasis of ConsolidationPresentation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiaries itsand VIEs in which the Company is the primary beneficiary, and the subsidiary of its consolidated VIE. All material intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated upon consolidation.

(b) Basis of Presentation

The Company prepares and presents its consolidated financial statementswere prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016 have been prepared as if and include the Wecast Servicesassets, liabilities, revenues and Wide Angle had been owned by the Company since November 10, 2016 presented and the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016 has been retrospectively adjusted accordingly.

(c) Long term investments

Equity method investment

Investments in entities where the Company can exercise significant influence, but not control, are accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for the Company’s share of undistributed earnings or lossesexpenses of the investee. The Company’s share of losses is not recognized when the investment is reduced to zero since the Company does not guarantee the investees’ obligations nor is the Company committed to providing additional funding.

Management evaluates impairment on the investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting based on performance and the financial position of the investee, as well as other evidence of market value. Such evaluation includes, but is not limited to, reviewing the investee’s cash position, recent financings, projected and historical financial performance, cash flow forecasts and financing needs. An impairment charge is recorded when the carrying amount of the investment exceeds its fair value and the impairment is determined to be other-than-temporary.

F-9

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies- continued

(c) Long term investments- continued

Cost method investment

Investment in entitiessubsidiaries over which the Company neither has significant influence norexercises control are accountedand, when applicable, entities for using under the cost method. Under the cost method,which the Company recordshas a controlling financial interest or is the investment at costprimary beneficiary. Intercompany transactions and recognizes income for any dividends declared from distribution of investee’s earnings. The Company reviews the cost method investments for impairment whenever events or changesbalances are eliminated in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may no longer be recoverable. We impair our cost method investment when we determine that there has been an “other-than temporary” decline in the investments fair value compared to its carrying value. The fair value of the investment would then become the new cost basis of the investment. There were no indicators of impairment in 2017.consolidation.

 

(d)(b) Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the consolidated financial statements and during the reporting period.liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

The significantOn an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, include, but not limitedincluding those related to the determinationbad debt allowance, sales returns, fair values of estimated selling prices of multiple elements revenues contract, the expected revenue from licensed content, allowances for doubtful accounts, share-basedfinancial instruments, equity investments, stock-based compensation, intangible assets and equity based transactions with non-employees, determination of the estimatedgoodwill, useful lives of intangible assets impairment assessmentand property and equipment, asset retirement obligations, income taxes, and contingent liabilities, among others. The Company bases its estimates on assumptions, both historical and forward looking, that are believed to be reasonable, the results of goodwill, intangiblewhich form the basis for making judgments about the carrying amounts of assets and licensed content, determination of the fair value of financial instruments and valuation of deferred income taxes assets. These estimates may be adjusted as more current information becomes available, and any adjustment made could be significant.liabilities.

 

(e) Foreign Currency Translation

The Company uses the United States dollar (“$” or “USD”) as its reporting currency. The functional currency of Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., CB Cayman, YOD Hong Kong, M.Y. Products LLC, Amer(c) Cash and Seven Stars Energy is the USD while the functional currency of other subsidiaries and VIEs is either the Renminbi (“RMB”) or Hong Kong dollars (“HKD”). In the consolidated financial statements, the financial information of the entities which use RMB and HKD as their functional currency has been translated into USD. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at the historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the period. Translation adjustments arising from these are reported as foreign currency translation adjustments and are shown as a component of other comprehensive loss in the statement of comprehensive loss.

Transactions denominated in currencies other than functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet date are translated in the functional currency at the applicable rates of exchange in effect at the balance sheet date. The resulting exchange differences are recorded in the consolidated statements of operations.

(f) Cash Equivalents

 

Cash consistconsists of cash on hand and demand deposit as of the date of purchasedeposits with an original maturity of three months or less. The Company deposits its cash balances with a limited number of banks.less when purchased. Refer to Note 20 (d) and (e) for additional information on our credit and foreign currency risks.

 


(g)(d) Accounts Receivable, net

 

Accounts receivable are recognized at invoiced amounts and do not bear interest. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. The Company reviews its allowance for doubtful accounts receivable on an ongoing basis. In establishing the required allowance, management considers any historical losses, the customer’s financial condition, the accounts receivable aging, and the customer’s payment patterns. After all attempts to collect a receivable have failed and the potential for recovery is remote, the receivable is written off against the allowance.

 

F-10

(e) Licensed Content

 

2. SummaryThe Company previously obtained content through content license agreements with studios and distributors. The Company recognized licensed content when the license fee and the specified content titles were known or reasonably determinable. Prepaid license fees were classified as an asset (licensed content) and accrued license fees payable were classified as a liability on the consolidated balance sheets.

The Company amortized licensed content in cost of Significant Accounting Policies- continuedrevenues over the contents’ contractual availability based on the expected revenue derived from the licensed content, beginning with the month of first availability, such that our revenues bore a representative amount of the cost of the licensed content. Management reviewed factors that impacted the amortization of licensed content at each reporting date, including factors that may bear direct impact on expected revenue from specific content titles. Changes in the expected revenue from licensed content could have had a significant impact on the amortization pattern.

Management evaluated the recoverability of the licensed content whenever events or changes in circumstances indicated that its carrying amount may not have been recoverable. No impairment losses were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company sold the entire licensed content in March 2019.

 

(h) (f)Property and Equipment, net

 

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Expenditures for major renewals and improvements, which extend the original estimated economic useful lives of applicable assets, are capitalized. Expenditures for normal repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred. The costs and related accumulated depreciation of assets sold or retired are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss thereon is recognized in the consolidated statement of operations. Depreciation is provided for on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. The estimated useful life is 5 years for the furniture, 3 years for the electronic equipment, 5 to 10 years for the vehicles 20 years for the office building and lesser of lease terms or the estimated useful lives of the assets for the leasehold improvements.

 

Construction in progress is stated at cost, which includes the cost of construction and other direct costs attributable to the construction. No provision for depreciation is made on construction in progress until such time as the relevant assets are completed and put into use. Construction in progress at December 31, 2019 and 2018 represents Fintech Village under construction. Refer to Note 8 for additional information.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset retirement obligations generally apply to legal obligations associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset that result from the acquisition, construction or development and the normal operation of a long-lived asset. If a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made, the fair value of a liability for an asset retirement obligation is recognized in the period in which it is incurred or a change in estimate occurs. Asset retirement costs associated with asset retirement obligations are capitalized with the carrying amount of the related long-lived assets and depreciated over the related asset’s estimated useful life. The Company’s asset retirement obligations as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 are associated with the acquisition of Fintech Village, in which the Company is contractually obligated to remediate certain existing environmental conditions. The Company will start to amortize the asset retirement costs if and when the related assets are completed, put into use and depreciation commences. In the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company impaired buildings with a carrying amount of $2.3 million, and impaired related asset retirement costs of $1.5 million. Refer to Note 8 for more information.

(i) Licensed Content(g) Business Combinations

 

The Company obtains content through content license agreements with studiosincludes the results of operations of the businesses that are acquired as of the acquisition date. The Company allocates the purchase price of the acquisitions to the assets acquired and distributors. We recognize licensed content whenliabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the license fee and the specified content titles are known or reasonably determinable. Prepaid license fees are classified as an asset on the consolidated balance sheets as licensed content and accrued license fees payable are classified as a liability on the consolidated balance sheets.

We amortize licensed content in cost of revenuespurchase price over the contents contractual availability based on the expected revenue derivedfair values of identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill. Acquisition-related expenses are recognized separately from the licensed content, beginning with the month of first availability, such that our revenues bear a representative amount of the cost of the licensed content. We review factors that impact the amortization of licensed content at each reporting date, including factors that may bear direct impact on expected revenue from specific content titles. Changes in our expected revenue from licensed content could have a significant impact on our amortization pattern.

Management evaluates the recoverability of the licensed content whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. For the years ended December 31, 2017business combination and 2016, an impairment loss of nil and $496,467 was recognized in cost of revenue, respectively.are expensed as incurred.

 

(j)(h) Intangible Assets and Goodwill

 

The Company accounts for intangible assets and goodwill in accordance with ASCAccounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 350,Intangibles – Goodwill and Other.Other(“ASC 350”). ASC 350 requires that goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives no longer be amortized, but instead be evaluated for impairment at least annually. ASC 350 also requires that intangible assets with estimable useful lives be amortized over their respective estimated useful lives and reviewed for impairment whenever events indicate the carrying amount may not be recoverable. In accordance with ASC 350, goodwill is allocated to reporting units, which are either the operating segment or one reporting level below the operating segment. On an annual basis, we reviewin the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, management reviews goodwill for impairment by first assessing qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances makes it more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If we determineit is determined that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is further tested for impairment by comparing the carrying valueamount to the estimated fair value of its reporting units, determined using externally quoted prices (if available) or a discounted cash flow model and, when deemed necessary, a market approach. Goodwill impairment, if any, is measured as the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value.

 


Application of goodwill impairment tests requires significant management judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets, liabilities and goodwill to reporting units and determination of fair value of each reporting unit. Judgment applied when performing the qualitative analysis includes consideration of macroeconomic, industry and market conditions, overall financial performance of the reporting unit, composition, personnel or strategy changes affecting the reporting unit and recoverability of asset groups within a reporting unit. Judgments applied when performing the quantitative analysis includes estimating future cash flows, determining appropriate discount rates and making other assumptions. Changes in these judgments, estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value for each reporting unit.

 

The Company has other intangible assets, not including goodwill, which consist primarily of customer relationships and contracts, trademarks and tradenames and other intellectual property, which are generally recorded in connection with acquisitions at their fair value. Intangible assets with estimable lives are amortized, generally on a straight-line basis, over their respective estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values and reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The Company recorded an impairment loss related to a secure mobile financial information, social and messaging platform of $5.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2019. No impairment losses were recorded in the year ended December 31, 2018. Refer to Note 9(b) for additional information.

(k) Warrant Liabilities

(i) Digital Currency

 

WeThe Company may, from time to time, enter into transactions denominated in digital currency, which may consist of GTDollar Coins (“GTB”), Bitcoin, Ethereum and/or other types of digital currency.

Digital currency is a type of digital asset that is not a fiat currency and is not backed by hard assets or other financial instruments. As a result, the value of digital currency is determined by the value that various market participants place on the respective digital currencies through their transactions. Holders of digital currency make or lose money from buying and selling digital currency.

Given that there is limited precedent regarding the classification and measurement of cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies under current GAAP, the Company has determined to account for derivative instruments and embedded derivative instrumentsthese currencies as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with ASC 815,350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”) until further guidance is issued by the Financial Accounting for Derivative InstrumentsStandards Board (“FASB”).

In the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into transactions in which it received 8.3 million GTB, valued at the time at $61.1 million. On October 29, 2019, GTB had an unexpected significant decline in quoted price, from $17.00 to $1.84. This decline continued through the fourth quarter of 2019, and Hedging Activities, as amended. The amended standard requireson December 31, 2019 the quoted price was $0.23. As a result of this decline in quoted price, and its inability to convert GTB into other digital currencies which were more liquid, or fiat currency, the Company performed an entity to recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilitiesimpairment analysis in the statementfourth quarter of financial position2019 and measure these instruments at fair value. Fair value is estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation method.recorded an impairment loss of $61.1 million. Refer to Note 9(g) for additional information.

(j)Long-term Investments

 

F-11

The Company accounts for equity investments through which management exercises significant influence but does not have control over the investee under the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for the Company’s share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investee. The Company’s share of losses is not recognized when the investment is reduced to zero since the Company does not guarantee the investees’ obligations nor is the Company committed to providing additional funding.

 

We also follow ASC 815-40Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity,Beginning on January 1, 2018, the equity investments which requires freestanding contracts that are settled in a company’s own stock, including common stock warrants, to be designated as annot consolidated or accounted for under the equity instrument, asset or a liability. Under these provisions a contract classified as an asset or a liability must bemethod are either carried at fair value with anyor under the measurement alternative upon the adoption of the Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-01,Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825-10)(“ASU No 2016-01”).

The Company utilizes the measurement alternative for equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values and measures these investments at cost less impairment plus or minus observable price changes in fair value recordedorderly transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same issuer.

The Company classifies its long-term investments as non-current assets on the consolidated balance sheets.

Impairment of Investments

Management periodically reviews long-term investments for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the resultscarrying amount of operations. The asset/liability derivatives are valued on an annual basis using the Monte Carlo simulation method. A contract classifiedinvestment may not be fully recoverable. Management considers impairment indicators such as an equity instrument must be includednegative changes in equity, with no fair value adjustments required. Significant assumptions used inindustry and market conditions, financial performance, business prospects, and other relevant events and factors. If indicators exist and the valuation included exercise dates, fair value for our common stock, volatility of our common stock and a risk-free interest rate. Gains or losses on warrants are included in “Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities”the investment is below the carrying amount, an impairment loss is recorded to record the investment at fair value. The Company recorded impairment losses of $3.0 million and $0 in our consolidated statementthe years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, for equity investments accounted for under the measurement alternative, and recorded impairment losses of operations.

$13.1 million and $0 in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, for investments accounted for as equity method investments. Refer to Note 10 for additional information on impairment losses.

(l) Revenue Recognition

F-10

(k) Leases

 

When persuasive evidenceThe Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”) as of January 1, using a modified retrospective method. The Company leases certain office space and equipment from third-parties. Leases with an arrangement exists,initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the sales price is fixed or determinablebalance sheet and collectability is reasonably assured, we recognize revenue as services are performed. For certain contracts that involve sub-licensing content within the specified license period, revenuelease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For leases beginning in accordance with ASC Subtopic 926-605, Entertainment-Films - Revenue Recognition, whereby revenue is recognized upon delivery of films when the arrangement includes a nonrefundable minimum guarantee, delivery is complete2019 and we have no substantive future obligations to provide future additional services. Payments received from customers for the performance of future services are recognized as deferred revenue, and subsequently recognized as revenue in the period that the service obligations are completed.

In accordance with ASC 605-25, Revenue Recognition - Multiple Element Arrangements, contracts with multiple element deliverables are separated into individual units for accounting purposes when the unit determined to have standalone value to the customer. Since the contract price is for all deliverables, company allocated the arrangement consideration to all deliverableslater, at the inception of a contract management assesses whether the arrangementcontract is, or contains, a lease. The assessment is based on: (1) whether the contract involves the use of a distinct identified asset, (2) whether the right to substantially all the economic benefit from the use of the asset throughout the period is obtained, and (3) whether the Company has the right to direct the use of the asset. At the inception of a lease, management allocates the consideration in the contract to each lease component based on theirits relative selling price. Company uses (a) vendor-specific objective evidence of sellingstand-alone price if it exists, or, (b) the management’s best estimate of the selling price for that deliverable to determine the lease payments. Leases entered into prior to January 1, 2019, are accounted for under ASC 840,Leases (“ASC 840”) and were not reassessed. The Company accounts for lease components (e.g., fixed payments including rent, real estate taxes and insurance costs) separately from the nonlease components (e.g., common-area maintenance costs).

Most leases include one or more options to renew, with renewal terms that can extend the lease term from one year or more. The exercise of lease renewal options is at the Company’s sole discretion. Renewal periods are included in the lease term only when renewal is reasonably certain, which is a high threshold and requires management to apply judgment to determine the appropriate lease term. The Company’s leases do not include options to purchase the leased property. The depreciable life of assets and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term. Certain lease agreements include rental payments adjusted periodically for inflation. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. All of the Company’s leases are classified as operating leases. The Company has elected not to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a term of 12 months or less. The effect of short-term leases and initial direct costs on our right-of-use asset and lease liability was not material.

ASC 842 requires the Company to make certain assumptions and judgments in applying the guidance, including determining whether an arrangement includes a lease, determining the term of a lease when the contract has renewal or cancellation provisions, and determining the discount rate.

As the rate implicit in the lease is not usually available, the Company used an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the adoption date of ASC 842 in determining the present value of lease payments for existing leases. The Company will use information available at the lease commencement date to determine the discount rate for any new leases.

Refer to Note 11 for additional information.

(l) Convertible Promissory Notes

The Company accounts for its convertible notes at issuance by allocating the proceeds received from a convertible note among freestanding instruments according to ASC 470, Debt, based upon their relative sellingfair values. The fair value of debt and common stock is determined based on the closing price of each individual unit.

Company also generates revenue from salesthe common stock on the date of goods. Sales orders are confirmed after negotiation on price between customers and us. Purchase orders are confirmed after careful selection of suppliers and negotiation on price. Company purchases finished goods from suppliers in accordance with sales orders from customers. Our suppliers then deliver goods to our customers directly. Company is required to bear the direct risk of damage to the goods that the direct default risk that cannot be delivered to the customer. When the delivery is completed, company recognizes revenuetransaction, and the related costfair value of warrants, if any, is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Convertible notes are subsequently carried at amortized cost. The fair value of the warrants is recorded as additional paid-in capital, with a corresponding as a debt discount from the face amount of the convertible note. Each convertible note is analyzed for the existence of a beneficial conversion feature (“BCF”), defined as the fair value of the common stock at the same time. Accordingcommitment date for the convertible note, less the effective conversion price. Beneficial conversion features are recognized at their intrinsic value, and recorded as an increase to purchase ordersadditional paid-in capital, with suppliers, company, asa corresponding reduction in the ownercarrying amount of the goods, becomesconvertible note (as a debt discount from the first responsible party forface amount of the goods.

Revenue arrangements for consumer electronicsconvertible note). The discounts on the convertible notes, consisting of amounts ascribed to warrants and beneficial conversion features, are amortized to interest expense, using the effective interest method, over the terms of the related convertible notes. Beneficial conversion features that are contingent upon the occurrence of a future event are recorded when the contingency is as follows: the Company signs a sales order with customers which designates the Company as principal to purchase and deliver goods to designated locations in Hong Kong. When the delivery is completed, the performance obligation is fulfilled. The price of each transaction is fixed to the sales order, and no variable consideration nor any consideration payable to the client or customer exists.resolved.

 

The Company also has developedanalyzes the features of its convertible notes which, when triggered, mandate a TPaaS (Platformdownward adjustment to the instrument’s strike price (or conversion price) if equity shares are issued at a lower price (or equity-linked financial instruments are issued at a lower strike price) than the instrument’s then-current strike price. The purpose of the feature is typically to protect the instrument’s counterparty from future issuances of equity shares at a more favorable price.

(m)Fair Value Measurements

U. S. GAAP requires the categorization of financial assets and liabilities, based on the inputs to the valuation technique, into a three-level fair value hierarchy. The various levels of the fair value hierarchy are described as follows:

·Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted market prices for identical assets and liabilities in an active market that the Company has the ability to access.

·Level 2 - Quoted prices in markets that are not active or model inputs that are observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

·Level 3 - Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement.

The fair value hierarchy requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.

The Company reviews the valuation techniques used to determine if the fair value measurements are still appropriate on an annual basis, and evaluates and adjusts the unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurements based on current market conditions and third-party information.

Our financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued other expenses, other current liabilities and convertible notes. The fair values of these assets and liabilities approximate carrying amounts because of the short-term nature of these instruments.

Our financial and non-financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis include goodwill and other intangible assets, asset retirement obligations, and adjustment in carrying amount of equity securities for which the measurement alternative of cost less impairment plus or minus observable price changes is used. Refer to Notes 2(f), 2(h), 2(i) and 2(j) for additional information on impairment losses.

F-11

(n) Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale

The Company classifies assets and liabilities (disposal group) to be sold as held for sale in the period in which all of the following criteria are met: (1) management, having the authority to approve the action, commits to a plan to sell the disposal groups; (2) the disposal group is available for immediate sale in its present condition subject only to terms that are usual and customary for sales of such disposal group; (3) an active program to locate a buyer and other actions required to complete the plan to sell the disposal group have been initiated; (4) the sale of the disposal group is probable, and (5) transfer of the disposal group is expected to qualify as a Service) system which went into operationcompleted sale within one year, except if events or circumstances beyond the Company’s control extend the period of time required to sell the disposal group beyond one year; (6) the disposal group is being actively marketed for sale at a price that is reasonable in Q4 2017, however, no revenue was recognized in connection with this platform during Q4 2017. Within this platform, all industrial participants can place ordersrelation to its current fair value; and (7) actions required to complete transactions on their own, which allows customersthe plan indicate that it is unlikely that significant changes to minimize transaction costs. The Company earns platform service fees through these automated transactions.

the plan will be made or that the plan will be withdrawn.

 

In accordance with ASC 605-45, Revenue Recognition – Principal Agent Consideration, company accounts for revenue from sales of goods onThe Company initially measures a gross basis. Company is the primary obligor in the arrangements, as company has the ability to establish prices, and has discretion in selecting the independent suppliers and other third-partydisposal group that will perform the delivery service, company is responsible for the defective products and company bears credit risk with customer payments. Accordingly, all such revenue billed to customers is classified as revenue and all corresponding paymentsheld for sale at the lower of its carrying amount or fair value less any costs to supplierssell. Any loss resulting from this measurement is recognized in the period in which the held for sale criteria are met. Gains are not recognized on the sale of a disposal group until the date of sale. The Company assesses the fair value of a disposal group, less any costs to sell, each reporting period it remains classified as costheld for sale and reports any subsequent losses as an adjustment to the carrying amount of revenues.the disposal group.

As part of this assessment, the Company also evaluates the criteria for reporting the disposal group as a discontinued operation. Factors which the Company considers includes, but is not limited to, the level of continuing involvement, if any, whether the disposal constitutes a strategic shift, and the relative magnitude of revenue, net income or loss, and total assets.

(o) Foreign Currency Translation

 

The recognitionCompany uses the United States dollar (“$” or “USD”) as its reporting currency. The Company’s worldwide operations utilize the local currency or USD as the functional currency, where applicable. For certain foreign subsidiaries, USD is used as the functional currency, and the local records are maintained in USD. This occurs when the subsidiary is considered an extension of revenue involvesthe parent. The functional currency of certain judgmentssubsidiaries and changesVIEs located in our assumptions, judgmentsthe Peoples Republic of China (“PRC” or estimations may have a material impact“China”) and Hong Kong is either the Renminbi (“RMB”) or Hong Kong dollars (“HKD”). In the consolidated financial statements, the financial information of the entities which use RMB and HKD as their functional currency has been translated into USD: assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rates on the balance sheet date, equity amounts are translated at the historical exchange rates, and revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated using the average rate for the period. Translation adjustments arising from these are reported as foreign currency translation adjustments and are shown as a component as a component of “Accumulated other comprehensive loss” in the equity section of the consolidated balance sheets.

Transactions denominated in currencies other than functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet date are translated in the functional currency at the applicable rates of exchange in effect at the balance sheet date. The resulting exchange differences are recorded in “Other” in the consolidated statements of operations.

(p)Revenue Recognition

The Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09,Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and other related ASUs (collectively, ASC 606,Revenue from Contracts with Customers) (“ASC 606”) as of January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition approach. The Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration which the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. For most of the Company’s customer arrangements, control transfers to customers at a point in time, as that is generally when legal title, physical possession and timingrisk and rewards of ourgoods/services transfer to the customer. In certain arrangements, control transfers over time as the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits as the Company completes the performance obligations.

Our contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations. For such arrangements, revenue recognition. is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are based on the observable prices charged to customers or adjusted market assessment or using expected cost-plus margin when one is available. Adjusted market assessment price is determined based on overall pricing objectives taking into consideration market conditions and entity specific factors.

Certain customers may receive discounts, which are accounted for as variable consideration. Variable consideration is estimated based on the expected amount to be provided to customers, and reduces revenues recognized.

The Company records deferred revenues when cash payments are received or due in advance of performance, including amounts which are refundable. Substantially all of the deferred revenue as of December 31, 2018 was recognized as revenue in the year ended December 31, 2019.

The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected length of one year or less.

 

(m)(q) Advertising and Marketing Costs

Advertising and marketing costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising and marketing costs were $24,394 and $0.2 million in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.


(r) Research and Development Costs

The Company expenses research and development costs, including costs to develop software products or the software component of products to be sold, leased, or marketed to external users, before technological feasibility is reached. Technological feasibility is typically reached shortly before the release of such products and as a result, development costs that meet the criteria for capitalization were not material for the periods presented.

Research and development costs also include costs to develop software to be used solely to meet internal needs and -based applications used to deliver our services. The Company capitalizes development costs related to these software applications once the preliminary project stage is complete and it is probable that the project will be completed and the software will be used to perform the function intended. The Company ceased research and development activities during the year ended December 31, 2018. All the software developed in the year ended December 31, 2018 did not reach technological feasibility and therefore no costs were capitalized.

(s) Share-Based Compensation

 

The Company awards share options and other equity-based instruments to its employees, directors and consultants (collectively “share-based payments”). Compensation cost related to such awards is measured based on the fair value of the instrument on the grant date. The Company recognizes the compensation cost over the period the employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award, which generally is the vesting period. The amount of cost recognized is adjusted to reflect the expected forfeiture prior to vesting. When no future services are required to be performed by the employee in exchange for an award of equity instruments, and if such award does not contain a performance or market condition, the cost of the award is expensed on the grant date. The Company recognizes compensation cost for an award with only service conditions that has a graded vesting schedule on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for the entire award, provided that the cumulative amount of compensation cost recognized at any date at least equals the portion of the grant-date value of such award that is vested at that date.

 

The Company also awards stocks and warrants for service to consultants for service and accounts for these awards under ASC 505-50,Equity - Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees. The fair value of the awards is assessed at measurement date and is recognized as cost or expenses when the services are provided. If the related services are completed upon issuance date, measurement date is determined to be the date the awards are issued.

F-12

(n)(t) Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method. Deferred taxes are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial statement purposes and income tax purposes using enacted rates expected to be in effect when such amounts are realized or settled. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established, as needed, to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than notmore-likely-than-not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

 

The Company recognizes the effect of uncertain income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than notmore-likely-than-not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company’s policy is to record interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a component of income tax expense. There were no such interest or penalty for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 2016.

2018.

 

On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Tax Reform,Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (“the Tax Act”) was signed into law, which among other effects, reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate to 21% from 34% (or 35% in certain cases) beginning in 2018, and requires companies to pay a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings from non-U.S. subsidiaries that is payable over eight years,years. No tax was due under this provision. The Tax Act also makes the receipt of future non-U.S. sourced income of non-U.S. subsidiaries tax-free to U.S. companies and creates a new minimum tax on the earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries relating to the parent’s deductions for payments to the subsidiaries. Our provisional estimate is that no tax will be due under this provision. We continue to gather information relating to this estimate.

 

(o)(u) Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Seven Stars CloudIDEX Shareholders

 

Net loss per share attributable to Seven Stars Cloudour shareholders is computed in accordance with ASC 260,Earnings per Share.Per Share (Topic 260)(“ASC 260”). The two-class method is used for computing earnings per share. Under the two-class method, net income is allocated between ordinarycommon shares and participating securities based on dividends declared (or accumulated) and participating rights in undistributed earnings as if all the earnings for the reporting period had been distributed. The Company’s convertible redeemable preferred shares are participating securities because the holders are entitled to receive dividends or distributions on an as converted basis. For the years presented herein, the computation of basic loss per share using the two-class method is not applicable as the GroupCompany is in a net loss position and net loss is not allocated to other participating securities, since these securities are not obligated to share the losses in accordance with the contractual terms.

 

Basic net loss per share is computed usingby dividing net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinarycommon shares outstanding during the period. Options and warrants are not considered outstanding in computation of basic earnings per share. Diluted net loss per share is computed usingby dividing net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinarycommon shares and potential ordinarycommon shares outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method. Potential ordinarycommon shares include options and warrants to purchase ordinarycommon shares, preferred shares and convertible promissory note,notes, unless they were anti-dilutive. The computation of diluted net loss per share does not assume conversion, exercise, or contingent issuance of securities that would have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e. an increase in earnings per share amounts or a decrease in loss per share amounts) on net loss per share.

 


(p) Reportable Segment(v) Reclassifications of a General Nature

 

The Company’s chief operating decision maker hasCertain amounts in the prior periods presented have been identified asreclassified to conform to the chief executive officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Company. In fiscal year 2016, the Company operated andcurrent period financial statement presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on previously reported its performance in one segment. However, starting from fiscal year 2017, since Company has acquired Wecast Services Limited and Wide Angle Group Limited in January (see note 5), the Company has operated two segments based on different clouds that major business resides in, including Legacy YOD segment and Wecast Service segment. Therefore, there are two reportable segments for the year ended December 31, 2017. The two reportable segments are:net income.

 

Legacy YOD - Provides premium content and integrated value-added service solutions for the delivery of VOD and paid video programming to digital cable providers, Internet Protocol Television (“IPTV”) providers. The core revenues are being generated from both minimum guarantee payments and revenue sharing arrangements with distribution partners as well as subscription or transactional fees from subscribers.

Wecast Service - Wecast Services (which resides under the Product Sales Cloud) is currently primarily engaged with consumer electronics e-commerce, smart supply chain management operations and oil trading primarily operated in Singapore. 

(q) Standards Issued and Not Yet ImplementedRecently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

 

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards BoardFASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU)ASU No. 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”) “Leases (Topic 842). The new standard is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. The standard will require,”which requires lessees to report mostrecognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability for all leases with terms of more than 12 months. Recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses will depend on classification as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet, while lessor accounting will remain substantially unchanged.a finance or operating lease. The standard requiresCompany adopted ASU 2016-02 as of January 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective transition approach formethod. As a result, the consolidated balance sheet prior to January 1, 2019 was not restated, and continues to be reported under ASC Topic 840, “Leases.”

The lease liability is based on the present value of the remaining minimum lease payments, determined under ASC 842, discounted using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate at the effective date of January 1, 2019, using the original lease term as the tenor. As permitted under the transition guidance, the Company elected several practical expedients that permit the Company to not reassess (1) whether a contract is or contains a lease, (2) the classification of existing leases, wherebyand (3) whether previously capitalized costs continue to qualify as initial indirect costs. The application of the new rules will be appliedpractical expedients did not have a significant impact on the measurement of the operating lease liability. The adoption of ASU 2016-02 resulted in the recording of operating right-of-use assets and the related lease liabilities of $3.6 million and $3.7 million, respectively, as of January 1, 2019. The difference between the additional right-of-use assets and lease liabilities was immaterial. The adoption of ASU 2016-02 did not materially impact the consolidated statement of operations and had no impact on the consolidated statement of cash flows. Refer to Note 10 for additional information.

In July 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-11 (“ASU 2017-11”) “Earnings Per Share (Topic 260); Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480); Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): (Part I) Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Down Round Features, (Part II) Replacement of the Indefinite Deferral for Mandatorily Redeemable Financial Instruments of Certain Nonpublic Entities and Certain Mandatorily Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests with a Scope Exception,” which applies to issuers of financial instruments with down round features. A down round feature is a term in an equity-linked financial instrument (i.e. a freestanding warrant contract or an equity conversion feature embedded within a host debt or equity contract) that triggers a downward adjustment to the earliestinstrument’s strike price (or conversion price) if equity shares are issued at a lower price (or equity-linked financial instruments are issued at a lower strike price) than the instrument’s then-current strike price. The purpose of the feature is typically to protect the instrument’s counterparty from future issuances of equity shares at a more favorable price. ASU 2017-11 amends (1) the classification of such instruments as liabilities or equity by revising the certain guidance relative to evaluating if they must be accounted for as derivative instruments, and (2) the guidance on recognition and measurement of freestanding equity-classified instruments. The Company adopted ASU 2017-11 as of January 2019 on a prospective basis. Refer to Note 13 for additional information.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07 (“ASU 2018-07”) “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which largely aligns the measurement and classification guidance for share-based payments to nonemployees with the guidance for share-based payments to employees. ASU 2018-07 also clarifies that any share-based payment issued to a customer should be evaluated under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers.” The Company adopted ASU 2018-07 as of January 1, 2019 on a modified retrospective basis. There was no impact to the consolidated financial statements because the Company did not have material payments in the year presented. We do not expect the new lease standard to have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.ended December 31, 2019.

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09 (“ASU 2014-09”) “Revenue from Contracts with Customers or(Topic 606),” which relates to how an entity recognizes the revenue it expects to be entitled to for the transfer of promised goods and services to customers. The Company adopted ASU 2014-09 a standard that will supersede virtually allas of the existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP. The standard establishes a five-step model that will apply to revenue earned from a contract with a customer. Extensive disclosures will be required, including disaggregation of total revenue, information about performance obligations, changes in contract asset and liability account balances between periods and key judgments and estimates. The FASB has issued several amendments to the standard, including clarification on accounting for licenses of intellectual property and identifying performance obligations.

F-13

The guidance permits two methods of adoption: retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented (the full retrospective method), or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized at the date of initial application (the modified retrospective method). We currently anticipate adopting the standardJanuary 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method. The new standard will be effective for us beginningmethod applied to those contracts/sales orders which were not completed as of January 1, 2018.

We are undertaking a comprehensive approach The effect from the adoption of ASU 2014-09 was not material to assess the impact of the guidance on our business by reviewing our current accounting policies and practices to identify any potential differences that may result from applying the new requirements to our consolidated financial statements. We do not anticipate that this standard will have a material impactRefer to revenue recognition in both of our legacy YOD businessNote 2 (p) above and Wecast Service business. EspeciallyNote 4 for Wecast Service business, we will continue to recognize revenue as principal for these contracts at the point in time when the products are delivered and performance obligation is fulfilled. The new standard requires to disclose more information about revenue activities and related transactions including quantitative and qualitative information about performance obligations, significant judgements and estimates, contract assets and liabilities and disaggregation of revenue, which we are continuing to assess in the first quarter of 2018. We are also identifying and implementing changes to the Company’s business processes, systems and controls to support adoption of the new standard in 2018. We continue to make significant progress on our review of the standard. Our initial assessment may change as we continue to refine these assumptions.additional information.

 

In JuneJanuary 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326)”. The pronouncement changes the impairment model for most financial assets,No. 2016-01 (“ASU 2016-01”) "Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and will require the useMeasurement of an “expected loss” model for instruments measured at amortized cost. Under this model, entities will be required to estimate the lifetime expected credit loss on such instrumentsFinancial Assets and record an allowance to offset the amortized cost basisFinancial Liabilities," which amends various aspects of the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial asset, resulting ininstruments. The Company adopted ASU 2016-01 as of January 1, 2018 on a net presentationprospective basis and elected to use the measurement alternative for the non-marketable equity securities, defined as cost adjusted for changes from observable transactions for identical or similar investments of the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. This pronouncement is effective for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. We dosame issuer, less impairment. The adoption of ASU 2016-01 did not expecthave a material impact to itson the consolidated financial statement upon adoption of this ASU.statements. Refer to Note 10 for additional information.

 

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18 (“ASU 2016-18���) "Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash," which requires companies to include amounts generally described asclarifies how entities should present restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statements of cash flows, and as a result, entities will no longer present transfers between cash and cash equivalents when reconciling beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown onrestricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statementstatements of cash flows. ThisAn entity with a material balance of restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents must disclose information about the nature of the restrictions. The Company adopted ASU 2016-18 as of January 1, 2018 on a retrospective basis. The new guidance will be effectivechanged the presentation of restricted cash in the first quarterconsolidated statements of 2018 and early adoption is permitted. Management is still evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.cash flows.

 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01 “Business(“ASU 2017-01”) “Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business”Business. The update” ASU 2017-01 affects all companies and other reporting organizations that must determine whether they have acquired or sold a business. The definition of a business affects many areas of accounting including acquisitions, disposals, goodwill, and consolidation. The updateASU 2017-01 is intended to help companies and other organizations evaluate whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The updateASU 2017-01 provides a more robust framework to use in determining when a set of assets and activities is a business, and also provides more consistency in applying the guidance, reducereduces the costs of application, and makemakes the definition of a business more operable. For public companies,The Company adopted ASU 2017-01 as of January 1, 2018 on a prospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2017-01 did not have a material impact on the update isconsolidated financial statements. Refer to Note 6 for additional information.


Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13 (“ASU 2016-13”) "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses” (“ASC 326”): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" which requires the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held at amortized cost. ASU 2016-13 replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected loss model which requires the use of forward-looking information to calculate credit loss estimates. It also eliminates the concept of other-than-temporary impairment and requires credit losses related to available-for-sale debt securities to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses rather than as a reduction in the amortized cost basis of the securities. These changes will result in earlier recognition of credit losses. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-10 “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASC 2019-10”), which defers the effective for annual periodsdate of ASU 2016-13 to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017,2022, including interim periods within those periods.fiscal years, for public entities which meet the definition of a smaller reporting company. The guidance should be applied prospectively upon itsCompany will adopt ASU 2016-13 effective date. TheJanuary 1, 2023. Management is currently evaluating the effect of the adoption of ASU 2017-012016-13 on the consolidated financial statementsstatements. The effect will largely depend on the composition and credit quality of our investment portfolio and the economic conditions at the time of adoption.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12 (“ASU 2019-12”) “Income Taxes (Topic 740) Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes.” ASU 2019-12 will simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions currently provided for in ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), and by amending certain other requirements of ASC 740. The changes resulting from ASU 2019-12 will be dependentmade on any future acquisitions.a retrospective or modified retrospective basis, depending on the specific exception or amendment. For public business entities, the amendments in ASU 2019-12 are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company will adopt ASU 2019-12 effective January 1, 2021. Management is currently evaluating the effect of the adoption of ASU 2019-12 on the consolidated financial statements.

 

Note 3. Going Concern and Management’s Plans

 

For the years endedAs of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company incurred losses from operations of approximately $9.8 million and $28.9 million, respectively, and incurred net loss of $10.2 million and $28.5 million, respectively, and the Company used cash for operations of approximately $10.0 million and $9.4 million, respectively. Further,2019, the Company had accumulated deficitscash and cash equivalents of approximately $125.9$2.6 million and $115.7 million asan accumulated deficit of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, due to recurringapproximately $248.5 million.  Additionally, the Company has incurred losses since its inception.

The Companyinception and must continue to rely on proceeds from debt and equity issuances to pay for ongoing operating expenses in order to execute its business plan. On March 28, 2016, the

The Company completed a common stock financing for $10.0 million. In addition, the Company completed four separate common stock financings with Seven Star Works Co. Ltd. (“SSW”) for $4.0 million on July 19, 2016, with Harvest Alternative Investment Opportunities SPC (“Harvest”) for $4.0 million on August 12, 2016, with Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development Limited (“SSSHK”) for $2.0 million on November 17, 2016expects to continue to raise both equity and with certain investors, officers & directors and affiliates in a private placement for $2.0 million on May 19, 2017, respectively. On October 23, 2017, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited. Pursuantdebt finance to the terms of the agreement, the Company has agreed to sell and issue 5,494,505 shares ofsupport the Company’s common stock to the Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $10.0 million. investment plans and operations. 

Although the Company believes it has the abilitymay attempt to raise funds by issuing debt or equity instruments, in the future additional financing may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to the Company or at all or such resources may not be received in a timely manner. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, the Company may be required to scale back or to discontinue certain operations, scale back or discontinue the development of new business lines, reduce headcount, sell assets, file for bankruptcy, reorganize, merge with another entity, or cease operations.

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These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. If the Company is in fact unable to continue as a going concern, the shareholders may lose their entire investment in the Company.


Note 4. Revenue

 

4. VIE StructureThe following table summarizes the Company’s revenues disaggregated by revenue source and Arrangementsgeography. Refer to Note 2 for additional information on revenue recognition.

 

a) Sinotop VIE structure

  2019  2018 
Geographic Markets        
Singapore $-  $260,034,401 
USA  41,873,064   638,412 
Hong Kong  -   117,070,059 
PRC  2,693,891   - 
  $44,566,955  $377,742,872 
Product or Service        
Crude oil $-  $260,034,401 
Consumer electronics  -   116,723,251 
Digital asset management services  40,700,000   - 
Electronic Vehicles  2,693,891   - 
Other  1,173,064   985,220 
Total $44,566,955  $377,742,872 
         
Timing of Revenue Recognition        
Products and services transferred at a point in time $3,866,955  $377,742,872 
Services provided over time  40,700,000   - 
Total $44,566,955  $377,742,872 

Note 5.VIE Structure and Arrangements

The Company consolidated certain VIEs located in the PRC in which it held variable interests and arrangementwas the primary beneficiary through contractual agreements. The Company was the primary beneficiary because it had the power to direct activities that most significantly affected their economic performance and had the obligation to absorb or right to receive the majority of their losses or benefits. The results of operations and financial position of these VIEs are included in the consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, and as of December 31, 2018. A shareholder in one of the VIEs is the spouse of Bruno Wu (“Dr. Wu”), the Chairman of the Company.

 

ToRefer to Note 10 for information on an additional VIE.

The contractual agreements listed below, which collectively granted the Company the power to direct the VIEs activities that most significantly affected their economic performance, as well to cause the Company to have the obligation to absorb or right to receive the majority of their losses or benefits, were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019. As a result, the Company deconsolidated the VIEs as of December 31, 2019. The deconsolidation resulted in a net loss of $2.0 million recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations, and a statutory income tax of $0.2 million.

For these consolidated VIEs, their assets were not available to the Company and their creditors did not have recourse to the Company. As of December 31, 2018, assets (mainly long-term investments) that could only be used to settle obligations of these VIEs were $3.5 million, and the Company was the major creditor for the VIEs.

Prior to December 31, 2019, in order to operate certain legacy YOD business in the PRC and to comply with PRC laws and regulations that prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of companies that provides value-added telecommunication services, the Company provides its services through Sinotop Beijing. The Company has the ability to control Sinotop Beijing through a series of contractual agreements entered into among YOD WFOE, YOD Hong Kong, Sinotop Beijing and the legal shareholders of Sinotop Beijing.

Prior to January 2016, the Company entered into a series of contractual agreements with two VIEs: Beijing Sinotop Scope Technology Co., Ltd (“Sinotop Beijing”) and Tianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited (“SSF”). These contractual agreements were initially set to give itexpire in March 2030 and April 2036, respectively, and could not be terminated by the ability to control Sinotop BeijingVIEs, except with Zhang Yan, the former legalconsent of, or a material breach by the Company. A shareholder of Sinotop Beijing (thein SSF is the spouse of its then-CEO). In January 2016, in connection with the appointment of a new CEO and in accordance with its rights under the contractual agreements, (1) the legal ownership of Sinotop Beijing was transferred from Zhang Yan to BingDr. Wu, the brother of its current Chairman and Yun Zhu, the former Vice President of Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited (“SSS”), (2) the Company terminated the series of contractual arrangements with Zhang Yan, and (3) the Company entered into new contractual agreements with Bing Wu and Yun Zhu (collectively, the “Former Sinotop VIE Agreements”). In October 2016, in accordance with its rights under contractual agreements, (1) the legal ownership of Sinotop Beijing was transferred from Bing Wu to Mei Chen, the former CFO of the Company, (2) the Company terminated the series of contractual arrangements with Bing Wu, and (3) the Company entered into new contractual agreements with Mei Chen (collectively, the “New Sinotop VIE Agreements”). Although the Former Sinotop VIE Agreements and New Sinotop VIE Agreements resulted in changes to the legal shareholders of Sinotop Beijing, there was no change in the Company’s ability to control Sinotop Beijing or the Company’s rights to 100% of the economic benefits of Sinotop Beijing. The Company was the primary beneficiary of Sinotop Beijing prior to the signing of the Former Sinotop VIE Agreements and New Sinotop VIE Agreements and the Company remained the primary beneficiary of Sinotop Beijing after the signing of the former Sinotop VIE Agreements and the New Sinotop VIE Agreements. Accordingly, the change in legal ownership of Sinotop Beijing did not have any impact to the Company’s consolidation of Sinotop Beijing. Company.


The key terms of the New Sinotop VIE Agreements are summarized as follows:

 

Equity Pledge Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Mei Chen and Yun Zhu (collectively, the “Nominee Shareholders”), the NomineeThe VIEs’ Shareholders pledged all of their equity interests in Sinotop Beijingthe VIEs (the “Collateral”) to YOD WFOEOn Demand (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd (“YOD WFOE”), the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in the PRC, as security for the performance of the obligations of Sinotop Beijing to make all the required technical service fee payments pursuant to the Technical Services Agreement and for performance of the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders’ obligation under the Call Option Agreement. The terms of the Equity Pledge Agreement were set to expire upon satisfaction of all obligations under the Technical Services Agreement and Call Option Agreement.

 

The Equity Pledge Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Call Option Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing and the Nominee Shareholders, the NomineeThe VIEs’ Shareholders granted an exclusive option to YOD WFOE, or its designee, to purchase, at any time and from time to time, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or any portion of the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders’ equity in Sinotop Beijing.VIEs. The exercise price of the option shallwas to be determined by YOD WFOE at its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions imposed by PRC law. The term of the agreement iswas until all of the equity interest in Sinotop Beijingthe VIEs held by the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders arewere transferred to YOD WFOE, or its designee and maycould not be terminated by any part to the agreement without consent of the other parties.

 

The Call Option Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Power of Attorney

 

Pursuant to the Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing and each of the respective Nominee Shareholders, each of the NomineeThe VIEs’ Shareholders granted YOD WFOE the irrevocable right, for the maximum period permitted by law, all of its voting rights as shareholders of Sinotop Beijing.VIEs. The NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders maycould not transfer any of its equity interest in Sinotop BeijingVIEs to any party other than YOD WFOE. The Power of Attorney agreements maycould not be terminated except until all of the equity in Sinotop Beijing hasVIEs had been transferred to YOD WFOE or its designee.

 

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The Power of Attorney agreements were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

 

Technical Service Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Technical Service Agreement between YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing, YOD WFOE hashad the exclusive right to provide technical service, marketing and management consulting service, financial support service and human resource support services to Sinotop Beijing,the VIEs, and Sinotop Beijing isthe VIEs were required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD WFOE. As compensation for providing the services, YOD WFOE iswas entitled to receive service fees from Sinotop Beijingthe VIEs equivalent to YOD WFOE’s cost plus 30%20.0 to 30.0% of such costs as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC. YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing agreethe VIEs agreed to periodically review the service fee and make adjustments as deemed appropriate. The term of the Technical Services Agreement iswas perpetual, and maycould only be terminated upon written consent of both parties.

 

The Technical Services Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.


Spousal Consent

 

Pursuant to the Spousal Consent, undersigned by the respective spouse of Nomineethe VIEs’ Shareholders, (collectively, the “Spouses”), the Spousesspouses unconditionally and irrevocably agreed to the execution of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The Spousesspouses agreed to not make any assertions in connection with the equity interest of Sinotop Beijingthe VIEs and to waive consent on further amendment or termination of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The Spousesspouses further pledgepledged to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance under these agreements upon YOD WFOE’s request. In the event the Spouses obtainspouses obtained any equity interests of Sinotop Beijingthe VIEs which arewere held by the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders, the Spousesspouses agreed to be bound by the New Sinotop VIE Agreements,agreements, including the Technical Services Agreement, and comply with the obligations thereunder, including signsigning a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the New Sinotop VIE Agreements.agreements.

 

The Spousal Consents were terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019. 

Letter of Indemnification

 

Pursuant to the Letter of Indemnification among YOD WFOE and Mei Chen and YOD WFOE and Yun Zhu,each nominee shareholder, YOD WFOE agreed to indemnify Nominee Shareholders against any personal, tax or other liabilities incurred in connection with their role in equity transfer to the greatest extent permitted under PRC law. YOD WFOE further waived and released Nominee Shareholders from any claims arising from, or related to, their role as the legal shareholder of Sinotop Beijing, provided that their actions as asuch nominee shareholder are taken in good faith and are not opposed to YOD WFOE’s best interests. Conversely, the Nominee Shareholders will not be entitled to dividends or other benefits generated therefrom, or receive any compensation in connection with this arrangement. The Letter of Indemnification will remain valid until either Nominee Shareholders or YOD WFOE terminates the agreement by giving the other party hereto 60 days’ prior written notice.

In addition to the New Sinotop VIE Agreements, the Management Service Agreement between Sinotop Beijing and YOD Hong Kong continued to remain in effect, the key terms of which are as follows:

Management Services Agreement

Pursuant to a Management Services Agreement, as of March 9, 2010, YOD Hong Kong has the exclusive right to provide to Sinotop Beijing management, financial and other services related to the operation of Sinotop Beijing’s business, and Sinotop Beijing is required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD Hong Kong. As compensation for providing the services, YOD Hong Kong is entitled to receive a fee from Sinotop Beijing, upon demand, equal to 100% of the annual net profits as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC of Sinotop Beijing during the term of the Management Services Agreement. YOD Hong Kong may also request ad hoc quarterly payments of the aggregate fee, which payments will be credited against Sinotop Beijing’s future payment obligations.

The Management Services Agreement also provides YOD Hong Kong, or its designee, with a right of first refusal to acquire all or any portion of the equity of Sinotop Beijing upon any proposal by the sole shareholder of Sinotop Beijing to transfer such equity. In addition, at the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, Sinotop Beijing is obligated to transfer to YOD Hong Kong, or its designee, any part or all of the business, personnel, assets and operations of Sinotop Beijing which may be lawfully conducted, employed, owned or operated by YOD Hong Kong, including:

(a)      business opportunities presented to, or available to Sinotop Beijing may be pursued and contracted for in the name of YOD Hong Kong rather than Sinotop Beijing, and at its discretion, YOD Hong Kong may employ the resources of Sinotop Beijing to secure such opportunities;

(b)      any tangible or intangible property of Sinotop Beijing, any contractual rights, any personnel, and any other items or things of value held by Sinotop Beijing may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong at book value;

(c)      real property, personal or intangible property, personnel, services, equipment, supplies and any other items useful for the conduct of the business may be obtained by YOD Hong Kong by acquisition, lease, license or otherwise, and made available to Sinotop Beijing on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and Sinotop Beijing;

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(d)      contracts entered into in the name of Sinotop Beijing may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong, or the work under such contracts may be subcontracted, in whole or in part, to YOD Hong Kong, on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and Sinotop Beijing; and

(e)      any changes to, or any expansion or contraction of, the business may be carried out at the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, and in the name of and at the expense of, YOD Hong Kong; provided, however, that none of the foregoing may cause or have the effect of terminating (without being substantially replaced under the name of YOD Hong Kong) or adversely affecting any license, permit or regulatory status of Sinotop Beijing.

The term of the Management Services Agreement is 20 years, and may not be terminated by Sinotop Beijing, except with the consent of, or a material breach by, YOD Hong Kong.

Pursuant to the above contractual agreements, YOD WFOE can have the assets transferred freely out of Sinotop Beijing without any restrictions. Therefore, YOD WFOE considers that there is no asset of Sinotop Beijing that can be used only to settle obligations of Sinotop Beijing, except for the registered capital of the entity amounting to RMB10.6 million (approximately $1.6 million) as of December 31, 2017. As Sinotop Beijing is incorporated as limited liability companies under PRC Company Law, creditors of this entity do not have recourse to the general credit of other entities of the Company.

b) Tianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited (“SSF”) VIE structure and arrangements

To comply with PRC laws and regulations that prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of companies that provides value-added telecommunication services, the Company plans to also provide its services through SSF, which is applying to hold the licenses and approvals to provide digital distribution and Internet content services in the PRC. The Company has the ability to control SSF through a series of contractual agreements, as described below, entered into among YOD WFOE, YOD Hong Kong, SSF and the legal shareholders of SSF.

On April 5, 2016, YOD WFOE entered into variable interest entity agreements with SSF and its nominee shareholders pursuant to the Amended Tianjin Agreement dated December 21, 2015 (see Note 12(c)) (the “SSF VIE Agreements”). Lan Yang, holder of 99% equity ownership in SSF and a party to certain of the SSF VIE Agreements, is the spouse of Bruno Zheng Wu, the Company’s Chairman. Yun Zhu, holder of 1% equity ownership in SSF and a party to certain of the SSF VIE Agreements, is the Vice President of SSS.

The terms of the SSF VIE Agreements are as follows:

Equity Pledge Agreement

Pursuant to the Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Lan Yang and Yun Zhu (the “Nominee Shareholders”), dated April 5, 2016, the Nominee Shareholders pledged all of their capital contribution rights in SSF to YOD WFOE as security for the performance of the obligations of SSF to make all the required technical service fee payments pursuant to the Technical Services Agreement and for performance of the Nominee Shareholders’ obligation under the Call Option Agreement. The terms of the Equity Pledge Agreement expire upon satisfaction of all obligations under the Technical Services Agreement and Call Option Agreement.

Call Option Agreement

Pursuant to the Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, SSF and the Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016, the Nominee Shareholders granted an exclusive option to YOD WFOE, or its designee, to purchase, at any time and from time to time, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or any portion of the Nominee Shareholders’ equity in SSF. The exercise price of the option shall be determined by YOD WFOE at its sole discretion, subject to any restrictions imposed by PRC law. The term of the agreement is until all of the equity interest in SSF held by the Nominee Shareholders is transferred to YOD WFOE, or its designee and may not be terminated by any party to the agreement without consent of the other parties.

Power of Attorney

Pursuant to the Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, SSF and each of the respective Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016, each of the Nominee Shareholders granted YOD WFOE the irrevocable right, for the maximum period permitted by law, to all of its voting rights as shareholders of SSF. The Nominee Shareholders may not transfer any of their equity interest in SSF to any party other than YOD WFOE. The Power of Attorney agreements may not be terminated except until all of the equity in SSF has been transferred to YOD WFOE or its designee.

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Technical Service Agreement

Pursuant to the Technical Service Agreement, dated April 5, 2016, between YOD WFOE and SSF, YOD WFOE has the exclusive right to provide technical service, marketing and management consulting service, financial support service and human resource support services to SSF, and SSF is required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD WFOE. As compensation for providing the services, YOD WFOE is entitled to receive service fees from SSF equivalent to YOD WFOE’s cost plus 20-30% of such costs as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC. YOD WFOE and SSF agree to periodically review the service fee and make adjustments as deemed appropriate. The term of the Technical Services Agreement is perpetual, and may only be terminated upon written consent of both parties.

Spousal Consent

Pursuant to the Spousal Consent, dated April 5, 2016, undersigned by the respective spouse of the Nominee Shareholders (collectively, the “Spouses”), the Spouses unconditionally and irrevocably agreed to the execution of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The Spouses agreed to not make any assertions in connection with the equity interest of SSF and to waive consent on further amendment or termination of the Equity Pledge Agreement, Call Option Agreement and Power of Attorney agreement. The Spouses further pledge to execute all necessary documents and take all necessary actions to ensure appropriate performance under these agreements upon YOD WFOE’s request. In the event the Spouses obtain any equity interests of SSF which are held by the Nominee Shareholders, the Spouses agreed to be bound by the SSF VIE Agreements, including the Technical Services Agreement, and comply with the obligations thereunder, including sign a series of written documents in substantially the same format and content as the SSF VIE Agreements.

Letter of Indemnification

Pursuant to the Letter of Indemnification among YOD WFOE and Lan Yang and YOD WFOE and Yun Zhu, both dated as of April 5, 2016, YOD WFOE agreed to indemnify Nominee Shareholders against any personal, tax or other liabilities incurred in connection with their role in equity transfer to the greatest extent permitted under PRC law. YOD WFOE further waived and released the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders from any claims arising from, or related to, their role as the legal shareholder of SSF,the VIE, provided that their actions as a nominee shareholder arewere taken in good faith and arewere not opposed to YOD WFOE’s best interests. The NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders willwere not be entitled to dividends or other benefits generated therefrom, or to receive any compensation in connection with this arrangement. The Letter of Indemnification willwas to remain valid until either the Nominee Shareholdersnominee shareholder or YOD WFOE terminates the agreement by giving the other party hereto 60 days’ prior written notice.

 

The Letter of Indemnification was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.

Management Services Agreement

In addition to VIE agreements described above, the Company’s subsidiary and the parent company of YOD WFOE, YOU On Demand (Asia) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong (“YOD Hong Kong”) entered into a Management Services Agreement with each VIE.

Pursuant to such Management Services Agreement, YOD Hong Kong had the exclusive right to provide to the VIE management, financial and other services related to the operation of the VIE’s business, and the VIE was required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD Hong Kong. As compensation for providing the services, YOD Hong Kong was entitled to receive a fee from the VIE, upon demand, equal to 100.0% of the annual net profits as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC of the VIE during the term of the Management Services Agreement. YOD Hong Kong could also request ad hoc quarterly payments of the aggregate fee, which payments would be credited against the VIE’s future payment obligations.

In addition, at the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, the VIE was obligated to transfer to YOD Hong Kong, or its designee, any part or all of the business, personnel, assets and operations of the VIE which could be lawfully conducted, employed, owned or operated by YOD Hong Kong, including:

(a)business opportunities presented to, or available to the VIE could be pursued and contracted for in the name of YOD Hong Kong rather than the VIE, and at its discretion, YOD Hong Kong could employ the resources of the VIE to secure such opportunities;

(b)any tangible or intangible property of the VIE, any contractual rights, any personnel, and any other items or things of value held by the VIE could be transferred to YOD Hong Kong at book value;

(c)real property, personal or intangible property, personnel, services, equipment, supplies and any other items useful for the conduct of the business could be obtained by YOD Hong Kong by acquisition, lease, license or otherwise, and made available to the VIE on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE;

(d)contracts entered into in the name of the VIE could be transferred to YOD Hong Kong, or the work under such contracts may be subcontracted, in whole or in part, to YOD Hong Kong, on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and the VIE; and

(e)any changes to, or any expansion or contraction of, the business could be carried out in the exercise of the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, and in the name of and at the expense of, YOD Hong Kong;

(f)

provided, however, that none of the foregoing may cause or have the effect of terminating (without being substantially replaced under the name of YOD Hong Kong) or adversely affecting any license, permit or regulatory status of the VIE.

The Management Services Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019.


Loan Agreement

 

Pursuant to the Loan Agreement among YOD WFOE and the Nominee Shareholders, dated April 5, 2016, YOD WFOE agreesagreed to lend RMB 19.8 million and RMB 0.2 million, respectively, to the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders, one of whom is the spouse of Dr. Wu, the Company’s Chairman, for the purpose of establishing SSF and for development of its business. As of December 31, 2017, RMB 27.62018, RMB27.6 million (US $4.2($4.2 million) and RMB nil havehad been lent to Lan Yang and Yun Zhu, respectively. Lan Yang hasVIEs’ Shareholders which had contributed all of the RMB 27.6RMB27.6 million (US $4.2($4.2 million) in the form of capital contribution.contribution to SSF. The loan cancould only be repaid by a transfer by the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders of their equity interests in SSF to YOD WFOEWOFE or YOD WFOE’sWOFE’s designated persons, through (i)(1) YOD WFOEWOFE having the right, but not the obligation to at any time purchase, or authorize a designated person to purchase, all or part of the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders’ equity interests in SSF at such price as YOD WFOEWOFE shall determine (the “Transfer Price”), (ii)(2) all monies received by the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders through the payment of the Transfer Price being used solely to repay YOD WFOEWOFE for the loans, and (iii)(3) if the Transfer Price exceeds the principal amount of the loans, the amount in excess of the principal amount of the loans being deemed as interest payable on the loans, and to be payable to YOD WFOEWOFE in cash. Otherwise, the loans shall bewere deemed to be interest-free.interest free. The term of the Loan Agreement iswas perpetual, and maycould only be terminated upon the NomineeVIEs’ Shareholders receiving repayment notice, or upon the occurrence of an event of default under the terms of the agreement. The loan extended to the Nominee Shareholders and the capital of SSF are fully eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

 

Management ServicesThe Loan Agreement was terminated by all parties on December 31, 2019. The termination of the Loan Agreement resulted in a loss of $5.1 million.

 

In addition toTherefore, the SSF VIE Agreements, the Company’s subsidiary and the parent company of YOD WFOE, YOU On Demand (Asia) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong (“YOD Hong Kong”) entered into a Management Services Agreement with SSF, dated as of April 6, 2016 (the “Management Services Agreement”). Pursuant to a Management Services Agreement, YOD Hong Kong has the exclusive right to provide to SSF management, financial and other services related to the operation of SSF’s business, and SSF is required to take all commercially reasonable efforts to permit and facilitate the provision of the services by YOD Hong Kong.

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As compensation for providing the services, YOD Hong Kong is entitled to receive a fee from SSF, upon demand, equal to 100% of the annual net profits as calculated on accounting policies generally accepted in the PRC of SSF during the term of the Management Services Agreement. YOD Hong Kong may also request ad hoc quarterly payments of the aggregate fee; which payments will be credited against SSF’s future payment obligations.

In addition, at the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, SSF is obligated to transfer to YOD Hong Kong, or its designee, any part or all of the business, personnel, assets and operations of SSF which may be lawfully conducted, employed, owned or operated by YOD Hong Kong, including: 

(a)    business opportunities presented to, or available to SSF may be pursued and contracted for in the name of YOD Hong Kong rather than SSF, and at its discretion, YOD Hong Kong may employ the resources of SSF to secure such opportunities; 

(b)    any tangible or intangible property of SSF, any contractual rights, any personnel, and any other items or things of value held by SSF may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong at book value;

(c)    real property, personal or intangible property, personnel, services, equipment, supplies and any other items useful for the conduct of the business may be obtained by YOD Hong Kong by acquisition, lease, license or otherwise, and made available to SSF on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and SSF;

(d)    contracts entered into in the name of SSF may be transferred to YOD Hong Kong, or the work under such contracts may be subcontracted, in whole or in part, to YOD Hong Kong, on terms to be determined by agreement between YOD Hong Kong and SSF; and

(e)    any changes to, or any expansion or contraction of, the business may be carried out in the exercise of the sole discretion of YOD Hong Kong, and in the name of and at the expense of, YOD Hong Kong;

provided, however, that none of the foregoing may cause or have the effect of terminating (without being substantially replaced under the name of YOD Hong Kong) or adversely affecting any license, permit or regulatory status of SSF.

The term of the Management Services Agreement is 20 years, and may not be terminated by SSF, except with the consent of, or a material breach by, YOD Hong Kong.

Pursuant to the above contractual agreements, YOD WFOE can have the assets transferred freely out of SSF without any restrictions. Therefore, YOD WFOECompany considers that there iswas no asset of SSFthe VIEs that cancould be used only to settle obligation of YOD WFOE,the Company, except for the registered capital of SSFVIEs amounting to RMB 50.0RMB38.2 million (approximately $7.5($5.8 million), among which RMB 27.6 million (approximately $4.2 million) has been injected as of December 31, 2017. As SSF is incorporated as limited liability2018.

Note 6. Acquisitions and Divestitures

2019 Acquisitions

(a)Acquisition of Tree Technologies Sdn. Bhd. (“Tree Technologies”)

On December 26, 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of a 51.0% interest in Tree Technologies, a Malaysian company under PRC Company Law, creditorsengaged in the EV market. The acquisition price was comprised of this entity do not have recourse(1) $0.9 million in cash, (2) 9,500,000 shares of Ideanomics common stock, and (3) earnout payments (the ”Earnout”) of up to $32.0 million over three years, to be paid in cash or Ideanomics common shares at the general credit of other entitieselection of the Company. The Earnout is based upon revenue targets over three 12 month periods beginning in Q4 2019.

F-19

 

Financial InformationThe fair value of the Ideanomics stock was based upon the closing price of $0.82 on December 26, 2019, and the preliminary fair value of the Earnout was estimated to be $17.3 million, and was recorded as a liability on the date of acquisition. The Company estimated the fair value of the Earnout using a scenario based method which incorporates various estimates, including projected gross revenue for the periods, probability estimates, discount rates and other factors. This fair value measurement is based on significant Level 3 inputs. The resulting probability-weighted cash flows were discounted using the Company’s estimated weighted average cost of capital of 30.0%

Tree Technologies holds the land use rights for 250 acres of vacant land zoned for industrial development in the Begeng Industrial Area adjacent to Kuantan Port. Kuantan is the capital city of the state of Pahang on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The Company intends to develop this land and lease it to Tree Manufacturing for the manufacture of EVs. Tree Technologies holds an exclusive right to market and distribute the EVs manufactured by Tree Manufacturing. The goodwill arising from the acquisition consists largely of the synergies expected from the fulfillment of these contracts. None of the goodwill recognized is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

 

The following financial informationtable summarizes the acquisition-date preliminary fair value of our VIEs’,assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as applicablewell as the fair value of the non-controlling interest in Tree Technologies recognized. The Company has recorded provisional amounts for these items as well as for the periods presented, affectedEarnout mentioned above. The Company expects to finalize the Company’s consolidated financial statements.fair value analysis of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, the noncontrolling interest, and the Earnout within one year subsequent to the acquisition, and therefore adjustments to assets and liabilities will occur and may be significant.

 

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
ASSETS        
Current assets:        
Cash $3,898  $1,519,125 
Accounts receivable, net  -   1,260,529 
Prepaid expenses  3,604   30,455 
Other current assets  1,537   191,427 
Intercompany receivables due from the Company’s subsidiaries(i)  2,494,505   150,725 
Total current assets  2,503,544   3,152,261 
         
Property and equipment, net  -   196,677 
Intangible assets, net  -   2,570 
Long-term investments  3,719,467   3,654,664 
Other non-current assets  -   442,782 
Total assets $6,223,011  $7,448,954 
         
LIABILITIES        
Current liabilities:        
Accounts payable $-  $5,817 
Deferred revenue  -   824,563 
Accrued expenses  -   268,074 
Other current liabilities  41   394,314 
Accrued license content fees  -   1,236,661 
Intercompany payables due to the Company’s subsidiaries(i)  3,601,454   14,752,338 
Total current liabilities  3,601,495   17,481,767 
Total liabilities $3,601,495  $17,481,767 

Cash $229 
Land use rights  27,078,944 
Accounts payable  (743,250)
Noncontrolling interest  (24,985,292)
Goodwill  13,316,226 
Marketing and distribution agreement  11,332,473 
  $25,999,330 

 

  2017  2016 
Net revenue $794,273  $4,543,616 
Net loss $(4,356,188) $(6,557,639)

The accounts payable above of $0.7 million primarily represents the transfer tax payable for the land use rights for the 250 acres of vacant land; should the Company fail to fulfill its obligations to pay the transfer tax payable it would forfeit its land use rights.

 

  2017  2016 
Net cash used in operating activities $(1,661,696) $(2,497,637)
Net cash used in investing activities $(43,047) $(2,896,492)
Net cash provided by financing activities(i) $189,515  $6,555,377 

Tree Technologies had not commenced operations as of the acquisition date, therefore pro forma results as if the acquisition had occurred as of January 1, 2018, and related information, are not presented.

 

(i)(b)Intercompany receivables and payables are eliminated upon consolidation. The intercompany financing activities include the capital injectionAcquisition of $0.2 million to SSF in 2017.Grapevine Logic, Inc. (“Grapevine”)

 

Refer to Note 6(d) for additional information on the acquisition of Grapevine, and the initial terms of the agreement and the Option Agreement (as subsequently defined).

In May 2019, the Company entered into two amendments to the Option Agreement. The decreaseaggregate exercise price for the Option was amended to the greater of: (1) fair market value of the Fomalhaut Interest in assets and liabilities mainly due to disposal of Zhong Hai Shi Xun MediaGrapevine as of June 30, 2017.the close of business on the date preceding the date upon which the option is exercised; and (2) $1.84 per share of the Company’s common stock. It was also agreed that the full amount of the exercise price shall be paid in the form of common stock of the Company.

 

5. AcquisitionIn June 2019, the Company issued 0.6 million shares in exchange for a 34.3% ownership in Grapevine as a result of the exercise of the Option. At the completion of this transaction the Company owned 100.0% of Grapevine. At the date of the transaction, the carrying amount of the non-controlling interest in Grapevine was $0.5 million. The difference between the value of the consideration exchanged of $1.1 million and the carrying amount of the non-controlling interest in Grapevine is recorded as a debit to Additional paid-in capital based on ASC 810-10-45-23.

 

(i) Acquisition of SVG and Wide Angle

(c)Acquisition of Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”)

 

On January 30, 2017,In April 2019, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sun Video SPA”) with BT Capital Global Limited, a British Virgin Islands company (“BT”) which is controlled by Company’s Chairman Bruno Wu,securities purchase agreement to acquire 6.9 million shares in DBOT in exchange for the purchase by SSC of all of the outstanding capital stock of Sun Video Group Hong Kong Limited, a Hong Kong corporation (“SVG”), for an aggregate purchase price of $800,000 and a $504.4 million Promissory Note (the “SVG Note”) with the principal and interest thereon convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion rate of $1.50$2.11 per share. BT has guaranteed that SVG will achieve certain financial goals within 12 months of the closing. Until receipt of necessary shareholder approvals, the SVG Note is not convertible into shares of our common stock, but once the necessary shareholder approval is received, the unpaid principal and interest thereon will automatically convert. Under the terms of the Sun Video SPA, BT has guaranteed that the business of SVG and its subsidiaries (the “Sun Video Business”) shall achieve revenue of $250 million and $15 million of gross profit (collectively the “Performance Guarantees”) within 12 months of the closing. If the Sun Video Business fails to meet either of the Performance Guarantees within such time, BT shall forfeit back toIn July 2019, the Company theentered into another securities purchase agreement to acquire an additional 2.2 million shares in DBOT in exchange for 1.4 million shares of the Company’s common stock orat $2.11 per share. The two transactions, which increased the SVG Note,Company’s ownership in DBOT to 99.0%, were completed in July 2019. The securities purchase agreements required the Company to issue additional shares of the Company’s common stock (“True-Up Common Stock”) in the event the stock price of the common stock falls below $2.11 at the close of trading on the date immediately preceding the lock-up date, which is 9 months from the closing date. The Company accounted for the additional True-Up Common Stock consideration as a liability in accordance with ASC 480. The Company recorded this liability at fair value of $2.2 million on the date of acquisition. As of December 31, 2019, the Company remeasured this liability to $7.3 million and the remeasurement loss of $5.1 million was recorded in “Acquisition earn-out expense” in the consolidated statements of operations.

Immediately prior to the consummation of the transaction, the Company’s investment in DBOT had a fair value of $3.1 million, and the Company recorded a loss of $3.2 million to record the investment in DBOT to its fair value. This loss was recorded in “Loss on remeasurement of DBOT investment” in the consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of the investment in DBOT immediately prior to the consummation of the transaction was determined in conjunction with the overall fair value determination of the DBOT assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

DBOT operates three companies: (1) DBOT ATS LLC, an SEC recognized Alternative Trading System (“ATS”); (2) DBOT Issuer Services LLC, focused on setting and maintaining issuer standards, as well as the provision of issuer services to DBOT designated issuers; and (3) DBOT Technology Services LLC, focused on the provision of market data and marketplace connectivity. The goodwill arising from the acquisition consists largely of the synergies and economies of scale expected from combining the operations of the Company and DBOT, as the Company executes its business plan of selling digital tokens and digital assets and other commodities on an approved ATS.

The consolidated statements of operation for the year ended December 31, 2019 include the results of DBOT from July 2019 to December 31, 2019. For the time period from July 2019 through December 31, 2019, DBOT contributed $15,838 and $1.9 million to the Company’s revenue and net loss, respectively.

The following table summarizes supplemental information on an unaudited pro forma basis, as if the acquisition had been consummated as of January 1, 2018:

  December 31, 2019  December 31, 2018 
Revenue $44,675,864  $378,242,165 
Net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders  (99,417,257)  (30,164,664)

The unaudited pro forma results of operations do not purport to represent what the Company’s results of operations would actually have been had the acquisition occurred on January 1, 2018. Actual future results may vary considerably based on a pro rata basis based onvariety of factors beyond the Performance Guarantee for whichCompany’s control.


The following table summarizes the Sun Video Business achievesacquisition-date fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, as well as the lowest percentagefair value of the respective amount guaranteed.non-controlling interest in DBOT recognized:

Cash $246,929 
Other financial assets  1,686,464 
Financial liabilities  (4,411,140)
Noncontrolling interest  (104,649)
Goodwill  9,323,189 
Intangible asset – continuing membership agreement  8,255,440 
Intangible asset – customer list  58,830 
  $15,055,063 

The excess of the consideration over the fair value of the net assets acquired has been recorded as goodwill, of which none is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. For all intangible assets acquired, continuing membership agreements have useful life of 20 years and the customer list has useful life of 3 years.

 

In addition, if the Sun Video Business achieves more than $50 million in cumulative net income within 3 years of closing, (the “Net Income Threshold”), the Company shall pay BT 50% of the amount of any cumulative net income above the Net Income Threshold. Profit share payments shall be made on an annual basis, in either cash or stock at the discretion of our Board of Directors. If the Board decides to make the payment in stock, the number of our shares of common stock to be awarded shall be calculated based on the market price of such shares.2018 Acquisitions

 

After the acquisition SVG, the Company changed its name to Wecast Services Group Limited, and is therefore also referred to herein as Wecast Services.

(d)Grapevine Logic, Inc. (“Grapevine”)

 

On January 31, 2017,September 4, 2018, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Wide Angle SPA”)completed the acquisition of 65.7% share of Grapevine for $2.4 million in cash. Grapevine is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform that facilitates collaboration between advertisers and brands with BTvideo based social influencers and Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, a Hong Kong company (“SSS”), onecontent creators. The goodwill arising from the acquisition consists largely of the Company’s largest shareholders, controlled by our Chairman Bruno Wu, as guarantor, forsynergies and economies of scale expected from combining the purchase by the Company of 55% of the outstanding capital stock of Wide Angle for the sole considerationoperations of the Company adding Wide Angle to the Sun Video Business acquired by the Company under the Sun Video SPA and thereby including 100%Grapevine. None of the revenue and gross profit from Wide Angle in the calculation of the SVG Performance Guarantees set forth in the Sun Video SPA considering the Company has consolidated Wide Angle.

F-20

Since the Company, Wecast Services and Wide Angle were controlled by our Chairman Bruno Wu since November 10, 2016, as well as both before and after the acquisition, thisgoodwill recognized is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. The transaction was accounted for as a business combination.

The following table summarizes the amounts of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed recognized at the acquisition date, as well as the fair value at the acquisition date of the non-controlling interest in Grapevine:

Cash$508,000
Other financial assets388,000
Financial liabilities(747,000)
Noncontrolling interest(679,000)
Goodwill705,000
Influencer network1,980,000
Customer contracts500,000
Trade name110,000
Technology platform290,000
Deferred tax liabilities(570,000)
$2,485,000

Pro forma results of operations for Grapevine have not been presented because it is not material to the consolidated results of operations. For all intangible assets acquired and purchased during the year ended December 31, 2018, the influencer network has a weighted-average useful life of 10 years, customer contracts have a weighted-average useful life of 3 years, the trade name has a weighted-average useful life of 15 years and technology platform has a weighted-average useful life of 7 years.

Fomalhaut Limited (“Fomalhaut”), a British Virgin Islands company and an affiliate of Dr. Wu, is the non-controlling equity holder of 34.4% in Grapevine (the “Fomalhaut Interest”). Fomalhaut entered into an option agreement, effective as of August 31, 2018 (the “Option Agreement”), with the Company pursuant to which the Company provided Fomalhaut with the option to sell the Fomalhaut Interest to the Company. The aggregate sale price for the Fomalhaut Interest is the fair market value of the Fomalhaut Interest as of the close of business on the date preceding the date upon which the right to sell the Fomalhaut Interest to the Company is exercised by Fomalhaut. If the option is exercised, the sale price for the Fomalhaut Interest is payable in a combination betweenof 1/3 in cash and 2/3 in the Company’s shares of common stock at the then market value on the exercise date. The Option Agreement will expire on August 31, 2021. Refer to Note 6(b) for additional information on the amendment and exercise of the Option Agreement.

(e)Shanghai Guang Ming Investment Management (“Guang Ming”)

On April 24, 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of 100.0% equity ownership in Guang Ming, a PRC limited liability company, for a total purchase price of $0.4 million in cash. One of the two selling shareholders is a related party, an affiliate of Dr. Wu. Guang Ming holds a special fund management license. The acquisition will help the Company develop a fund management platform. Under ASC 805-50-05-5 and ASC 805-50-30-5, the transaction was accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common control, by Mr. Wu. Therefore, in accordance with ASC Subtopic 805-50,a manner similar to a pooling of interest, using historical costs. As a result of the reorganization, the net assets of Guang Ming were transferred to the Company, and the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company include the acquired assets and liabilities of the SVG and Wide Angle at their historical carrying amounts. In addition, the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016 have been prepared as if the Wecast Servicescurrent corporate structure had been in place at the beginning of periods presented in which the common control existed.


2019 Divestitures

The Company may divest certain businesses from time to time based upon review of the Company’s portfolio considering, among other items, factors relative to the extent of strategic and technological alignment and optimization of capital deployment, in addition to considering if selling the businesses results in the greatest value creation for the Company and for shareholders.

(f)Red Rock Global Capital LTD (“Red Rock”)

In May 2019, the Company determined to sell the Red Rock business and entered into an agreement with Redrock Capital Group Limited, an affiliate of Dr. Wu, to sell its entire interest in Red Rock for consideration of $0.7 million. The Company decided to sell Red Rock primarily because it has incurred operating losses and its business is no longer needed based on the Company’s business plan. The transaction was completed in July 2019 and the Company recorded a disposal gain of $0.6 million recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations.

(g)Amer Global Technology Limited (“Amer”)

On June 30, 2019, the Company entered into an agreement with BCC Technology Company Limited (“BCC”) and Tekang Holdings Technology Co., Ltd (“Tekang ”) pursuant to which Tekang will inject certain assets in the robotics and electronic internet industry and Internet of Things business consisting of manufacturing data, supply chain management and financing, and lease financing of industrial robotics into Amer in exchange for 71.8% of ownership interest in Amer. The parties subsequently entered into several amendments including (1) changing the name of Amer to Logistorm Technology Limited, (2) issuing 39,500 new shares in Amer or 71.8% ownership interest to BCC instead of Tekang, (3) issuing 5,500 new shares in Amer or 10.0% ownership interest to Merry Heart Technology Limited (“MHT”) and (4) the Company is responsible for 20.0% of any potential tax obligation associated with Amer, if Amer fails to be publicly listed in 36 months from the closing date of this transaction. The Company concluded that it’s not probable that this contingent liability would be incurred. As a result of this transaction, the Company’s ownership interest in Amer was diluted from 55.0% to 10.0%. The transaction was completed on August 31, 2019.

The Company recognized a disposal gain of $0.5 million as a result of the deconsolidating Amer, and such gain was recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations. $0.1 million of the gain is attributable to the 10.0% ownership interest retained in Amer. In addition, on the date Amer was deconsolidated, the Company recorded a bad debt expense of $0.6 million relating to a receivable due from Amer to a subsidiary of the Company, which was recorded in “Selling, general and administrative expense” in the consolidated statements of operations.

The following table summarizes the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018, on an unaudited pro forma basis, as if the dilution of the Company’s interest in Amer had been consummated as of January 1, 2018:

  December 31, 2018 
Revenue $261,026,833 
Net loss from operations  (25,031,090)
Net loss  (27,243,059)
Net loss attributable to IDEX common shareholders  (26,246,331)

Pro forma results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 have not been presented because they are not material to the consolidated results of operations. Amer had no revenue and minimal operating expenses in the year ended December 31, 2019.

2018 Divestitures

(h)Wide Angle and Shanghai Huicang Supplychain Management Ltd.

In December 2018, the Company entered into an agreement with Hooxi, an entity listed on the TSX venture exchange in Canada, and completed the sale of its investment (55.0% interest) in Wide Angle and Shanghai Huicang Supplychain Management Ltd., whose operations mainly focus on magazines printing, for a nominal amount. This business had been owned byannual sales of $0.3 million and continued to incur losses with minimal net assets. The transaction resulted in a loss of $1.2 million and was recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations.


Note 7.   Accounts Receivable

The following table summarizes the Company’s accounts receivable:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2019  2018 
Accounts receivable, gross $2,404,972  $19,370,665 
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts  (103)  - 
Accounts receivable, net $2,404,869  $19,370,665 

The following table summarizes the movement of the allowance for doubtful accounts:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2019  2018 
Balance at the beginning of the year $-  $3,646 
Disposal of Zhong Hai Shi Xun  -   (3,646)
Acquisition of DBOT  (103  - 
Balance at the end of the year $(103) $- 


Note 8.   Property and Equipment, net

The following table summarizes the Company’s property and equipment:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2019  2018 
Furniture and office equipment $441,283  $357,064 
Vehicle  62,052   63,135 
Leasehold improvements  242,627   200,435 
Total property and equipment  745,962   620,634 
Less: accumulated depreciation  (367,509)   (186,514)
Land  3,042,777   3,042,777 
Building  308,779   2,607,666 
Assets retirement obligations – environmental remediation  6,496,115   8,000,000 
Capitalized direct development cost  2,713,356   944,864 
Construction in progress (Fintech Village)  12,561,026    14,595,307 
Property and Equipment, net  12,939,480  $15,029,427 

The Company recorded depreciation expense of $0.1 million and $0.1 million in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Global Headquarters for Technology and Innovation in Connecticut (“Fintech Village”)

On October 10, 2018, the Company since November 10, 2016 presentedpurchased a 58-acre former University of Connecticut campus in West Hartford from the State of Connecticut for $5.2 million in cash and also assumed responsibility of the environmental remediation. The Company obtained a surety bond in favor of the University of Connecticut and the State of Connecticut (the “Seller”) in connection with the Company’s environmental remediation obligations. In order to obtain the surety bond, the Company was required to post $3.6 million in cash collateral with the bonding company and recorded in “Other non-current assets” in the consolidated financial statementsbalance sheet as of December 31, 2016 has been retrospectively adjusted accordingly.2018. The Company recorded asset retirement obligations in the amount of $8.0 million as of December 31, 2018 which was the estimates performed by the Seller and at a discount to the purchase price, therefore, the Company considered it a reasonable estimate of fair value of its asset retirement obligation pursuant to ASC 410-20-25-6. The Company will assess asset retirement obligations periodically as assessment and remediation efforts progress or as additional technical or legal information becomes available.

 

The following table summarizes the activity in the asset retirement obligation for the year ended December 31, 2019:

  January 1,
2019
  Liabilities
Incurred
  Remediation
Performed
  Accretion
Expense
  Revisions  December 31,
2019
 
Asset retirement obligation $8,000,000  $               -  $2,905,800  $                    -  $                   -  $5,094,200 

In connection with the acquisition, the Company also entered into an Assistance Agreement by and between the State of Connecticut, acting by the Department of Economic and Community Development (the “Assistance Agreement"), pursuant to which the State of Connecticut may provide up to $10.0 million of financial assistance (the “Funding”) which in such case shall be evidenced by a promissory note, provided, however, that the aggregate principal of the funding shall not exceed 50% of the cost of the project. The Company will provide security for its obligation to repay the Funding to the State of Connecticut in the form of a first position mortgage. The Company agrees that in exchange for the Funding it will provide a minimum number of jobs at a minimum annual amount of compensation by December 31, 2021. Failure of the Company to do so will subject it to certain cash penalties for each employee below the minimum employment threshold. If the Company meets the employment obligations it is eligible for forgiveness of up to $10.0 million of the Funding. The Company will agree to certain covenants with respect to the Funding and such Funding may become immediately due and payable upon the occurrence of certain standard events of default. There were no borrowings from the Funding as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.


The Company capitalized direct costs incurred on Fintech Village and the capitalized cost is recorded as part of Construction in progress. Capitalized costs were $2.7 million and $0.9 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and are primarily related to the legal and architect costs. 

In the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company impaired buildings with a carrying amount of $2.3 million, which were subsequently demolished, and impaired related asset retirement costs of $1.5 million.

The Company has identified Fintech Village as a non-core asset and is evaluating its strategies for divesting of this asset.

Note 9.  Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill

The following table summarizes changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

    
Balance as of January 1, 2018 $- 
Acquisitions  704,884 
Balance as of December 31, 2018  704,884 
Acquisitions  22,639,415 
Balance as of December 31, 2019 $23,344,299 

Intangible Assets

The following table summarizes information regarding amortizing and indefinite lived intangible assets:

  December 31, 2019  December 31, 2018 
  Weight
Average
Remaining
Useful Life
  Gross
Carrying
Amount
  Accumulated
Amortization
  Impairment
Loss
  Net
Balance
  Gross
Carrying
Amount
  Accumulated
Amortization
  Impairment
Loss
  Net Balance 
Amortizing Intangible Assets                           
Animation Copyright   $ -  -  -  -  301,495  (64,606 -  236,889 
Software and licenses -  97,308  (97,308 -  -  97,308  (93,251 -  4,057 
Solid Opinion IP (a) 4.2  4,655,000  (775,833 -  3,879,167  -  -  -  - 
Fintalk intangible assets (b) -  6,350,000  (635,000 (5,715,000 -  -  -  -  - 
Influencer network (c) 8.7  1,980,000  (264,000 -  1,716,000  1,980,000  (66,000 -  1,914,000 
Customer contract (c) 1.7  500,000  (222,222 -  277,778  500,000  (55,556 -  444,444 
Continuing membership agreement (d) 19.5  8,255,440  (206,386 -  8,049,054  -  -  -  - 
Customer list 2.5  58,830  (9,805 -  49,025  -  -  -  - 
Trade name (c) 13.7  110,000  (9,778 -  100,222  110,000  (2,444 -  107,556 
Technology platform (c) 5.7  290,000  (55,238 -  234,762  290,000  (13,808 -  276,192 
Land use rights (e) 99  27,078,944  -  -  27,078,944  -  -  -  - 
  Marketing and distribution agreement (e) 5  11,332,473  -  -  11,332,473  -  -  -  - 
Total    60,707,995  (2,275,570) (5,715,000 52,717,425  3,278,803  (295,665 -  2,983,138 
Indefinite lived intangible assets                           
Website name  (f)    159,504  -  (134,290 25,214  159,504  -  (134,290 25,214 
Patent     28,000  -  -  28,000  28,000  -  -  28,000 
GTB (g)    61,124,407  -  (61,124,407 -  -  -  -  - 
Total   $122,019,906 $(2,275,570$(66,973,697$52,770,639 $3,466,307 $(295,665$(134,290$3,036,352 

a)During the first quarter of 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of certain assets from SolidOpinion in exchange for 4.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair value of $7.2 million. The assets acquired included cash of $2.5 million and intellectual property (“IP”) which is complementary to the IP of Grapevine. The parties agreed that 0.5 million of such shares of common stock (“Escrow Shares”) will be held in escrow until February 19, 2020 in connection with SolidOpinion’s indemnity obligations pursuant to the agreement. SolidOpinion has the rights to vote and receive the dividends paid with respect to the Escrow Shares. The Escrow Shares were scheduled to be released on February 19, 2020, and the Company has commenced the necessary steps to release the shares from escrow.
b)In September 2018, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase Fintalk Assets from Sun Seven Star International Limited, a Hong Kong company and an affiliate of Dr. Wu. FinTalk Assets include the rights, titles and interest in a secure mobile financial information, social, and messaging platform that has been designed for streamlining financial-based communication for professional and retail users. The initial purchase price for the Fintalk Assets was $7.0 million payable with $1.0 million in cash and shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $6.0 million. The Company paid $1.0 million in October 2018 and recorded this amount in prepaid expenses as of December 31, 2018 because the transaction had not closed. The purchase price was later amended to $6.4 million, payable with $1.0 million in cash and shares of the Company’s common stock with a value of $5.4 million.  The Company issued 2.9 million common shares in June 2019 and completed the transaction.  In the fourth quarter of 2019, management determined these assets had no future use and recorded an impairment loss of $5.7 million.
c)During the third quarter of 2018, the Company completed the acquisition of 65.7% share of Grapevine. Refer to Note 6(b) and 6(d).
d)During the third quarter of 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of additional shares in DBOT, which increased its ownership to 90.0 %. Intangible assets of $8.3 million were recognized on the date of acquisition. Refer to Note 6(c)
e)During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of a 51.0% interest in Tree Technologies, a Malaysian company engaged in the EV market. Refer to Note 6(a) for additional information.
f)The Company recorded an impairment loss for the YOD website in the amount of $0.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2018 since the website was no longer in use.
g)During the first quarter of 2019, the Company completed the sale of certain intangible assets to GTD, and entered into a service agreement with GTD, a minority shareholder, in exchange for GTB. As a result of these transactions, the Company received 8.3 million GTB. On October 29, 2019, GTB had an unexpected significant decline in quoted price, from $17.00 to $1.84. This decline continued through the fourth quarter of 2019, and on December 31, 2019 the quoted price was $0.23. As a result of this decline in quoted price, and its inability to convert GTB into other digital currencies which were more liquid, or fiat currency, the Company performed an impairment analysis in the fourth quarter of 2019 and recorded an impairment loss of $61.1 million. Refer to Note 15(b) for additional information.

Amortization expense, excluding impairment losses of $66.8 million and $0.1 million mentioned above, relating to intangible assets was $2.1 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, and 2018, respectively.


The following table summarizes future expected amortization expense:

Years ending December 31, Amortization to
be recognized
 
2020 $4,316,830 
2021  4,261,274 
2022  4,140,358 
2023  4,130,553 
2024 and thereafter  35,868,410 
Total $52,717,425

The above table assumes that the amortization commences on the Land use rights and Marketing and distribution agreement on January 1, 2020; however, actual amortization may commence at a later date as EV production commences.

Note 10.  Long-term Investments

The following table summarizes the composition of long-term investments:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2019  2018 
Non-marketable equity investment $5,967,911  $9,452,103 
Equity method investment  16,653,586   16,956,506 
Total $22,621,497  $26,408,609 

Non-marketable equity investment

Our non-marketable equity investments are investments in privately held companies without readily determinable fair values are carried at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer.

The Company reviews its equity securities without readily determinable fair values on a regular basis to determine if the investment is impaired. For purposes of this assessment, the Company considers the investee’s cash position, earnings and revenue outlook, liquidity and management ownership, among other factors, in its review. If management’s assessment indicates that an impairment exists, the Company estimates the fair value of the equity investment and recognizes in current earnings an impairment loss that is equal to the difference between the fair value of the equity investment and its carrying amount. Based on management’s analysis of certain investment’s performance, impairment losses of $3.0 million and $0 were recorded in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and are recorded in “Impairment of assets” in the consolidated statements of operations.

The Company sold one non-marketable equity investment with a carrying amount of $3.2 million for GTB and recognized no gain or loss on the sale. Refer to Note 15(b) for additional information.


Equity method investments

The following table summarizes the Company’s investment in companies accounted for using the equity method of accounting:

   December 31, 2019  
   January 1, 2019  Addition  Income (loss)
on
investment
  Reclassification to subsidiaries   Impairment losses   Disposal  Foreign
currency
translation
adjustments
  December 31,
2019
 
Wecast Internet(a) $4,114  $-  $4  $-  $(6,048 $ -  $1,930  $- 
Hua Cheng(b)  308,666   -   (33,189)  -   -   (245,138  (30,339)  - 
BDCG(c)  9,800,000   -   -   -   -   -   -   9,800,000 
DBOT(d)  6,843,726   -   (3,719,735)  (3,123,991  -   -   -   - 
Glory(e)  -   19,991,600   (76,170)  -   (13,061,844  -   -   6,853,586 
Total  $16,956,506  $19,991,600  $(3,829,090) $(3,123,991 $ (13,067,892) $ (245,138 $(28,409) $16,653,586 

     December 31, 2018 
     January 1, 2018  Addition  Loss on
investment
  Impairment loss  Foreign
currency
translation
adjustments
  December 31,
2018
 
Wecast Internet  (a)  $6,044  $-  $(1,935) $            -  $5  $4,114 
Hua Cheng  (b)   353,498   -   (46,070)  -   1,238   308,666 
BDCG  (c)   -   9,800,000   -   -   -   9,800,000 
DBOT  (d)   -   6,976,346   (132,620)  -   -   6,843,726 
Total     $359,542  $16,776,346  $(180,625) $-  $1,243  $16,956,506 

All the investments above are privately held companies; therefore, quoted market prices are not available. The Company has received no dividends from equity method investees in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

a)Wecast Internet

As of December 31, 2017,2019 and 2018, the Company recordedhas a 50.0% interest in Wecast Internet Limited (“Wecast Internet”). Wecast Internet is in the $24.3 million SVG Note as additional paid in capital based onprocess of liquidation and the actual performance Considering the proceeds transferred were larger thanremaining carrying amountsamount of the net assets received, such $24.3 million$6,048 was then recognized as a reduction to the Company’s additional paid in capital. The Company has not begun accruing any reserves relating to potential Net Income Threshold earnout payments, since the Sun Video Business is currently not close to exceeding this threshold.impaired.

 

(ii) Acquisition of BBD Capital

b)Hua Cheng Hu Dong (Beijing) Film and Television Communication Co., Ltd. (“Hua Cheng”)

 

OnAs of December 7, 2017,31, 2018, the Company entered intoheld a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “BBD Purchase Agreement”) with Tiger Sports Media Limited, a Hong Kong limited liability company (“Tiger”) pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase Tiger’s 20%39.0% equity ownership in BBD Digital Capital Group Ltd. (“BBD Capital”),Hua Cheng, a New York corporation. SSC will purchasecompany established to provide integrated value-added service solutions for the 20%delivery of video on demand and enhanced content for cable providers. This investment was held by a PRC VIE and was deconsolidated on December 31, 2019. Refer to Note 5 for additional information on the PRC VIEs.

c)BBD Digital Capital Group Ltd. (“BDCG”)

In 2018, the Company signed a joint venture agreement with two unrelated parties, to establish BDCG located in the United States for providing block chain services for financial or energy industries by utilizing artificial intelligence and big data technology in the United States. On April 24, 2018, the Company acquired 20.0% equity ownership in BDCG from Tigerone noncontrolling party for a total purchase priceconsideration of $9.8 million (the “Transaction”) which consistsconsisted of $2$2.0 million in cash and $7.8 million to be paid in the form of the Company’s capital stock (valued at $2.60 per share and equal to 33.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock), increasing the Company’s ownership to 60.0%. The valuation report will be received post-signingremaining 40.0% of BDCG are held by Seasail Ventures Limited (“Seasail”). The accounting treatment of the BBD Purchase Agreementjoint venture is based on the equity method due to variable substantive participating rights (in accordance with both parties agreeing that thereASC 810-10-25-11) granted to Seasail. The new entity is no obligationcurrently in the process of ramping up its operations. Intelligenta has yet to close the Transaction until a satisfactory valuation report has been received, evaluatedrecord revenue or earnings or losses, and approved by the Company’s Audit Committee. The Company shall pay the $2 million in cash upon the executiontherefore its statement of the BBD Purchase Agreementoperations and will issue the 3 million shares of Company common stock upon the closing of the Transaction which is contingent upon the receipt of a valuation report satisfactory to the Audit Committee. If the closing conditions to the Transactionbalance sheet data are not satisfied, then Tiger has agreed to refund the $2 million cash payment to SSC within 15 days of notice from the Company. As of December 31, 2017, the Company has paid $2 million cash, however considering the deal was not closed until a satisfactory valuation report was obtained and approved by Audit Committee, and valuation report was not yet finished, the Company recorded it as prepaid expenses in its consolidated balance sheet.material.

 

6. Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable is consisted of the following:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Accounts receivable, gross $26,965,731  $12,350,947 
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts  (3,646)  (2,828,796)
Accounts receivable, net $26,962,085  $9,522,151 

The movement of the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:

  December 31,
2017
  December 31,
2016
 
Balance at the beginning of the year $(2,828,796) $- 
Additions charged to bad debt expense  (145,512)  (2,825,124)
Write-off of bad debt allowance  89,851   - 
Disposal of Zhong Hai Shi Xun  2,880,811   - 
Acquisition of WAG  -   (3,672)
Balance at the end of the year $(3,646) $(2,828,796)

F-21

7. Property and Equipment, net

The following is a breakdown of property and equipment:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Furniture and office equipment $301,006  $1,063,481 
Vehicle  147,922   267,023 
Office Building  -   3,948,058 
Leasehold improvements  -   939,844 
Total property and equipment  448,928   6,218,406 
Less: accumulated depreciation  (334,935)  (1,254,681)
Property and Equipment, net $113,993  $4,963,725 

The Company recorded depreciation expense of approximately $ 219,705 and $194,174, which is included in its operating expense for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

8. Intangible Assets

As of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, the excess of the Company’s amortizinginvestment over its proportionate share of Intelligenta’s net assets was $9.8 million and indefinite lived intangible assets consisted of the following:$9.8 million, respectively. The difference represents goodwill and is not being amortized.

  December 31, 2017  December 31, 2016 
  Gross
Carry
Amount
  Accumulated
Amortization
  Impairment
Loss
  Net
Balance
  Gross
Carry
Amount
  Accumulated
Amortization
  Impairment
Loss
  Net
Balance
 
Amortizing Intangible Assets                                
Charter/ Cooperation agreements (iii) $-  $-  $-  $-  $2,755,821  $(909,257) $(1,846,564) $- 
Software and licenses  214,210   (199,626)  -   14,584   267,991   (241,932)  -   26,059 
Patent and trademark (iv)  92,965   (39,943)  (53,022)  -   92,965   (39,943)  -   53,022 
Website and mobile app development (ii)  -   -   -   -   593,193   (421,129)  (172,064)  - 
Workforce (i)  -   -   -   -   305,694   (76,422)  -   229,272 
Total amortizing intangible assets $307,175   (239,569)  (53,022)  14,584  $4,015,664  $(1,688,683) $(2,018,628) $308,353 
Indefinite lived intangible assets                                
Website name  134,290   -   -   134,290   134,290   -   -   134,290 
Patent (iv)  10,599   -   (10,599)  -   10,599   -   -   10,599 
Total intangible assets $452,064   (239,569)  (63,621)  148,874  $4,160,553  $(1,688,683) $(2,018,628) $453,242 

 

(i)d)On April 1, 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with Mr. Liu Changsheng, under which SSC agreed to pay Mr. Liu Changsheng cash considerationDelaware Board of $187,653 and 66,500 shares of restricted shares with a six-month restriction period and a fair value of $121,695 in exchange for a workforce of 10 personnel experienced in programing content mobile apps. All 10 personnel entered into three-year employment contracts with SSC effective April 1, 2016. The Company also acquired certain laptop and desktop computers with fair value of $3,655. According to the agreement, 30% of the cash consideration is due upon the signing of the agreement, 20% is due 2 months after the signing of the agreement and 50% is due 6 months after the signing of the agreement. All cash consideration has been paid. If any of 3 key staff, as defined, terminated their employment with SSC during the first 12 months of employment, SSC has the right to forfeit the unpaid cash consideration. In addition, Mr. Liu Changsheng would be required to pay a default penalty at minimal of $129,180. SSC has accounted for the transaction as an asset acquisition in which SSC mainly acquired a workforce, which is recognized as an intangible asset at cost. Subsequently, the workforce intangible is amortized over the employment term of three years.Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”)

 

In September, 2017, after evaluating the cost and benefit, Company decided to terminate the service contract with this entire team and therefore Company recognize impairment in the amount of $152,847, and at the December 31, 2017, the Company already terminated the service, and disposed of this intangible assets from consolidated balance sheet.

F-22

(ii)Considering a new mobile app has been developed to be put into market in October 2016, the Company determined that the future cash flows generated from the old mobile app was nil. In accordance with ASC 350,Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. The Company estimated the fair value of this intangible asset to be nil as of December 31, 2016. Fair value was determined using unobservable (Level 3) inputs. In June, 2017, this intangible asset has been disposed of along with other net assets in Zhong Hai Shi Xun.

(iii)During the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company determined that the Charter/Cooperation agreements will not serve the business or generate future cash flow. As no future cash flows will be generated from the Charter/Cooperation agreements, the Company estimated the fair value of the Charter/Cooperation agreements to be nil as of December 31, 2016. Fair value was determined using unobservable (Level 3) inputs. Impairment loss from Charter/Cooperation agreements of $1,846,000 was recognized in 2016 to write off the entire book value of the Charter/Cooperation agreements. In June, 2017, this intangible asset has been disposed of along with other net assets in Zhong Hai Shi Xun.

(iv)During the second quarter of 2017, the Company determined that one of its subsidiaries in the US will not serve the non-core business or generate future cash flow. As no future cash flows will be generated from using the patent owned by this subsidiary, the Company estimated the fair value of those patent to be nil as of June 30, 2017. Fair value was determined using unobservable (Level 3) inputs. Impairment loss from patent of $63,621 was recognized in 2017 to write off the entire book value of the patent.

The following table outlines the amortization expense for the following years:

  Amortization to be 
Years ending December 31, recognized 
2018 $10,295 
2019  4,289 
Total amortization to be recognized $14,584 

9. Long-term Investments

Cost method investments

Cost method investments as of the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 are as follow:

  December 31,
2017
  December 31,
2016
 
Topsgame (i) $3,365,969  $3,156,985 
Frequency (ii)  3,000,000   3,000,000 
DBOT (iii)  250,000   - 
Total $6,615,969  $6,156,985 

(i) Investment in Topsgame

On April 13, 2016, SSF entered into a Game Right Assignment Agreement with SSS for the acquisition of certain game IP rights (“Game IP Rights”) for approximately $2.7 million (RMB18 million) in cash. On April 15, 2016, SSF entered into a Capital Increase Agreement with Nanjing Tops Game Co., Ltd. (“Topsgame”) and its shareholders whereby SSF transferred the Game IP Rights acquired from SSS to Topsgame in exchange for 13% of Topsgame’s equity ownership. Topsgame is a PRC company that specializes in the independent development and operation of online, stand-alone and other games as well as the distribution of domestic and overseas games. The Company’s 13% ownership interest does not provide the Company with the right to nor does the Company have representation on the board of directors of Topsgame.

The Company has recognized the cost of the investment in Topsgame, which is a private company with no readily determinable fair value, based on the acquisition cost of Game IP Rights of approximately $2.7 million and accounts for the investment by the cost method.

On September 14, 2016, SSF increased its investment in Topsgame by RMB 3,900,000 (approximately $584,000) and maintained its 13% equity ownership of Topsgame. The investment continued to be accounted for using the cost method.

The Company plans to sell investment in Topsgame, certain owned IP and investment in Frequency to one independent third party with consideration larger than its net book amount in 2018. The Company already signed the letter of intent with purchaser, and management believed that we can close the deal in 2018, along with one additional valuation report provided by qualified independent valuation firm, the Company did not make any impairment to either of these three long-lived assets as of December 31, 2017.

F-23

(ii) Investment in Frequency

In April 2016, the Company and Frequency Networks Inc. (“Frequency”) entered into a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) for the purchase of 8,566,271 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, Frequency (the “Frequency Preferred Stock”) for a total purchase price of $3 million. The 8,566,271 Series A Preferred Stock represent 9% ownership and voting interest on an as converted basis and does not provide the Company with the right to nor does the Company have representation on the board of directors of Frequency.

The Frequency Preferred Stock is entitled to non-cumulative dividends at the rate of $0.02548 per share per annum, declared at the discretion of Frequency’s board of directors. The Frequency Preferred Stock is also convertible into shares of Frequency common stock at the Company’s election any time after issuance on a 1:1 basis, subject to certain adjustment. Each share of Frequency Preferred Stock also has a liquidation preference of $0.42467 per share, plus any declared but unpaid dividends.

The Company has recognized the cost of the investment in Frequency, which is a private company with no readily determinable fair value, at its cost of $3 million and accounts for the investment by the cost method.

There were no identified events or changes in circumstances that may have had a significant adverse effect on the fair value of our cost method investments, accordingly the fair value of our cost method investments are not estimated.

(iii) Investment in DBOT

In August, 2017, the Company made a strategic investment of US$250,000 in the Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”) to acquire 187,970 common shares. DBOT is an approved and licensed FINRA- and SEC-regulated electronic trading platform with operations in Delaware. One of ourthe Company’s subsidiaries is powered by DBOT’s platform, trading system and technology. The Company accountspreviously accounted for this investment using the cost method as the Company ownsthen owned less than 4%4.0% of the common shares and the Company has nodid not have significant influence over DBOT.

 

On December 18, 2017,In October 2018, the Company enters into stock purchase agreement with certain existing DBOT shareholders to acquire their owned shares of common stock of DBOT in an aggregate amount of 2,543,546 shares. To acquire those shares, the Company agreed to issue in the aggregate amount of 1,627,869 SSC common stock. The closing of this transaction shall occur within 30 days of the execution of this agreement and obtain necessary approval such as FINRA, and therefore the Company did not issue the shares and recorded it as investment as of December 31, 2017.

Equity method investments

Equity method investment movement for the year of 2017 is as follow:

    December 31, 2017 
    January 1, 2017  Capital increase  Loss on investment  Impairment loss  Foreign currency
translation
adjustments
  December 31, 2017 
Wecast Internet (i)  132,782   (35,612)  (93,481)  -   2,355   6,044 
Hua Cheng (ii)  364,897   -   (35,712)  -   24,313   353,498 
Shandong Media (iii)  -   -   -   -   -   - 
Total    497,679   (35,612)  (129,193)  -   26,668   359,542 

(i) Investment in Wecast Internet

In October 2016, the Company’s subsidiary, YOU On Demand (Asia) Ltd., invested RMB 1,000,000 (approximately $149,750) in Wecast Internet Limited (“Wecast Internet”) and held its 50% equity ownership. In 2017, Wecast Internet closed its 100% owned subsidiary and the Company received $35,612 previous capital investment, and expects to receive the remaining from Wecast Internet in 2018.

(ii) Investment in Hua Cheng

As of the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company held 39% equity ownership in Hua Cheng, and accounted for the investment by the equity method.

F-24

(iii) Investment in Shandong Media

As of the years ended December 31 2017 and 2016, the Company held 30% equity ownership in Shandong Media, and accounts for the investment by the equity method. The investment was fully impaired as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

10. Stockholders’ Equity

On July 6, 2016, the Company entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SSW SPA”) with Seven Stars Works Co., Ltd., a Korea company (“SSW”) and an affiliate of SSS. Pursuant to the terms of the SSW SPA, the Company has agreed to sell and issue 2,272,727issued 2.3 million shares of the Company’s common stock to acquire additional shares in DBOT, thereby increasing its holdings to 36.9%. As a result, the Company changed its method of accounting for $1.76 per share, or a total purchase pricethis investment to the equity method. The effect of $4.0 millionthe change from cost method to SSW. A total of $4.0 millionequity method was received and 2,272,727 shares were issued on July 19, 2016.immaterial.

 

On August 11, 2016,In July 2019, the Company entered into Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Harvest SPA”) with Harvest Alternative Investment Opportunities SPC (“Harvest”), a Cayman Islands company. Pursuant to the terms of the Harvest SPA, the Company has agreed to sell and issue 2,272,727issued 6.7 million shares of the Company’s common stock to acquire additional shares in DBOT, thereby increasing its holdings to 99.0%. As a result, the Company began to consolidate DBOT. Refer to Note 6(c) for $1.76 per share, or a total purchase priceadditional information on the acquisition and consolidation of $4.0 million to Harvest. A total of $4.0 million was received and 2,272,727 shares were issued on August 12, 2016.DBOT.

 

e)Glory Connection Sdn. Bhd (“Glory”)

On November 11, 2016,July 18, 2019, the Company entered into Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “SSSHKCD SPA”) with Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Developmentan acquisition agreement to purchase a 34.0% interest in Glory, a Malaysian company, from its shareholder Beijing Financial Holding Limited, a Hong Kong registered company, for the consideration of 12.2 million restricted common shares of the Company, initially representing $24.4 million at $2.00 per share, the contract price, and subsequently revised to $20.0 million at $1.64 per share, the closing price on the date of acquisition. As part of this transaction, the Company was also granted an option to purchase a 40.0% interest in Bigfair Holdings Limited (“SSSHKCD”Bigfair”) andfrom its shareholder Beijing Financial Holding Limited for an affiliateexercise price of SSS. Pursuant$13.2 million in the form of common shares of the Company. Bigfair currently holds a 51.0% ownership stake in Glory. The option is exercisable from July 18, 2020 to July 19, 2021. If the option is exercised, the Company would have 20.4% indirect ownership in Glory in addition to the terms34.0% direct ownership it already has.

Upon the initial investment, the Company performed a valuation analysis and allocated $23.0 million and $1.4 million of the SSSHKCD SPA,consideration transferred to the equity method investment and the call option, respectively, which was subsequently revised to $20.0 million and $0, respectively. Glory is currently in the process of ramping up its operations.

As initially contemplated, Glory, through its subsidiary Tree Manufacturing, would hold a domestic EV manufacturing license in Malaysia, a marketing and distribution agreement for EVs in the ASEAN region, as well as the land use rights for 250 acres of vacant land zoned for industrial development in the Begeng Industrial Area adjacent to Kuantan Port. Kuantan is the capital city of the state of Pahang on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which was to be the site of the manufacturing operations.

In December 2019, the Company acquired a 51.0% ownership interest in Tree Technologies. Tree Technologies had previously been granted the land use rights to the 250 acres of vacant land mentioned above, which was previously anticipated would be owned by Glory. As Glory would no longer receive the land use rights to the 250 acres of vacant land, the Company evaluated its investment in Glory for impairment, and recorded an impairment loss of $13.1 million in “Impairment of and equity in loss of equity method investees” in the consolidated statements of operations.

Tree Technologies has agreedalso entered into a product supply arrangement and a product distribution arrangement with a subsidiary of Glory. The Company performed an assessment of these arrangements, and determined that Glory is a variable interest entity, but that the Company is not the prime beneficiary. As of December 31, 2019, the Company accounts for Glory as an equity method investment. Refer to sellNote 6(a) for additional information on the acquisition of Tree Technologies.

The Company has advanced $1.0 million to Glory in order to fund its operations, although it had no obligation to do so. The Company’s maximum exposure to Glory is $7.8 million, the sum of its investment and issue 1,136,365advances.

As of December 31, 2019, the excess of the Company’s investment over its proportionate share of Glory’s net assets was $6.6 million. The difference represents an amortizing intangible asset.

The following table summarizes the income statement information of Glory for the year ended December 31, 2019:

December 31, 2019  
Revenue $33,352 
Gross profit  10,020 
Net loss from operations  (596,671)
Net loss  (585,981)
Net loss attributable to Glory  (323,673)


Note 11.  Leases

As of December 31, 2019, the Company’s operating lease right of use assets and operating lease liability are $6.9 million and $7.3 million, respectively. The weighted-average remaining lease term is 6.2 years and the weighted-average discount rate is 7.5%.

The following table summarizes the components of lease expense:

  Year Ended 
  December 31, 2019 
Operating lease cost $1,707,893 
Short-term lease cost  316,905 
Sublease income  (42,420)
Total $1,982,378 

The following table summarizes supplemental information related to leases:

Year Ended
December 31, 2019
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:$
Operating cash flows from operating leases1,406,611
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities935,242

The following table summarizes the maturity of operating lease liabilities

  Leased Property 
Years ending December 31 Costs 
2020 $1,512,025 
2021  1,434,657 
2022  1,422,965 
2023  1,474,391 
2024  1,503,859 
2025 and Thereafter  1,873,794 
Total lease payment  9,221,691 
Less: Interest  (1,886,538)
Total $7,335,153 

Note 12.  Supplementary Information

Other Current Assets

“Other current assets” were $1.8 million and $3.6 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Components of "Other current assets" as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 that were more than 5 percent of total current assets were “Other receivables” due from related parties of $1.3 million and $3.3 million, including operations deposits receivable from a non-controlling shareholder ($0.9 million), respectively.

Other Current Liabilities

“Other current liabilities” were $6.5 million and $4.6 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Components of "Other current liabilities" that were more than 5 percent of total current liabilities were other payables to third parties in the amount of $5.9 million and $4.6 million respectively. Three suppliers individually accounted for more than 10% of the “Other current liabilities” balance as of December 31, 2019. Two suppliers individually accounted for more than 10% of the “Other current liabilities” balance as of December 31, 2018.


Note 13.  Promissory Notes

The following is the summary of outstanding promissory notes as of December 31, 2019 and 2018:

    December 31,  December 31,   
    2019  2018   
  Interest rate Principal
Amount
  Carrying
Amount*
  Principal
Amount
  Carrying
Amount*
  Maturity Date
Convertible Note-Mr. McMahon(Note 15 (a)) 4% $3,000,000  $3,260,055  $3,000,000   3,140,055  December 31, 2020
Convertible Note -SSSIG (Note 15 (a)) 4%  1,252,300   1,300,657   1,000,000   1,000,000  February 8, 2020, in process of renewal
Convertible Note-SSSIG (Note 15 (a)) 4%  250,000   250,000   -   -  November 25 2020
Convertible Note-Advantech (a) 8%  12,000,000   3,192,896   12,000,000   11,313,770  June 28, 2021
Senior Secured Convertible Note (b) 10%  850,000   347,763   -   -  August 22, 2020
Senior Secured Convertible Note (c) 10%  3,580,000   1,895,958   -   -  March 27, 2021
Senior Secured Convertible Note (d) 4%  3,000,000   1,405,027   -   -  December 2020
Promissory Note (e)    6%  3,000,000   3,000,000   -   -  November 2020
Total    26,932,300   14,652,356   16,000,000   15,453,825   
Less: Current portion        8,012,845       4,140,055   
Long-term Note, less current portion   $   $6,639,511  $   $11,313,770   

*Carrying amount includes the accrued interest.

The following table summarizes future maturities of long-term debt, contractual obligations for interest, as well as projected interest expense resulting from the amortization of debt discounts as of December 31, 2019:

  Principal  Interest 
2020 $9,850,000  $12,211,919 
2021  17,082,300   4,302,643 
2022  -     
2023  -     
2024  -     
Thereafter  -     
  $26,932,300  $16,514,562 

As of December 31, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all ratios and covenants.

(a) $12 million Convertible Note - Advantech

On June 28, 2018, the Company entered into a convertible note purchase agreement with Advantech Capital Investment II Limited (“Advantech”) in the aggregate principal amount of $12.0 million (the Notes). The Notes bear interest at a rate of 8.0%, mature on June 28, 2021, and are convertible into the shares of the Company’s common stock for $1.76at a conversion price of $ 1.82 per share and subsequently reset conversion price to $1.00 in October 2019 (See Note 13 (c) below) due to the down round provision included in the convertible note purchase agreement. The initial difference between the conversion price and the fair market value of the common stock on the commitment date (transaction date) resulted in a BCF recorded of $1.4 million and increasedby$10.6 million due to down round provision adjustment in October 2019.

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, total interest expense recognized relating to the BCF and accrued expense was $1.5 million and $0.7 million, respectively. The carrying amounts as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, are reflected net of discounts of $10.2 million and $1.2 million, respectively, associated with the BCF of the convertible notes. This amount is being amortized based on the effective yield method through the first demand redemption date as applicable.


The agreement also requires the Company to comply with certain covenants, including restrictions on the use of the proceeds and other convertible note offering.

(b) $2.05 million Senior Secured Convertible Debenture due in August 2020 - ID Ventura 7

On February 22, 2019, the Company executed a security purchase agreement with ID Venturas 7, LLC (“IDV”), whereby the Company issued $2.1 million of senior secured convertible note (“February IDV Note”). The note bears interest at a rate of 10.0% per year payable either in cash or in kind at the option of the Company on a total purchasequarterly basis and matures on August 22, 2020. In addition, IDV is entitled to the following: (1) the convertible note is senior secured; (2) convertible at an adjusted $1.00 (original $1.84) per share of Company common stock at the option of IDV, subject to adjustments if subsequent equity shares have a lower conversion price (“down round provision”), (3) 1,166,113 shares of common stock of the Company and (4) a warrant exercisable for 150% of the number of shares of common stock which the note is convertible into at an exercise price of $1.00 (original $1.84) per share and will expire 7 years (extended from 5 years: See (d) below) after issuance.

The Company received aggregate gross proceeds of $2.0 million, net of $50,000 for the issuance expenses paid by IDV. Total funds received were allocated to SSSHKCD. A totalconvertible note, common stocks and warrants based on their relative fair values in accordance with ASC 470-20-30. The value of $2.0the convertible note and common stocks was based on the closing price on February 22, 2019. The fair value of the warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, with the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected dividend rate of 0%, volatility of 111.83% and an interest rate of 2.48%.  The relative fair value of the warrants was recorded as additional paid-in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note. The Company recognized a BCF of $0.6 million as an increase in additional paid in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note, which was receivedthe fair value of the common stock at the commitment date for convertible note, less the effective conversion price..

Interest on the convertible note is payable quarterly starting from April 1, 2019. The convertible note is redeemable at the option of the Company in whole at an initial redemption price of the principal amount of the convertible note plus additional warrants and 1,136,365accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.

IDV has registration rights that require the Company to file and register the common stock issued or issuable upon conversion of the convertible note or the exercise of the warrants, within 180 days following the closing of the transaction.

The Company is also subject to penalty fee at 8.0% per annum for late payments of interests and compensation for the loss of IDV on failure to timely deliver conversion shares wereupon conversion.

The security purchase agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants. The convertible note is collateralized by the Company’s equity interest in Grapevine and the Company has the right to request for the removal of the guarantee and collateral by issuance of additional 250,000 shares of common stock.

Modification/Extinguishment

On September 27, 2019, the Company issued 250,000 shares of common stock to IDV in exchange for the release of Grapevine as collateral. The issuance of the shares in exchange for the removal of collateral was treated as a modification of existing convertible note pursuant to the guidance of ASC 470-50 “Debt – Modifications and Extinguishments” (“ASC 470-50”). The Company concluded that the convertible note qualified for debt extinguishment as the 10% cash flow test was met. As a result, the $2.05 million secured convertible note was written off (carrying amount: $813,254) and the amended note was recorded at fair value (approximately $1.7 million). The Company recognized a non-cash loss on November 17, 2016.extinguishment of debt in the amount of $1,236,746 and the intrinsic value of reacquisition of BCF is zero as of September 27, 2019.


Down round price adjustment on October 30, 2019

Under the down round provision included in the debenture agreement and warrant agreement, if at any time while the debenture and warrants outstanding, the Company sells or grants any options or warrants with respect to the purchase and sale of Common Stock (collectively, “ Additional Securities”) of the Company resulting in a price per share of such Additional Securities of less than the then conversion price (such lower price, the “Base Conversion/Exercise Price”), then, simultaneously with the closing of such subsequent equity sales, the conversion price and/or exercise price shall be reduced to equal the Base Conversion/Exercise Price.

 

As described in Note 13,a result of our additional financing on October 30, 2019 (See (c) below), the Company and SSS entered into a series of agreements, including anletter agreement with IDV pursuant to which the Company agreed to sellreduce the conversion price of the Debentures and issue 4,545,455the exercise price of the Warrants from $1.84 to $1.00. The Company recognized approximately $1.4 million of remeasured BCF as an increase in additional paid in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note and $0.2 million of deemed dividend on warrant repricing for the difference between the fair value of the unadjusted warrants and adjusted warrants. The fair value of the adjusted warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model based on the following assumptions: (1) volatility rate of 112%, (2) interest rate of 2.48%, (3) zero expected dividend yield, and (4) expected life of 5 year.

Conversion

During the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019, $1.2 million of the convertible notes, plus interest, were converted into 1,2 million shares of the Company's common stock of the Company. As a result of the conversions, the Company recognized interest expenses of $ 1.0 million with an offset to debt discount.

The discounts on the convertible note for the warrants and warrantsBCF are being amortized to acquireinterest expense, using the effective interest method over the term of the convertible note. As of December 31, 2019, the carrying amount as of December 31, 2019 is reflected net of discounts of $538,000. Total interest expense recognized relating to the discount and accrued interest was $1.2 million for year ended December 31, 2019.

(c) $3.58 million Senior Secured Convertible Debenture due in March 2021 - ID Ventura 7

On September 27, 2019, the Company executed a security purchase agreement with IDV (“IDV September Agreement”), whereby the Company issued $2,500,000 of senior secured convertible note in September (“September IDV Notes”) and issued additional $1,080,000 of secured convertible notes subsequently based on additional investment rights in IDV September Agreement. The notes bear interest at a rate of 10% per year payable either in cash or in kind at the option of the Company on a quarterly basis and mature on March 27, 2021. In addition, IDV is entitled to the following: (i) the convertible note is senior secured; (ii) convertible at an additional 1,818,182adjusted $1.00 (original $1.84) per share of Company common stock at the option of IDV, subject to down round provision, (ii) 1.5 million shares (atof common stock of the Company and (iii) a warrant exercisable for 150% of the number of shares of common stock which the note is convertible into at an exercise price of $2.75$1.00 (original $1.84) per share)share and will expire in 7 years (extended from 5 years: See (c) below) after issuance.

The Company received net proceeds of $3.5 million (aggregate gross proceeds of $3.6 million, net of $65,000 for the issuance expenses paid to IDV). Total gross proceeds were allocated to convertible note, common stocks and warrants based on their relative fair values in accordance with ASC 470-20-30. The value of the convertible note and common stocks was based on the closing price on September 27, 2019. The fair value of the warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, with the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected dividend rate of 0%, volatility of 122.44% and an aggregate purchaseaverage interest rate of 1.66%.  The relative fair value of the warrants was recorded as additional paid-in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note. The Company recognized a BCF as a discount on convertible note at its intrinsic value, which was the fair value of the common stock at the commitment date for convertible note, less the effective conversion price. The Company recognized approximately $1.3 million of BCF in total as an increase in additional paid in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.

The convertible note is redeemable at the option of the Company in whole at an initial redemption price of $10 millionthe principal amount of the convertible note plus additional warrants and accrued and unpaid interest to SSS.the date of redemption.


The security purchase agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants. The convertible note is collateralized by the Company’s equity interest in DBOT.

IDV has registration rights that require the Company to file and register the common stock issued or issuable upon conversion of the convertible note or the exercise of the warrants, within 120 days following the closing of the transaction.

The Company is also subject to penalty fee at 8.0% per annum for late payments of interests and compensation for the loss of IDV on failure to timely deliver conversion shares upon conversion.

Down round price adjustment on October 30, 2019

 

On MayOctober 29, 2019 the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Agreement”) with IDV pursuant to which the Company agreed to reduce the conversion price of the Debentures and the exercise price of the Warrants from $1.84 to $1.00 for February IDV Note and September IDV Note due to the lower conversion price and exercise price agreed in the additional issuance in October. The Company recognized $150,000 of remeasured BCF as an increase in additional paid in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note and $149,000 of deemed dividend on warrant repricing for the difference between the fair value of the unadjusted warrants and adjusted warrants.

The discounts on the convertible note for the warrants and BCF are being amortized to interest expense, using the effective interest method over the term of the convertible note. As of December 31, 2019, the carrying amount as of December 31, 2019 is reflected net of discounts of $1,779,000. Total interest expense recognized relating to the discount and accrued interest was $ 0.7 million for year ended December 31, 2019.

Additional Issuance for no additional consideration-Consent of YA II PN convertible notes

On December 19, 2017,2019, the Company executed an additional issuance agreement with IDV. pursuant to which the Company obtained a consent from IDV for subsequent financing with YA II PN (see (d) below) in exchange for (1) 2.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock; (2) the warrant to purchase 1.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1 with a 7-year term in the form of prior warrants issued to IDV; (3) a 2 year extension of the exercise period for all outstanding warrants held by IDV.

The additional issuance above and the exercise period extension in exchange for the consent was treated as a modification of existing convertible note pursuant to the guidance of ASC 470-50. The Company concluded that the convertible notes issued based on IDV September Agreement qualified for debt extinguishment as the 10.0% cash flow test was met. As a result, the $3.6 million secured convertible note was written off (carrying amount $0.4 million) and the amended note was recorded at fair value ($2.2 million) along with a BCF at intrinsic value ($0.5 million). The Company measured and recognized the intrinsic value of the BCF (reacquisition price $0.5 million) on December 19, 2019 and recognized a non-cash loss on extinguishment of debt in the amount of $2.7 million in accordance with ASC 470-20-40-3. In addition, the Company recognized deemed dividend of approximately $0.5 million for the extension of exercise period for all applicable warrants issued to IDV.

(d) $5 million Senior Secured Convertible Debenture due in December 2020 -YA II PN

On December 19, 2019, the Company completed the initial closing with respect to a securities purchase agreement with YA II PN, Ltd, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“YA II PN”), where YA II PN has agreed to purchase from the Company up to $5.0 million (with 4% discount) in units consisting of secured convertible debentures (the “Convertible Debentures”), which shall be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at lower of (1) $1.50 per share or (2) 90% of the lowest 10 day volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) with a floor price at $1.00, subject to adjustments if subsequent equity shares have a lower conversion price, and shares of the Company’s Common Stock. The purchase and sale of the units shall take place in three closings:

1.First Closing: $2.0 million of Convertible Debentures and 1,4 million shares of Common Stock closed on December 19, 2019;
2.Second Closing $1.0 million of Convertible Debentures and 0.7million shares of Common Stock closed on December 31, 2019 upon filing the registration statement; and
3.Third Closing: $2.0 million of Convertible Debentures and 1.4 million shares of Common Stock closed on February 13, 2020 when such registration statement was declared effective by the SEC.


The Convertible Note matures on December 19, 2020 and accrues at an 4.0% interest rate. YA II PN also received (i) a warrant (the “Warrant I”) exercisable for 1.7 million shares of common stock at $1.50 with an expiration date 60 months from the date of the agreement, and (ii) a warrant (the “Warrant II”) exercisable for 1.0 million shares of common stock at $1.00 with an expiration date of 12 months from the date of the agreement.

The Company received aggregate gross proceeds of $2.9 million (net of $0.1 million discount) as of December 31, 2019 and received $2.0 million in February 2020. Total funds received were allocated to Convertible Debentures, common stocks and warrants based on their relative fair values in accordance with ASC 470-20-30. The value of the Convertible Debentures and common stocks was based on the closing price on December 19, 2019. The fair value of the warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, with the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years (1 year for Warrant II), expected dividend rate of 0%, volatility of 122.44% and an interest rate of 1.66% (1.54% for Warrant II). The relative fair value of the warrants was recorded as additional paid-in capital and reduced (discount on) the carrying amount of the convertible note. There was no BCF because its intrinsic value is zero since the stock price of the common stock at the commitment date for convertible note is greater than the effective conversion price.

The convertible note is redeemable at the option of the Company in whole or in part at an initial redemption price of the principal amount of the convertible note plus a redemption premium equal to 15% of the amount being redeemed and accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption. YA II PN also has registration rights that demand the Company to file and register the common stock issued or issuable upon conversion of the convertible note or the exercise of the warrants. The security purchase agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants.

The discounts on the convertible note for the warrants and BCF are being amortized to interest expense, using the effective interest method over the term of the convertible note. As of December 31, 2019, the unamortized discount on the convertible note is $1.0 million. Total interest expense recognized relating to the discount and accrued interest was approximately $70,000 for year ended December 31, 2019.

(e) $3 million Promissory Note due in November 2020 –New Castle County

On November 25, 2015, DBOT, the subsidiary which the Company acquired in 2019 (note 6 (c)) , entered into a promissory note with New Castle County, a political subdivision of the State of Delaware in the aggregate principal amount of $3.0 million (the Notes). The Notes bear interest at a rate of 6%, mature on November 25, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded interest expense of $180,000 related to the Note. The agreement also requires the Company to comply with certain covenants, including restrictions on new indebtedness offering and liens.

Note 14.  Stockholders’ Equity

Convertible Preferred Stock

Our Board of Directors has authorized 50.0 million shares of convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value, issuable in series. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, 7.0 million shares of Series A preferred stock were issued and outstanding. The Series A preferred stock shall be entitled to one vote per common stock on an as-converted basis and is only entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by the Board.

Common Stock

Our Board of Directors has authorized 1,500 million shares of common stock, $0.001 par value.

2019 Equity Transactions

In the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company issued 8.2 million shares of common stock related to the issuance of convertible notes. Refer to Note 13 for additional information. The Company issued 15.9 million shares of common stock related to business acquisitions. Refer to Notes 6(a), 6(b), and 6(c) for additional information. The Company issued 7.4 million shares of common stock related to asset acquisitions. Refer to Notes 9(a) and 9(b) for additional information. The Company issued 14.7 million shares of common stock related to a long-term investment. Refer to Note 10(e) for additional information.


2018 Equity Transactions

In March and June 2018, the Company entered into a subscription agreement with certain investors, including officers, directors and other affiliates of the Company, pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to such investors, inGT Dollar Ptd. Ltd. (“GTD”) for a private placement which was subsequently amended to reduce the amount of the investment to from $40.0 million to $10.0 million. In October 2018, the Company received $10.0 million and issued an aggregate of 727,2735.5 million shares of the common stock of the Company, for $2.75$1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $2.0 million. Investors in the private placement included Lan Yang, the wife of the Company’s Chairman Bruno Wu, and China Telenet Ventures Limited, an entity owned and controlled by Sean Wang, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. As of July 18, 2017, all subscription amounts have been received by the Company.to GTD.

 

On October 23, 2017,In June and December 2018, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreementsubscription agreement and amended agreements with Hong Kong Guo YuanSun Seven Stars Investment Group Capital Holdings Limited. PursuantLimited, a British Virgin Islands corporation (“SSSIG”), an affiliate of Dr. Wu, to purchase $1.1 million of common stock at the termsthen market price. The Company has received $1.1 million in total as of the agreement,December 31, 2018. The Company issued 0.6 million shares of common stock in June 2019.

In July and December, 2018, the Company has agreedentered into a share purchase and option agreement and amended agreement with Star Thrive Group Limited (“Star”), a British Virgin Islands corporation, pursuant to sell and issue 5,494,505which Star purchased 5.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock, for $9.2 million (the “Investment”). The Company also granted to Star a share purchase option (the “Call Option”) pursuant to which Star may, within 24 months after July 24, 2018, purchase from the Company such number of shares of common stock that would bring Star’s total ownership of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares up to 19.5% on a fully diluted basis, at a price equal to 95.0% of the weighted average trading price of the common stock within 3 months prior to the Hong Kong Guo Yuan Group Capital Holdings Limited for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $10.0 million.

11. Fair Value Measurements

Accounting standards require the categorization of financial assets and liabilities, based on the inputs to the valuation technique, into a three-level fair value hierarchy. The various levelsexercise date of the fair value hierarchy are described as follows:

Level 1 - Financial assetsCall Option. As of December 31, 2018, the Company has received $9.2 million and liabilities whose values are based on unadjusted quoted market prices for identical assets and liabilities in an active market that we5.0 million shares have the ability to access.

Level 2 - Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or model inputs that are observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

Level 3 - Financial assets and liabilities whose values are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement.

Accounting standards require the use of observable market data, when available, in making fair value measurements. When inputs used to measure fair value fall within different levels of the hierarchy, the level within which the fair value measurement is categorized is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The Company reviews the valuation techniques used to determine if the fair value measurements are still appropriate on an annual basis, and evaluate and adjust the unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurements based on current market conditions and third party information.

Common stock is valued at closing price reported on the active market on which the individual securities are traded.

been issued. The fair value of the warrant liabilities was valuedcall option is $8.0 million using Monte Carlo Simulation method at the year ended December 31, 2016. AllBlack-Sholes valuation model using the remaining warrant liabilities have been expiredfollowing assumptions: expected terms 1.81 years; volatility 132.55%; dividend yield: zero and risk free interest rate 2.81%. The management determined that the call options is classified within shareholders’ equity as “Additional paid-in capital” upon the issuance in accordance with ASC 815-40 and the proceeds from the investment are allocated to common stock and call options based on the relative fair value of August 30, 2017. The following assumptions were incorporated:the securities in accordance with ASC 470-20-30.

 

F-25


 

December 31,
2016
Risk-free interest rate0.70%
Expected volatility55%
Expected term0.67 year
Expected dividend yield0%

The following tables present the fair value hierarchy for those assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2016:

  December 31, 2016    
  Fair Value Measurements    
  Level 1  Level 2  Level 3  Total Fair Value 
Liabilities                
Warrant liabilities (see Note14) $-  $-  $70,785  $70,785 

The table below reflects the components effecting the change in fair value for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively:

  Level 3 Assets and Liabilities    
  For the Year Ended December 31, 2017    
  January 1,
2017
  Settlements  Change in
Fair Value
gain
  December 31,
2017
 
Liabilities:                
Warrant liabilities (see Note 14) $70,785  $(183,427) $112,642  $- 

  Level 3 Assets and Liabilities    
  For the Year Ended December 31, 2016    
        Change in    
  January 1,     Fair Value  December 31, 
  2016  Settlements  gain  2016 
Liabilities:                
Warrant liabilities (see Note14) $395,217  $-  $(324,432) $70,785 

The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s warrant liability includes the risk-free interest rate, expected volatility, expected term and expected dividend yield. Significant increases or decreases in any of those inputs in isolation would result in a significantly different fair value measurement.

 

The carrying amount of cash, accounts receivable, notes receivable, accounts payable, accrued other expenses, other current liabilities and convertible promissory note as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments.

12.Note 15.  Related Party Transactions

  

(a)Convertible Note

Parties are considered to be related if one party has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making financial and operational decisions.

During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, related party transactions consisted of the following:

    2017  2016 
         
Revenue from crude oil sale  (g) $18,973,054  $- 
Licensed content cost  (b)  -   219,000 
Interest expense on convertible note  (a)  120,000   120,000 

(a) $3.0$3.0 Million Convertible Note with Mr. Shane McMahon (“Mr. McMahon”)

 

On May 10, 2012, the ExecutiveMr. McMahon, our Vice Chairman, and Principal Executive Officer, Mr. Shane McMahon, made a loan to the Company in the amount of $3,000,000.$3.0 million. In consideration for the loan, the Company issued a convertible note to Mr. McMahon in the aggregate principal amount of $3,000,000$3.0 million (the “Note”) at a 4%4.0% interest rate computed on the basis of a 365-day year. Upon issuance,The Company entered several amendments with respect to the effective conversion price of the Note was equal(changed from $1.75 to the price per share paid for securities by investors in the most recent financing (as of the date of conversion) of equity or equity-linked securities of the Company.

F-26

Effective on January 31, 2014, the Company and Mr. McMahon entered into Amendment No. 4 to the Note pursuant to which the Note is at Mr. McMahon’s option, payable on demand or$1.50), convertible on demand into sharesstocks (changed from of Series E Preferred Stock of the Company (the “Series E Preferred Stock”) at a conversion price of $1.75, until December 31, 2015. As a result, in 2014, the Company recognized a beneficial conversion feature discount calculated as the difference between the Series E Preferred Stock at its intrinsic value, which was the fair value of the common stock at the commitment date for the Series E Preferred Stock investmentto Common Stock) and the effective conversion price. As such, we recognized a beneficial conversion featureextension of approximately $2,126,000 in 2014 which was reflected as interest expense and additional paid-in capital since the note was payable upon demand.

Effective December 30, 2014, the Company and Mr. McMahon entered into Amendment No. 5 pursuant to which the maturity date of the Note was extended to December 31, 2016. The Note remains payable on demand or convertible on demand into shares of Series E Preferred Stock at a conversion price of $1.75 at Mr. McMahon’s option.2020.

 

On December 31, 2016, the Company and Mr. McMahon entered into an amendment pursuant to which the Note will be at Mr. McMahon’s option, payable on demand or convertible on demand into shares of the Company’s Series E Preferred Stock, provided that the Note will no longer be convertible into Series E Preferred Stock upon the conversion of the Series E Preferred stock owned by C Media into the Company’s Common Stock (pursuant to which all Series E Preferred Stock will be automatically converted) but then convertible only into Common Stock at a conversion price of $1.50, until December 31, 2018.

On November 9, 2017, the Board of Directors approved Amendment No. 7 to $3.0 million Convertible Promissory Notes (“Note”) issued to Mr. Shane McMahon, our Vice Chairman, pursuant to which the maturity date of the Note was extended to December 31, 2019. The Note remains payable on demand or convertible on demand into Common Stock at a conversion price of $1.50.

In November, 2017, the Company paid such interest in the amount of $407,863 to Mr. Shane McMahon, and the accumulated interest payable as of December 31, 20172019 and 2018 was $20,055.

$0.3 million and $0.1 million, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, the Company recorded interest expense of $120,000$0.1 million and $120,000$0.1 million related to the Note.

(b) Cost of Revenue

Hua Cheng, The Company did not pay such interest to Mr. McMahon in which the Company holds 39% of the equity shares, charged us licensed content fees of approximately nil and $219,000 for the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 2016, respectively.2018.

 

(c) Purchase of Game IP Rights$2.5 Million Convertible Promissory Note with SSSIG

 

On April 13, 2016, SSF entered into a Game Right Assignment Agreement with SSS for the acquisition of certain Game IP Rights for cash of $2.7 million (RMB 18 million), which was paid in full in 2016. The Game IP Rights was recorded at cost and then subsequently transferred in exchange for the investment in Topsgame as disclosed in Note 9 above.

(d) Deposit for Investment in MYP

On September 19, 2016, the Company signed a non-binding term sheet with Sun Video Group HK Limited (“SVG”) in purchase for its 51% ownership of M.Y. Products, LLC (“MYP”), a video commerce and supply chain management operator, in exchange for $50 million worth of Wecast Network common stock and $800,000 cash.

In accordance with the Term Sheet, the Company wired $800,000 (or its RMB equivalent) to MYP upon signing the term sheet as Good Faith Deposit. As of December 31, 2017, the transaction has already been closed, and all of the deposit paid to MYP has been transferred into liability due to BT, which is the former shareholder of SVG.

(e) Assets Disposal to BT

On June 30, 2017,February 8, 2019, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the BT SPA)convertible promissory note agreement with BT, pursuant to which the issued and outstanding stock that SSC holds in three separate non-core assets were sold to BT in exchange for RMB100 million (approximately $14.75 million at current exchange rate) in a combination of cash and publicly traded stock to be paid to SSC within one year of closing. A minimum of 20% of the total consideration to SSC will be paid in cash (approximately $2.95 million). A portion of the consideration may be paid in the form of publicly traded stock at the discretion of BT, and in that case the securities will represent a public company affiliated with BT, in an industry related to SSC’s and with an average daily trading value of at least $146,000.

F-27

These three separate non-core assets that sold to BT included 80% equity interest in Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media for zero, 13% equity interest in Nanjing Tops Game and 25% share capital investment right in Pantaflix JV in consideration of RMB100 million. As Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media is the Company’s subsidiary, sale of a subsidiary to a related party under common control would cause the Company to derecognize the net assets transferred at its carrying amounts and recognize no gains or losses. The difference between proceeds received and the carrying amount of the net assets transferred is recognized in additional paid in capital. At the same time, the Goodwill in the amount of $6.6 million has been pushed down to Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media along with the disposal.

On November 28, 2017, due to strategic reasons, the Company and BT have agreed to amend the BT SPA, in which the Company will neither sell to BT the equity of Nanjing Tops Game Co., Ltd, and the equity of the Pantaflix joint venture nor receive the previously agreed upon consideration for such sales. But the Company will still sell to BT 80% of the outstanding capital stock of Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media to streamline the operations of the Company and to eliminate the Company’s exposure to any liabilities and obligations of Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media. As of December 31, 2017, the legal ownership transfer administration of Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media was still not yet finished, however based on the agreement signed between the Company and BT and the consent obtained from minority shareholder of Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media, the Company believed it no longer have right over its asset and no obligation to its liability, and the Company therefore no longer consolidate Zhong Hai Shi Xun Media since July 1, 2017.

(f) Acquisition of Guang Ming

On December 7, 2017, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Shanghai Guang Ming Investment Management Limited, a PRC limited liability entity (“Guang Ming”), Tianjin Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Co. Ltd. (“Tianjin”) and Beijing Nanbei Huijin Investment Co. Ltd. SSC will purchase 100% of Guang Ming’s issued and outstanding shares for a total purchase price of RMB 2.4 million (approximately $363,436). Guang Ming holds a special fund management license and SSC’s purpose for making the acquisition is to develop a fund management platform. The closing of the acquisition is conditioned upon, among other things, the sellers, including Guang Ming, obtaining all of the necessary approvals from the Asset Management Association of China (“AMAC”), a self-regulatory organization which oversees and regulates fund management companies in China. In the event that AMAC does not accept the sellers’ submission for change of ownership, this agreement shall be rescinded and the sellers shall continue their ownership of Guang Ming and shall refund any portion of the purchase price previously paid within 15 days of notice from the Company. This agreement was approved by the Company’s Audit Committee and the closing of the Acquisition is also subject to the receipt of a fairness opinion and valuation report satisfactory to the Company and which concludes that the purchase price of the acquisition is fair from a financial point of view to the Company. The acquisition is deemed to be a related party transaction because Tianjin isSSSIG, an affiliate of BrunoDr. Wu, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. As of December 31, 2017, the fairness opinion was not yet obtained, and the Company did account for this acquisition as of year-end of 2017 due to closing condition was not satisfied.

(g) Crude Oil Trading

In December, 2017, One of our crude oil transaction was sold to one entity of which our minority shareholder has significant influence upon. Even though the crude oil was eventually sold to independent third party, the Company has recorded this sale as one separate related party sale in its financial statement.As of December 31, 2017, invoice related to this transaction has been collected as payment term of this transaction is pre-payment for full invoice value on pre-payment due date one or two business days before the notice of readiness tendered.

13. SSS Agreements

On November 23, 2015, the Company entered into a series of agreements for a strategic investment by SSS, a PRC company in the mediaaggregate principal amount of $2.5 million. The convertible promissory note bears interest at a rate of 4.0%, was scheduled to mature on February 8, 2020, and entertainment industry that is controlled by the Company’s Chairman, Bruno Zheng Wu. The strategic investment by SSS included a private placement of equity securities of the Company, a content licensing agreement, and the potential for Tianjin Enternet Network Technology Limited (“Tianjin Enternet”), an affiliate of SSS, to earn additional shares of the Company’s common stock contingent on the performance of SSF. SSF intends to provide a branded pay content service, consumer payments and behavior data analysis service, customer management and data-based service and mobile social TV-based customer management service.

On December 21, 2015, the Company enteredconvertible into an Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Amended SSS Purchase Agreement”) and a Revised Content License Agreement (the “Revised Content Agreement”) with SSS which amended certain terms of the original agreements dated November 23, 2015. In addition, the Company also entered into an Amended and Restated Share Purchase Agreement (the “Amended Tianjin Agreement”) with Tianjin Enternet.

On July 6, 2016, the Company entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement with Seven Stars Works Co., Ltd., a Korea company (“SSW”) and an affiliate of SSS for the purchase by SSW of 2,272,727 shares of the Company’s common stock, for $1.76 per share, or a total purchase price of $4.0 million.

On November 11, 2016, the Company entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement with Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development Limited, a Hong Kong company (“SSSHKCD”) and an affiliate of SSS. Pursuant to the terms of the SPA, the Company has agreed to sell and issue 1,136,365 shares of the Company’s common stock, for $1.76 per share, or a total purchase price of $2.0 million to SSSHKCD.

(a) Amended SSS Purchase Agreement

On March 28, 2016, pursuant to the Amended SSS Purchase Agreement, the Company sold, and SSS purchased, 4,545,455 shares of the Company’s common stock for a purchase price of $2.20 per share, or an aggregate of $10.0 million. In addition, SSS received a two-year warrant to acquire an additional 1,818,182 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercisea conversion price of $2.75$1.83 per share (the “SSS Warrant”). Until receiptanytime at the option of necessary shareholder approvals,SSSIG. The Company is in the SSS Warrant mayprocess of negotiating an extended due date, and believes it has the ability to do so.

As of December 31, 2019, the Company received $1.3 million from SSSIG. The Company has not be exercised toreceived the extent that such exercise would result in SSS and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 19.99%remaining $1.2 million as of the Company’s outstanding common stock. On June 27, 2016, shareholder approval was obtained.

F-28

Since the SSS Warrant does not embody any future obligation for the Company to repurchase its own shares, is indexed to the Company’s own stock, may only be settled by the physical delivery of shares, and no conditions exist in which net cash settlement could be forced upon the Company by SSS in any other circumstances, the SSS Warrant is considered an equity classified instrument. The proceeds of $10.0 million, net of issuance cost of approximately $411,000, was allocated to common stock and SSS Warrant based on their relative fair value as of March 28, 2016 of approximately $8,227,000 and $673,000, respectively. Accordingly, the Company recorded approximately $725,000 in additional paid-in capital for the SSS Warrant.

(b) Revised Content Agreement

On March 28, 2016, pursuant to the Amended and Restated SSS Purchase Agreement, SSS granted the Company non-exclusive royalty-free distribution rights for certain video content value in exchange for a convertible promissory note (the “SSS Note”). The SSS Note has a stated principal amount of approximately $17,718,000, was originally due to mature on May 21, 2016. On May 12, 2016, the Company and SSS entered into an amendment agreement to extend the maturity date of the SSS Note to July 31, 2016. The SSS Note beard an interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum. Immediately upon the receipt of the required shareholder approval to allow SSS to beneficially own more than 19.99% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, which was obtained on June 27, 2016, the SSS Note was converted into 9,208,860 shares of the Company’s common stock.

In connection with the issuance of the SSS Note, the Company recorded debt issuance costs of approximately $131,000 which was to be amortized over the period of the SSS Note’s maturity date, of which approximately $123,000 was recognized duringthis report. For the year ended December 31, 2016.

The2019, the Company measured the effective conversion price of the SSS Note using its carrying value on March 28, 2016 and compared it to the fair value of the Company’s common stock on that date. As the effective conversion price of the SSS Note of $1.91 exceeded the fair value of the Company’s common stock of $1.81, no beneficial conversion feature was recognized.

The carrying value of the SSS Note as of June 27, 2016, which included the unamortized issuance costs of $8,000 and, pursuant to the terms of SSS Note, accruedrecorded interest expense of $25,000$48,357 related to the Note. The Company has been recorded intonot paid the common shares issued on June 27, 2016.interest yet.

 

(c) Amended Tianjin Agreement$1.0 Million Convertible Promissory Note with SSSIG

 

Pursuant toOn November 25, 2019, the Amended Tianjin Agreement dated December 21, 2015, Tianjin Enternet was to contribute 100%Company entered into a convertible promissory note agreement with SSSIG, an affiliate of Dr. Wu, in the equity ownershipaggregate principal amount of SSF,$2.5 million. The convertible promissory note bears interest at a newly-formed subsidiaryrate of Tianjin Enternet to4.0%, matures on November 25, 2021, and is convertible into the Company. Contingent on the performance of SSF, Tianjin Enternet was to receive shares of the Company’s common stock over three years,at a conversion price of $1.25 per share anytime at the option of SSSIG. As of December 31, 2019, the Company received $0.25 million from SSSIG.

(b) Transactions with GTD

Disposal of Assets in exchange of GTB

In March 2019, the exact number not exceeding 5.0 million per year, providedCompany completed the earn-out provisions for eachsale of the 2016, 2017following assets (with total carrying amount of $20.4 million) to GTD, a minority shareholder based in Singapore, in exchange for 1.3 million GTB. The Company considers the arrangement as a nonmonetary transaction and 2018 annual periods (the “Earn-Out Share Award”) was achieved. The earn-out provision for 2016, 2017the fair values of GTB are not reasonably determinable due to the reasons described below. Therefore, GTB received are recorded at the carrying amount of the assets exchanged and 2018 are either 50.0 million homes/users passed or $4.0 million net income, 100.0 million homes/users passed or $6.0 million net income and 150.0 million homes/users passed or $8.0 million net income, respectively. In the event that the Company hasdid not obtained the required vote from shareholders to issue the earn-out shares to Tianjin Enternet, the Company was required to issue a promissory note with a principal amount equal to the quotient by multiplying 5.0 million by the applicable stock price defined in the agreement.recognize any gain or loss based on ASC 845-10-30.

 

On April 5, 2016, in lieu of Tianjin Enternet contributing 100% of the equity ownership of SSF to the Company, YOD WFOE entered into VIE agreements with SSF and its legal shareholders in order to comply with PRC regulatory requirements on certain industries. SSF is 99% owned by Lan Yang, the spouse of Bruno Zheng Wu, the Company’s Chairman, and 1% owned by Yun Zhu, a Vice President of Wecast Network. By virtue of these VIE agreements; YOD WFOE obtained financial controlling interest in SSF, including the power to direct the activities of SSF, and therefore is the primary beneficiary of SSF. As the control of SSF was transferred to YOD WFOE through both the VIE agreements and physical handover of company documents on April 5, 2016, the transaction was determined to be completed on that date.

At the time YOD WFOE obtained control over SSF, SSF had no assets, liabilities, employees or operating activities, nor did it hold any licenses, trade names or other intellectual properties. The Company also did not receive any assets, employees, contracts, sales or distribution systems or intellectual property from Tianjin Enternet in connection with the transaction. Since the acquisition of SSF did not include any input or processes, as defined under ASC 805-10-20, the transaction was not considered a business combination under ASC 805.

The earn-out provision was originally based on either the number of home/user pass or the net income of SSF. While the net income was to be measured based on the operations of SSF, the number of home/user pass is measured based on number of home/user pass of SSF’s distributors. Such earn-out provision is based on an index that is not calculated solely by reference to the operations of SSF, which is not considered indexed to the Company’s own shares. Also the earn-out provisions permit cash settlement if the Company cannot issue the earn-out shares. Therefore, the earn-out provision is classified as a liability and measured initially and subsequently at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings at each reporting periods.

 F-29·License content (net carrying amount $17.0 million)

 ·

13% ownership interest in Nanjing Shengyi Network Technology Co., Ltd (“Topsgame”)

(carrying amount of $3.2 million which was included in long-term investment as a non-marketable equity investment)

 

·Animation copy right (net carrying amount $0.2 million which was included in intangible assets.)

 

On June 27, 2016, the Company held its 2016 annual meeting of stockholders and received approval from its stockholders to allow SSS to beneficially own more than 19.99% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. Accordingly, the Earn-Out Share Award became issuable at the time when the earn-out provisions are considered to have been met pursuant to the Amended Tianjin Agreement.Digital asset management services

On November 10, 2016, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of SSC held a special meeting. At the recommendation of the Company’s audit committee, the Board determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and the Company’s shareholders to amend the terms of the Earn-Out Share Award to (1) reduce the total Earn-Out Share Award from 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock to 10,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (2) measure the achievement of the earn-out provisions based on the Companywide achievement of homes passed in lieu of the measurement being measured by SFF’s stand-alone achievement of homes passed. Based on evidence provided to the Board, the requisite thresholds necessary to trigger issuance of all shares of Common Stock subject to the Earn-Out Share Award have been achieved. Accordingly, on November 10, 2016, the Board approved the issuance of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock to SSS”) and the shares were issued on November 11, 2016.

The Company recognized revenue for the fair value ofmaster plan development services over the Common Stock to SSS of approximately $13,700,000,contract period based on the market priceprogress of the services provided towards completed satisfaction. Based on ASC 606-10-32, at contract inception, the Company considered the following factors to estimate the value of GTB (noncash consideration): 1) it only trades in one exchange, which operations have been less than one year; 2) its historical volatility is high; and 3) the Company’s Common Stock,intention at the time to hold the majority of GTB, as Earn-out share award expensepart of its digital asset management services; and 4) associated risks related to holding GTB. Therefore, the value of 7.1 million GTB using Level 2 measurement was $40.7 million with a 76% discount to the fixed contract price agreed upon by both parties when signing the contract. The Company considered similar assets exchanges in Singapore and considered the accompanying consolidated statementvolatility of operationsthe quoted prices and determined a discount of 76%. The estimated value of GTB is calculated using the Black-Scholes valuation model using the following assumptions: expected terms 3.0 years; volatility 155%; dividend yield: zero and risk-free interest rate 2.25%. As of December 31, 2019, all performance obligations associated with the development of the master plan for GTD’s assets had been satisfied. Accordingly, the year ended 31 December, 2016. No such share award expense was recorded forCompany recognized revenue of $40.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2017.2019. The Company does not anticipate recording any revenue related to the provision of Digital Asset Management Services in 2020.

 

14. Warrant LiabilitiesRefer to Note 9(f) for information concerning the impairment loss of $61.1 million recorded related to GTB in the year ended December 31, 2019.

(c) Crude Oil Trading

For the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company purchased crude oil in the amount of $244.1 million from three suppliers that a minority shareholder of the Company has significant influence upon because this minority shareholder has significant influence on both our Singapore joint venture and these three suppliers. The Company has recorded the purchase in “Cost of revenue from related parties” in its consolidated statements of operations. No such related party transactions occurred in the year ended December 31, 2019.


(d) Severance payments

On February 20, 2019, the Company accepted the resignation of former Chief Executive Officer, former Chief Investment Officer and former Chief Strategy Officer and agreed to pay $0.8 million in total for salary, severance and expenses. The Company paid $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2019 and recorded $0.2 million in “Other current liabilities” on its consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. The $0.8 million severance expenses were recorded in “Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the consolidated statements of operations.

(e) Borrowing from Dr. Wu. and his affiliates

 

In connection with our August 30, 2012 private financing,the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company’s net borrowings from Dr. Wu and his affiliates increased by $3.3 million. The Company recorded these borrowings in “Amount due to related parties” in its consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019. These borrowings bear no interest.

(f) Acquisition of Fintalk Assets

Refer to Note 9(b) for additional information.

(g) Sale of Red Rock Global Capital LTD (“Red Rock”)

Refer to Note 6(f) for additional information.

(h) Acquisition of Grapevine Logic. (“Grapevine”)

Refer to Notes 6(b) and 6(d) for additional information.

(i)  Sale of Amer Global Technology Limited (“Amer”)

Refer to Note 6(g) for additional information.

(j) Taxis commission revenue from Guizhou Qianxi Green Environmentally Friendly Taxi Service Co. (“Qianxi”)

During the second quarter of 2019, the Company issued 977,063 warrantssigned an agreement with iUnicorn (also known as Shenma Zhuanche) to investorsform a strategic joint venture that will focus on green finance and integrated marketing services for new energy taxi vehicles as part of Ideanomics’ Mobile Energy Group (“MEG”). The Company agreed to contribute advisory and sales resources which include arranging ABS-based auto financing with its bank partners, and will have 50.01% ownership interest in the broker.joint venture and will have control of the board. iUnicorn, which will own 49.99% of the of the joint venture, agreed to contribute its vehicles sales orders in Sichuan province. The joint venture will generate revenues from commissions on vehicle sales order and ABS fees related to the financing, which will vary accordingly to manufacturer and vehicle model.

During the third quarter of 2019, the joint venture took over an order of 4,172 EV taxis from a third-party and helped facilitate the completion of the order in that quarter 2019. As part of the transaction, Qianxi agreed to pay a commission of $2.7 million to the joint venture for facilitating the completion of this order. There is no other remaining performance obligation relating to this commission. In accordanceaddition, the commission revenue is considered revenue from a related party as the minority shareholder of the joint venture is an affiliate of our customer, Qianxi.

(j) Long Term Investment to Qianxi

In November 2019, the Company entered into a share transfer agreement with ASC 815-40,ContractsSichuan Shenma Zhixing Technology Co.(“Shenma”) to acquire its 1.72% ownership in Entity’s Own Equity, the warrants have been accounted as derivative liabilities to be re- measured at the end of every reporting periodQianxi with the changeconsideration of $4.9 million, which will be paid in fair value reported insix installments. Shenma need to complete the consolidated statementshare transfer registration prior to May 31, 2020, otherwise it will return the investment payment to the Company. The Company has paid $0.5 million as of operations. On August 30, 2012, such warrants were valued at $1,525,000 utilizing a valuation modelDecember 31, 2019 and were initially recorded as a liability. The fair value of the warrants is remeasured at each reporting period basedit on the Monte Carlo valuation.“Other Non-Current Assets” since the share transfer registration is not completed yet.

 

F-37

Note 16.  Share-Based Payments

As of December 31, 2016, the warrant liability was revalued as disclosed in Note 10, and recorded at its fair value of approximately $70,785.

In 2017, there were 182,534 warrants exercised and all the remaining 353,716 warrants were expired as of August 30, 2017.

15. Share-Based Payments

As of December 31, 2017,2019, the Company has 1,853,391had 14.9 million options, 109,5860.1 million restricted shares and 2,521,8969.0 million warrants outstanding (including the 1,818,182 warrants issued to SSS as disclosed in Note 13 (a)) to purchase shares of our common stock.outstanding.

 

The Company awards common stock and stock options to employees and directors as compensation for their services, and accounts for its stock option awards to employees and directors pursuant to the provisions of ASC 718,Stock Compensation. The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes Merton valuation model. The Company recognizes the fair value of each option as compensation expense ratably using the straight-line attribution method over the service period, which is generally the vesting period.

 

The following table provides the details of the total share-based payments expense during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Employees and directors share-based payments $1,305,829  $319,718 

Effective as of December 3, 2010 and amended on August 3, 2018, our Board of Directors approved the SSC 2010 Stock Incentive Plan (“the 2010 Plan”) pursuant to which options or other similar securities may be granted. TheAs of December 31, 2019, the maximum aggregate number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under the 2010 Plan is 4,000,000increased from 4.0 million shares to 31.5 million shares. As of December 31, 2017,2019, options available for issuance are 1,368,24314.1 million shares.

 

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, total share-based payments expense was $9.1 million and $3.4 million, respectively.

(a)F-30Stock Options

  

(a) Stock Options

StockThe following table summarizes stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2017 is summarized as follows:2019:

 

  

Options
Outstanding

  

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price

  

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)

  

Aggregated
Intrinsic
Value

 
Outstanding at January 1, 2017  2,101,428  $2.42   4.59  $- 
Granted  733,200   4.34         
Exercised  (258,455)  1.83         
Expired  (89,731)  3.22         
Forfeited  (633,051)  2.81         
Outstanding at December 31, 2017  1,853,391  $3.20   2.99  $0.02 
Vested and expected to be vested as of December 31, 2017  1,853,391  $3.20   2.99  $0.02 
                 
Options exercisable at December 31, 2017 (vested)  1,662,591  $3.19   4.38  $0.03 

On January 4, March 1, March 16, November 1, and November 17, 2017, 90,000, 45,000, 35,000, 60,000 and 503,200 shares stock options, respectively, were issued to certain employees or board members for services provided to us. The fair value of the stock options granted were valued using the Black-Scholes Merton method on the grant date, amounting to $61,200, $45,443, $36,750, $79,200 and $1,953,416, respectively.

        Weighted    
     Weighted  Average    
     Average  Remaining  Aggregated 
  Options  Exercise  Contractual  Intrinsic 
  Outstanding  Price  Life (Years)  Value 
Outstanding at January 1, 2019  1,706,431  $3.28   4.08  $             - 
Granted  14,325,000   1.98   9.15   - 
Exercised  0   0       - 
Expired  (83,333)  1.98       - 
Forfeited  (1,011,372)  1.98       - 
Outstanding at December 31, 2019  14,936,726   2.13   8.48   - 
Vested and expected to be vested as of December 31, 2019  14,936,726   2.13   8.48   - 
Options exercisable at December 31, 2019 (vested)  7,163,814   2.29   7.75   - 

 

As of December 31, 2017, approximately $429,5852019, $11.7 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested share options is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 1.421.15 years. The total fair value of shares vested duringin the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 20162018 was approximately $974,237$8.5 million and $12,000,$0.4 million respectively.  Cash received from options exercised in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was$0 and $28,000.

 

The following table summarizes the assumptions used to estimate the fair values of the share options granted in the years presented:year ended December 31, 2019. There were no options granted in the year ended December 31, 2018.

 

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
Expected term   5.4 ~5.9 years    1.7 ~5.9 years   
Expected volatility   55% ~ 85%   55% ~ 70%
Expected dividend yield  0%  0%
Risk free interest rate   2.04% ~2.29%   0.54% ~1.35%

 F-31December 31,
2019
Expected term5.52 years
Expected volatility98%
Expected dividend yield0%
Risk free interest rate2.51% 

 

(b) Warrants

(b)Warrants

 

In connection with certain of the Company’s financings the Warner Brother Agreement and service agreements, the Company issued warrants to investors and service providers to purchase common stock of the Company.

As of December The warrants issued to Warner Brother were expired without exercise on January 31, 2017,2019. The Company issued warrants to IDV and YA II PN, Ltd. in connection with senior secured convertible notes (See Note 13) and the weighted average exercise price was $2.47$1.09 and the weighted average remaining life was 0.475.67 years. The following table outlines


  2019  2018       
  Number of  Number of       
  Warrants  Warrants       
  Outstanding and  Outstanding and  Exercise  Expiration 
Warrants Outstanding Exercisable  Exercisable  Price  Date 
2014 Broker Warrants (Series E Financing)     60,000  $1.75   01/31/2019 
2018 IDV (Senior secured convertible note)  1,671,196      1.00   2/22/2026 
2019 IDV (Senior secured convertible note)  

4,658,043

      1.00   9/27/2026 
2019 YA II PN, Ltd. (Senior secured convertible debenture)  1,666,667      1.50   12/13/2024 
2019 YA II PN, Ltd. (Senior secured convertible debenture)  1,000,000         -   1.00   12/13/2020 
   

8,995,906

   60,000         

On September 24, 2018, the Company entered into an employment agreements with three executives and subsequently resigned in February 2019 (see Note 22). As part of their employment agreements, they were entitled to warrants for an aggregate of 8,000,000 shares at an exercise price of $5.375 per share, which is a 25% premium to the $4.30 per share closing market price of the Company’s common stock on September 7, 2018. As a result of the resignation, all the warrants outstanding and exercisable as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:were forfeited.

  2017  2016      
  Number of  Number of      
  Warrants  Warrants      
  Outstanding and  Outstanding and  Exercise  Expiration
Warrants Outstanding Exercisable  Exercisable  Price  Date
            
2012 August Financing Warrants(i)  -   536,250  $1.50  08/30/17
2013 Broker Warrants (Series D Financing)  -   228,571  $1.75  07/05/18
2013 Broker Warrants (Convertible Note)  -   114,285  $1.75  11/04/18
2014 Broker Warrants (Series E Financing)  703,714   1,085,714  $1.75  01/31/19
2016 Warrants to SSS (Note 12)  1,818,182   1,818,182  $2.75  03/28/18
   2,521,896   3,783,002       

 

(c)(i)The warrants are classified as derivative liabilities as disclosed in Note 11.Restricted Shares

(c) Restricted Shares

 

In January 2017,2019, the Company granted 35,0000.2 million restricted shares to one employee under the “2010 Plan”. The restricted shares have a vesting period of four years with the first one-fourth vesting on the first anniversary from grant date and the remaining three-fourth vesting ratably over twelve quarters. The grant date fair value of the restricted shares was $43,750. As this employee left the Company in February, no expense was recorded.

In March and April, 2017, the Company granted 365,000 restricted shares to certain employees under the “2010 Plan”. The restricted shares have a vesting period of four years with the first one-fourth vesting on the first anniversary from grant date and the remaining three-fourth vesting ratably over twelve quarters. The grant date fair value of the restricted shares was $778,200.

In November, 2017, the Board of Directors approved 2017 independent board compensation plan, which approved to grant 4,488 restricted shares to each of four thenthree independent directors under the “2010 Plan”. which was approved as part of the 2018 independent board compensation plan by the Board of Directors. The restricted shares were all vested immediately since commencement date. The aggregated grant date fair value of all those restricted shares was $100,000.$0.3 million.

 

A summary of the unvested restricted shares is as follows:

 

 Shares  Weighted-average
fair value
     Weighted-average 
Restricted shares outstanding at January 1, 2017  228,550  $1.75 
 Shares  fair value 
Non-vested restricted shares outstanding at January 1, 2019  87,586  $2.46 
Granted  417,953   2.21   220,163   1.24 
Forfeited  (401,249)  2.02   (3,500)  2.60 
Vested  (135,668)  2.24   (249,163)  1.40 
Restricted shares outstanding at December 31, 2017  109,586   1.92 
Non-vested restricted shares outstanding at December 31, 2019  55,086         2.38 

 As of December 31, 2019, there was $16,575 of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted shares. This amount is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.23 years.

 

F-32


16.Note 17.  Loss Per Common Share

 

  2017  2016 
Net loss attributable to common stockholders $(9,835,601) $(26,407,974)
Basic        
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding  61,182,209   35,998,001 
         
Diluted        
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding  61,182,209   35,998,001 
         
Net loss per share:        
Basic $(0.16) $(0.73)
Diluted $(0.16) $(0.73)

  2019  2018 
Net loss attributable to IDEX common stockholders $(98,507,524) $(27,426,356)
Basic        
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding  119,766,859   78,386,116 
Diluted        
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding  119,766,859   78,386,116 
Net loss per share:        
Basic $(0.82) $(0.35)
Diluted $(0.82) $(0.35)

 

Basic loss per common share attributable to Seven Stars Cloudour shareholders is calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to Seven Stars Cloudour shareholders by the weighted average number of outstanding common shares during the period.

 

Diluted loss per share is calculated by taking net loss, divided by the diluted weighted average common shares outstanding. Diluted net loss per share equals basic net loss per share because the effect of securities convertible into common shares is anti-dilutive.

 

The following table includes the number of shares that may be dilutive potential common shares in the future. TheseThe holders of these shares do not have a contractual obligation to share in our losses and thus these shares were not included in the computation of diluted loss per share because the effect was either antidilutive or the performance condition was not met.antidilutive.

 

 December 31,  December 31,  December 31, December 31, 
 2017  2016  2019  2018 
Warrants  2,521,896   3,783,002   8,995,906   60,000 
Options  2,162,977   2,101,428   14,936,726   1,706,431 
Series A Preferred Stock  933,333   933,333   933,333   933,333 
Series E Preferred Stock  -   7,154,997 
DBOT Contingent Shares  8,501,313     
Convertible promissory note and interest  35,346,703   2,371,945   21,678,482   10,407,233 
Total  40,964,909   16,344,705   55,045,760   13,106,997 

 

17.Note 18.  Income Taxes 

 

(a) Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”)

(a)Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”)

 

Seven Stars Cloud Group,Ideanomics, Inc. and, M.Y. Products LLC, incorporated in NevadaGrapevine Logic, Inc., Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc., Fintech Village, LLC and Indiana respectively,Red Rock Global Capital Ltd. are subject to U.S. federal and state income tax.

 

CB Cayman was incorporated in Cayman Islands as an exempted company and is not subject to income tax under the current laws of Cayman Islands.

 

Most of the Company’s income is generated in Hong Kong in 2017. YOD Hong Kong, WAG Hong Kong and Amer were incorporated in HK.2018. The statutory income tax rate in HK is 16.5%.

 

Seven Stars Energy is incorporated in Singapore in late 2017 which is conducting crude oil trading business. The statutory income tax rate in Singapore is 17%.

 

YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, and Sevenstarflix are PRC entities. The income tax provision of these entities is calculated at the applicable tax rates on the taxable income for the periods based on existing legislation, interpretations and practices in the PRC.

 

In accordance with the Corporate Income Tax Law of the PRC (“CIT Law”), effective beginning on January 1, 2008, enterprises established under the laws of foreign countries or regions and whose “place of effective management” is located within the PRC territory are considered PRC resident enterprises and subject to the PRC income tax at the rate of 25% on worldwide income. The definition of “place of effective management” refers to an establishment that exercises, in substance, and among other items, overall management and control over the production and business, personnel, accounting, and properties of an enterprise. If the Company’s non-PRC incorporated entities are deemed PRC tax residents, such entities would be subject to PRC tax under the CIT Law. Since our non-PRC entities have accumulated loss,losses, the application of this tax rule will not result in any PRC tax liability, if our non-PRC incorporated entities are deemed PRC tax residents. 

 

The CIT Law imposes a 10% withholding income tax, subject to reduction based on tax treaty where applicable, for dividends distributed by a foreign invested enterprise to its immediate holding company outside China. Under the PRC-HK tax treaty, the withholding tax on dividends is 5% provided that a HK holding company qualifies as a HK tax resident as defined in the tax treaty. No provision was made for the withholding income tax liability as the Company’s foreign subsidiaries were in accumulated loss.

 

F-33

Loss before tax and the provision for income tax benefit consists of the following components:

 

  2017  2016 
Loss before tax        
United States $(8,461,323) $(15,069,992)
PRC/Hong Kong/Singapore  (1,731,546)  (12,966,714)
   (10,192,869)  (28,036,706)
Deferred tax benefit of net operating loss        
United States $-  $- 
PRC/Hong Kong/Singapore  -   (330,124)
   -   (330,124)
Deferred tax benefit other than benefit of net operating loss        
United States  -   - 
PRC/Hong Kong  -   - 
         
Total income tax benefit $-  $(330,124)

  2019  2018 
Loss before tax        
United States $(88,688,205) $(13,139,622)
PRC/Hong Kong/Singapore  (7,722,717)  (15,323,706)
  $(96,410,922) $(28,463,328)
         
Deferred tax benefit of net operating loss        
United States $-  $- 
PRC/Hong Kong/Singapore  (176,107)  - 
  $(176,107) $- 
Deferred tax expense (benefit) other than benefit of net operating loss        
United States $(513,935) $(40,244)
PRC/Hong Kong  -   - 
Total deferred income tax expense (benefit) $(513,935) $(40,244)
         
Current tax expense (benefit) other than benefit of net operating loss        
United States $-  $- 
PRC/Hong Kong $931,388  $- 
Total current tax expense (benefit) $931,388  $- 
         
Total income tax expense (benefit) $417,453  $(40,244)

 

A reconciliation of the expected income tax derived by the application of the 34.0% U.S. corporate income tax rate to the Company’s loss before income tax benefit is as follows:

 

  2017  2016 
U. S. statutory income tax rate  34.0%  34.0%
Non-deductible expenses:        
Earn out shares award expense  0.0%  -16.6%
Waiver of intercompany loan related to ZHV disposal  14.7%  0.0%
Others  -2.9%  -3.3%
Non-deductible interest expenses  -0.4%  -0.3%
Non-taxable change in fair value warrant liabilities  -0.4%  0.4%
Increase in valuation allowance  -21.6%  -8.2%
Tax rate differential  -23.4%  -3.3%
Others  0.0%  -1.5%
Effective income tax rate  0.0%  1.2%

  2019  2018 
U. S. statutory income tax rate  21%  21%
Non-deductible expenses:        
Non-deductible stock awards  (1.9)%  (1.2)%
Non-deductible loss on contingent consideration  (1.1)%  0.0%
Others  (0.3)%  (0.9)%
Non-deductible interest expenses  (1.2)%  (0.6)%
Increase in valuation allowance  (16.4)%  (18.4)%
Tax rate differential  (0.5)%  0.1%
Effective income tax rate  (0.4)%  0.0%

 

Deferred income taxes are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial statement purposes and income tax purposes using enacted rates expected to be in effect when such amounts are realized or settled. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 20172019 and 20162018 are as follows:

 

  2017  2016 
U.S. NOL $6,152,242  $12,501,988 
Foreign NOL  5,365,437   5,765,422 
Accrued payroll and expense  132,812   226,950 
Nonqualified options  760,213   576,975 
Provision for doubtful accounts  -   412,102 
Impairment of licensed content  -   124,810 
Others $30,040  $31,120 
         
Total deferred tax assets  12,440,744   19,639,367 
Less: valuation allowance  (12,440,744)  (19,639,367)

  2019  2018 
U.S. NOL $17,470,708  $7,977,213 
Foreign NOL  6,846,645   6,406,052 
U.S. capital loss carryover  4,376,715   - 
Accrued payroll and expense  171,580   131,867 
Nonqualified options  772,365   780,800 
Convertible notes  751,625   - 
Impaired assets  1,436,065   - 
Others  114,819   171,819 
         
Total deferred tax assets  31,940,522  $15,467,751 
Less: valuation allowance  (30,274,655) $(15,467,751)
         
Property and equipment  (36,368)  - 
Intangible assets  (1,629,499)  - 
       - 
Total deferred tax liabilities  (1,665,867)  - 
Net deferred tax assets $-   - 

 

F-34

As of December 31, 2017,2019, the Company had approximately $29.3$83.1 million U.S domestic cumulative tax loss carryforwards and approximately $25.5$28.3 million foreign cumulative tax loss carryforwards, which may be available to reduce future income tax liabilities in certain jurisdictions. No$26.8 million of the U.S. carryforwards expire in the years 2027 through 2037. The remaining U.S. tax loss would be expired based onis not subject to expiration under the new Tax Law. These PRC tax loss carryforwards will expire beginning year 20182020 to year 2022.2024. The Company also has a U.S. capital loss carryover, available to offset future capital gains, of $20.8 million , $20.4 million of which expires in 2025 and the rest in 2024. Utilization of net operating losses may be subject to an annual limitation due to ownership change limitations provided in the Internal Revenue Code and similar state and foreign provisions. This annual limitation may result in the expiration of net operating losses before utilization.

 

Realization of the Company’s net deferred tax assets is dependent upon the Company’s ability to generate future taxable income in appropriate tax jurisdictions to obtain benefit from the reversal of temporary differences and net operating loss carryforwards. The valuation allowance decreased approximately $7.2increased by $14.8 million and increased $2.9 million duringin the yearsyear ended December 31, 20172019, which consists of $14.5 million resulting from operations and 2016, respectively.$0.3 million resulting from deferred tax liabilities acquired in the DBOT acquisition. The decreasevaluation allowance increased by $3.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2018, which consists of 2017 was primarily related to$2.3 million resulting from operations and $0.7 million resulting from deferred tax liabilities acquired in the reduce of U.S. effective tax rate from 34% to 21% since 2018.Grapevine acquisition.

 

(b) Uncertain Tax Positions

(b)Uncertain Tax Positions

 

Accounting guidance for recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions prescribes a threshold condition that a tax position must meet for any of the benefit of uncertain tax position to be recognized in the financial statements. There was no identified unrecognized tax benefit as of December 31, 20162019 and 2017.2018.

 

As of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, the Company did not accrue any material interest and penalties.

 

The Company’s United States income tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for at least 2010 and later years. Due to the uncertainty regarding the filing of tax returns for years before 2007, it is possible that the Company is subject to examination by the IRS for earlier years. All of the PRC tax returns for the PRC operating companies are subject to examination by the PRC tax authorities for all periods from the companies’ inceptions in 20072009 through 20172019 as applicable.

 

(c) U.S. Tax Reform

(c)U.S. Tax Reform

 

On December 22, 2017 the U.S. enacted the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (“U.S. Tax Reform”) which made significant changes to corporate income tax law. One significant change was to decrease the general corporate income tax rate from 34% to 21%. This change in the rate reduced the Company’s deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017 by approximately $4.4 million. This reduction had no effect on the Company’s income tax expense as the reduction in deferred tax assets was offset by an equivalent reduction in the valuation allowance.

 

Another significant change resulting from the TCJAU.S. Tax Reform is that any future remittances to the parent company from business income earned by its subsidiaries outside of the U.S. will no longer to taxable to the Company under U.S. tax law. The Company would be liable for payment of income tax, or reduction of the net operating loss carryover, at a reduced rate for any accumulated earnings and profits of its non-U.S. subsidiaries at December 31, 2017. Any such tax would be payable over eight years. The Company’s provisional estimate isCompany determined that there areits non-U.S. subsidiaries had no such accumulated earnings and profits atas of December 31, 2017 and consequently no tax would be payable. The Company continues to gather information relating to this estimate and expects to confirm this estimate during 2018.2017.

 

18.

U.S. Tax Reform includes provisions for Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) under which taxes on foreign income are imposed on the excess of a deemed return on tangible assets of certain foreign subsidiaries and for Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (“BEAT”) under which taxes are imposed on certain base eroding payments to affiliated foreign companies. Consistent with accounting guidance, we treat BEAT as a period tax charge in the period the tax is incurred and have made an accounting policy election to treat GILTI taxes in a similar manner.


Note 19. Contingencies and Commitments

(a) Operating Lease Commitment

The Company is committed to paying leased property costs related to our offices as follows:

  Leased Property 
Year ending December 31, Costs 
2018 $733,439 
2019  185,444 
2020  189,933 
Thereafter  94,967 
Total $1,203,783 

(b) Lawsuits and Legal Proceedings

From time to time, wethe Company may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm ourthe business. As of December 31, 2017, there are no such legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.

 

F-35

Shareholder Class Action

On July 19, 2019, a purported class action, captioned Jose Pinto Claro Da Fonseca Miranda v. Ideanomics, Inc., was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Company and certain of its current and former officers. While the Company believes that the Class Action is without merit and plans to vigorously defend itself against these claims, there can be no assurance that the Company will prevail in the lawsuits. The Company cannot currently estimate the possible loss or range of losses, if any, that it may experience in connection with these litigations.

   

19.Note 20. Concentration, Credit and Other Risks

(a) PRC Regulations

a)PRC Regulations

The PRC market in which the Company operates poses certain macro-economic and regulatory risks and uncertainties. These uncertainties extendextended to the ability of the Company to conduct wireless telecommunication services through contractual arrangements in the PRC since the industry remains highly regulated. The Company conductsconducted legacy YOD business in China through a series of contractual arrangements, entered among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, SSF and the respective legal shareholderswhich were terminated as of Sinotop Beijing and SSF.December 31, 2019. Refer to Note 5 for additional information. The Company believesbelieved that these contractual arrangements arewere in compliance with PRC law and arewere legally enforceable. If Sinotop Beijing, SSFenforceable, or their respective legal shareholders failfailed to perform thetheir obligations under the contractual arrangements or any dispute relating to these contracts remainsremained unresolved, YOD WFOE or YOD HK canthe Company could enforce its rights under the VIE contracts through PRC law and courts. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the Company’s ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations involve uncertainties. If YOD WFOE had direct ownership of Sinotop Beijing and SSF, it would be able to exercise its rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of Sinotop Beijing or SSF, which in turn could effect changes at the management level, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations. However, under the current contractual arrangements, the Company relies on Sinotop Beijing, SSF and their respective legal shareholders to perform their contractual obligations to exercise effective control. The Company also gives no assurance that PRC government authorities will not take a view in the future that is contrary to the opinion of the Company. If the current ownership structure of the Company and its contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their equity holders were found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, the Company's ability to conduct its business could be affected and the Company may be required to restructure its ownership structure and operations in the PRC to comply with the changes in the PRC laws which may result in deconsolidation of the VIEs.

 

b)Major Customers

In addition,

For the telecommunications, information and media industries remain highly regulated. Restrictions are currently in place and are unclear with respect to which segments of these industries foreign owned entities, like YOD WFOE, may operate. The PRC government may issue from time to time new laws or new interpretations on existing laws to regulate areas such as telecommunications, information and media, some of which are not published on a timely basis or may have retroactive effect. For example, there is substantial uncertainty regarding the Draft Foreign Investment Law, including, among others, what the actual content of the law will be as well as the adoption and effective date of the final form of the law. Administrative and court proceedings in China may also be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. While such uncertainty exists, the Company cannot assure that the new laws, when it is adopted and becomes effective, and potential related administrative proceedings will not have a material and adverse effect on the Company's ability to control the affiliated entities through the contractual arrangements. Regulatory risk also encompasses the interpretation by the tax authorities of current tax laws, and the Company’s legal structure and scope of operations in the PRC, which could be subject to further restrictions resulting in limitations on the Company’s ability to conduct business in the PRC.

(b) Major Customers

Legacy YOD business

The Company has agreements with distribution partners, including digital cable operators, IPTV operators, OTT streaming operators and mobile smartphone manufacturers and operator. A distribution partner thatyear ended December 31, 2019, one customers individually generatesaccounted for more than 10%10.0% of the Company’s revenue is considered a major customer.

On October 8, 2016, the Company signed an agreement to form a partnership with Zhejiang Yanhua ("Yanhua Agreement"), where Yanhua will act as the exclusive distribution operator (within the territory(91% of revenue). One customer individually accounted for more than 10.0% of the People's Republic of China) of WCST's licensed library of major studio films. According to the Yanhua Agreement, the existing legacy Hollywood studio paid contents as well as other IP contents specified in the agreement, along with the corresponding authorized rights letter that WCST is entitled to, will be turned over to Yanhua as a whole package, which was agreed to be priced at RMB13,000,000. In addition to the above-mentioned minimal guarantee fee of RMB13,000,000 specified, there is a provision in the Yanhua Agreement which states that once the revenue recognized from the existing contents transferred from WCST to Yanhua reaches the amount of RMB13,000,000, the revenue above RMB13,000,000 will be shared with WCST from the date when this revenue threshold is reached based on certain revenue-sharing mechanism stipulated in the Yanhua Agreement.

Pursuant to ASC Subtopic 926-605, Entertainment-Films - Revenue Recognition, for certain contracts that involve sub-licensing content within the specified license period, revenue is recognized upon delivery of films when the arrangement includes a nonrefundable minimum guarantee, delivery is complete and there are no substantive future obligations to provide future additional services.

F-36

According to the Yanhua Agreement, the total price of the Existing Contents to be transferred is RMB13,000,000. The payment is agreed to be paid in two installments, the first half of RMB6,500,000 was received on December 30, 2016. The remaining RMB6,500,000 will be paid under the scenario that the license content fees due to Studios for the existing legacy Hollywood paid contents will be settled. Due to the fact that the second installment will depend upon some future events and is contingent in nature, we deem this portion of the fee is not fixed or determinable and therefore, this portion of the revenue did not meet the revenue recognition criteria to be recognized accordingly.

In terms of the additional revenue-sharing fee over the above-mentioned RMB13,000,000 fee specified, considering that this part of arrangement fee is not fixed or determinable at the time pointCompany’s net accounts receivable as of December 31, 2017, it has not met the criteria for revenue recognition, management will recognize it once it becomes determinable and meet the other revenue recognition criteria in the future.

Pursuant to the Yanhua Agreement, RMB6,500,000 was recognized as revenue in 2017 based on the relative fair value2019 (95% of licensed content delivered to Yanhua.accounts receivable).

 

For the year ended December 31, 2016, four2018, two customers which are Aishang TV, Huawei, Dongfang Shijie and Bo Tai Heng Tongindividually accounted for 22%, 15%, 12% and 10%more than 10.0% of the Company’s legacy YOD business revenue respectively. Aishang TV(91% of revenue). Two customers individually accounted for 93%more than 10.0% of the Company’s legacy YOD business net accounts receivablesreceivable as of December 31, 2016.

2018 (39% of accounts receivable).

 

Wecast Services

The holdings and businesses from Company’s two acquisitions in January 2017 (Note 5) now reside under “Wecast Services”, our wholly-owned subsidiary Wecast Services Group Limited. Wecast Services (which resides under the Product Sales Cloud) is currently primarily engaged with consumer electronics e-commerce and smart supply chain management operations. The Company’s ending customers include British Telecom, Micromax and about 15 to 20 other corporations across the world.

c)Major Suppliers

For the year ended December 31, 2016, three customers individually accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s revenue. Four customers individually accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s net accounts receivables as of December 31, 2016, respectively.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, two customers individually accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s third parties revenue. Three customers individually accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s net accounts receivables as of December 31, 2017, respectively.

(c) Major Suppliers

Legacy YOD business

The Company relies on agreements with studio content partners to acquire video contents. A content partner that accounts for more than 10% of the Company’s cost of revenues is considered a major supplier.

As of December 31, 2016, all licensed contents have been recognized as cost of revenues other than the ones that acquired from SSS in the amount of $17.7 million (note 13).

For the year ended December 31, 2016, four suppliers which are Paramount, Disney, Universal and Twentieth Century Fox individually accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s legacy YOD business cost of revenues. Two suppliers which are Universal and Paramount individually accounted for 10% of the Company’s accrued legacy YOD business license fees as of December 31, 2016.

Wecast Services

The Company relies on agreements with consumer electronics manufactures.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, two2019, no suppliers individually accounted for more than 10%10.0% of the Company’s cost of revenues. Two suppliers individually accounted for more than 10%10.0% of the Company’s accounts payable as of December 31, 2016.2019. 

 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, five2018, three suppliers (two of whom are related parties) individually accounted for more than 10%10.0% of the Company’s cost of revenues. Two suppliers individually accounted for more than 10%10.0% of the Company’s accounts payable as of December 31, 2017.2018. 

 

(d) Concentration of Credit Risks


(d)Concentration of Credit Risks

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the GroupCompany to significant concentration of credit risk primarily consist of cash and accounts receivable. As of December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, the Company’s cash werewas held by financial institutions located(located in the PRC, Hong Kong, the United States and SingaporeSingapore) that management believes have acceptable credit. Accounts receivable are typically unsecured and are mainly derived from revenues from Company’s VOD content distribution partners, and smart sales products to customers.unsecured. The risk with respect to accounts receivable is mitigated by regular credit evaluations that the Company performs on its distribution partners and its ongoing monitoring of outstanding balances.

 

(e)F-37Foreign Currency Risks

(e) Foreign Currency Risks

 

A majority of the Company’s operating transactions are denominated in RMB and a significant portion of the Company’s assets and liabilities is denominated in RMB. RMB is not freely convertible into foreign currencies. The value of the RMB is subject to changes in the central government policies and to international economic and political developments. In the PRC, certain foreign exchange transactions are required by laws to be transacted only by authorized financial institutions at exchange rates set by the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”). Remittances in currencies other than RMB by the Company in China must be processed through PBOC or other China foreign exchange regulatory bodies which require certain supporting documentation in order to complete the remittance.

 

Cash consist of cash on hand and demand deposits at banks, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal.

 

Time deposits, which mature within one year as of the balance sheet date, represent interest-bearing certificates of deposit with an initial term of greater than three months when purchased. Time deposits which mature over one year as of the balance sheet date are included in non-current assets.

 

CashThe following table summarizes the Company’s cash and time deposits maintained at banks consist of the following:banks:

 

 December 31,  December 31, 
 2017  2016  2019  2018 
RMB denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in the PRC $311,894  $1,566,107  $135,899  $1,523,622 
        
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in the PRC $628,481  $670,951   24,459   133,053 
HKD denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HK SAR”) $17,508  $14,151   7   13,133 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HK SAR”) $1,505,271  $1,402,842 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Singapore (“Singapore”) $1,033,769  $- 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in The United States of America (“USA”) $3,698,704  $95,030 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in HK SAR  51,240   44,182 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Singapore  570,373   697,099 
US dollar denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in the United States of America (“USA”)  1,804,124   695,155 
Ringgit denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Malaysia  229   - 
SGD denominated bank deposits with financial institutions in Singapore  45,635   - 
Total $2,631,966  $3,106,244 

 

As of December 31, 20172019 and December 31, 20162018 deposits of $398,243$0.4 million and $384,545$0.0 million were insured, respectively. To limit exposure to credit risk relating to bank deposits, the Company primarily places bank deposits only with large financial institutions in the PRC, HK SAR, USA, Singapore and Cayman with acceptable credit rating.

 


20.Note 21. Defined Contribution Plan

 

For our U.S. employees, during 2011, the Company began sponsoring a 401(k) defined contribution plan ("401(k) Plan") that provides for a 100%100.0% employer matching contribution of the first 3% and a 50% employer matching contribution4.0% of each additional percenteligible pay that the employee contributed by an employee up to 5% of each employee’s pay.the plan. Employees become fullyare immediately 100.0% vested in employer matching contributions after six months of employment.the Company’s non-discretionary contribution to the 401(k) Plan. Company 401(k) matching contributions were approximately $13,173$27,244 and $4,000 for$3,242 in the years ended December 31, 20172019 and 2016,2018, respectively.

 

Full time employees in the PRC participate in a government-mandated defined contribution plan pursuant to which certain pension benefits, medical care, unemployment insurance, employee housing fund and other welfare benefits are provided to employees. PRC labor regulations require the Company to make contributions based on certain percentages of the employees’ basic salaries. Other than such contributions, there is no further obligation under these plans. The total contribution for such PRC employee benefits was $439,227$0.4 million and $571,476$0.5 million in the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Note 22.  Geographic Areas

The following table summarizes geographic information for long-lived assets:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2019  2018 
United States $64,360,287  $42,220,799 
Malaysia  51,733,413   - 
British Virgin Islands  3,000,000   3,000,000 
Other  510,741   3,942,270 
Total $119,604,441  $49,163,069 

Note 23. Fair Value Measurement

The following table summarizes information about the Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis, grouped into Level 1 to 3 based on the degree to which the input to fair value is observable:

  December 31, 2019 
  Level I  Level II  Level III  Total 
Acquisition earn-out liability1  -   -   7,311,129   7,311,129 

Note

1 This represents the liability incurred in connection with the acquisition of DBOT shares during the third quarter of 2019 and as subsequently remeasured as of December 31, 2019 as disclosed in Note 6(c).

The fair value of the acquisition earn-out liability as of December 31, 2019 was valued using the Black-Scholes Merton method.

The following table summarizes the significant inputs and assumptions used in the model:

December 31, 2019
Risk-free interest rate1.6%
Expected volatility30%
Expected term0.25 year
Expected dividend yield0%

The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the acquisition earn-out liability includes the risk-free interest rate, expected volatility, expected term and expected dividend yield. Significant increases or decreases in any of those inputs in isolation would result in a significantly different fair value measurement.

The following table summarizes the reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurements:


  Acquisition
Earn-out
Liability
 
January 1, 2019 $- 
Addition  (2,217,034)
Remeasurement (loss)/gain recognized in the income statement  (5,094,095)
December 31, 2019 $(7,311,129)

Note 24. Subsequent Events

On January 24, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement (the “Agreement”) with Qingdao Xingyang City Investment (“Qingdao”) in which Qingdao agreed to invest, pursuant to an installment plan, in the Company’s subsidiary, Qingdao Mobile New Energy Vehicle Sales Co. Ltd. (“Mobile”), an aggregate of potentially 200 million RMB as registered capital with an initial investment of 50 million RMB ($7.2 million). The Company and Qingdao also agreed to jointly establish Mobile to engage in electric commercial vehicle sales. Pursuant to the Agreement Qingdao agreed that within 10 days after the completion of the establishment of Mobile Qingdao would invest 50 million RMB as the first installment and, once Mobile starts operation, an additional 50 million RMB as registered capital for each 10 billion RMB sales revenue realized by Mobile or for each 10 billion RMB increase in the market value of Mobile. Once Mobile achieves 30 billion RMB or its market value reaches 30 billion RMB, Qingdao will pay the 200 million RMB in full as registered capital. Qingdao will receive a 10% equity interest in Mobile for the full investment of 200 million RMB.

On January 31, 2020 the Company issued 10.9 million shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the terms of the True-Up provisions of the securities purchase agreement for the Company’s acquisition of DBOT. The securities purchase agreements required the Company to issue additional shares of the Company’s common stock (“True-Up Common Stock”) in the event the stock price of the common stock was below $2.11 at the close of trading on January 30, 2020, the day immediately preceding the lock-up date. The common stock issuance is subject to the restrictions of Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933.


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

There were no changes in or disagreements with the Company’s accountants in the year ended December 31, 2019.

On February 16, 2018, the Audit Committee approved the dismissal of Grant Thornton (“GT”). Since the commencement of GT’s engagement in April 2017 through February 16, 2018, there were no: (1) disagreements (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) with GT on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures, which disagreements if not resolved to their satisfaction would have caused them to make reference in connection with their opinion to the subject matter of the disagreement, or (2) reportable events requiring disclosures (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K), except that GT advised the Company of a material weakness in the Company’s internal control of financial reporting related to the design, documentation and implementation of effective internal controls over the review of the cash flow forecasts used in assessing the recoverability of licensed content. GT has not issued any audit report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company for any prior fiscal year, including as of and for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 respectively.and therefore GT has not issued an audit report containing an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, nor has any audit report been qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

 

21. SegmentOn February 16, 2018, the Company appointed BF Borgers CPA PC (“BFB”) as its new independent registered public accounting firm to audit the Company’s financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. The decision to retain BFB was approved by the Audit Committee. During the Company’s fiscal periods prior to February 16, 2018, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf has consulted with BFB regarding (i) the application of accounting principles to a specific transaction, either completed or proposed or (ii) the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Company’s financial statements and, neither a written report nor oral advice was provided to the Company that BFB concluded was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to accounting, auditing or financial reporting issues, or (iii) any matter that was the subject of a disagreement (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions), or (iv) any “reportable event” (as described in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).


ITEM 9A.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that are designed to ensure that information that would be required to be disclosed in Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including to our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act, our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2019. Based on that evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that as of December 31, 2019, and as of the date that the evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was completed, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to satisfy the objectives for which they are intended.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. The Exchange Act defines internal control over financial reporting as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and includes those policies and procedures that:

·Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

·Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and Directors;

·Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.

All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessment, we have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2019. During our assessment, we did not identify any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. B F Borgers CPA PC, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an unqualified attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019.

Attestation Report of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Company’s chief operating decision makerattestation report of B F Borgers CPA PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting is included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.


Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our most recent fiscal year that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION

None.

PART III

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Directors and Executive Officers

The following sets forth the name and position of each of our current executive officers and directors as of March 29, 2019.

NAMEAGEPOSITION
Bruno Wu53Chairman
Shane McMahon47Vice Chairman
Alf Poor49Chief Executive Officer, Director
Conor McCarthy62Chief Financial Officer 
James Cassano71Director
Jerry Fan51Director
Steven Fadem69Director
John Wallace69Director
Harry Edelson86Director
Chao Yang69Director

Bruno Wu. Dr. Wu has been identifiedserved as our Chairman since January 12, 2016. Dr. Wu is the founder, co-chairman and CEO of Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, a private media and investment company in China, since 2007. Its predecessor is Sun Media Group Holdings Limited, which was established by Dr. Wu and his spouse in 1999. Dr. Wu served as chairman of Sun Media Group from 1999 to 2007 and was former director of Shanda Group, a private investment group, from 2006 to 2009 and as former co-chairman of Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA), a Chinese media and Internet services company, from 2001 to 2002. Additionally, Dr. Wu served as the chief operating officer for ATV, a free-to-air television broadcaster in Hong Kong, from 1998 to 1999. Dr. Wu served as a director of Seven Star Works Co Ltd (KOSDAQ:121800) between 2015 to 2017, and served as a director of Semir Garment Co. Ltd (SHE:00256) between 2008 and 2012. Dr. Wu received a Ph.D. from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University in 2001 and prior to that received an M.A. in International Relations from Washington University, a B.A. in Business Management from Culver-Stockton College of Missouri and a diploma in Superior Studies in French Literature from the School of French Language and Literature at the University of Savoie in Chambery, France.

Shane McMahon. Mr. McMahon was appointed Vice Chairman as of January 12, 2016 and was previously our Chairman from July 2010 to January 2016. Prior to joining us, from 2000 to December 31, 2009, Mr. McMahon served in various executive officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resourceslevel positions with World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE). Mr. McMahon also sits on the Boards of Directors of International Sports Management (USA) Inc., a Delaware corporation, and assessing performanceGlobal Power of Literacy, a New York not-for-profit corporation.

Mr. Alf Poor. Our Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company. Please referConnecticut Fintech Village is a former Chief Operating Officer at Global Data Sentinel, a cybersecurity company that specializes in identity management, file access control, protected sharing, reporting and tracking, AI and thread response, and backup and recovery. He is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Agendize Services Inc., a company with an integrated suite of applications that help businesses generate higher quality leads, improve business efficiency and customer engagement. Mr. Poor is a client-focused and profitability-driven management executive with a track record of success at both rapidly-growing technology companies and large, multi-national, organizations.

Mr. Conor McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy was appointed asour Chief Financial Officer on September 9, 2019. Mr. McCarthy has over 30 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer in areas such as corporate strategy and corporate finance including capital raising and M&A. Mr. McCarthy most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of OS33, a private equity backed FinTech SaaS platform for compliance and productivity enablement for the wealth management industry with 200 employee from July 2018 to Note (2)May 2019. Prior to that, Mr. McCarthy served as the (i) Chief Financial Officer of Intent from May 2016 to July 2018; (ii) the Chief Financial Officer of Convergex Group from June 2014 to July 2015 and (iii) the Chief Financial Officer and Finance Director of the Americas for more management’s segment consideration.GFI Group, Inc., a NYSE-listed fintechwholesale money broker with revenues of almost $1Billion (now part of BGC Partners, Nasdaq: BGCP), from March 2005 to June 2014. Mr.McCarthy, holds a CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Mr. McCarthy started his career as an auditor with KPMG in Ireland. Mr. McCarthy then transitioned into financial services, working as CFO, Treasurer, and in other executive finance roles, with trading and brokerage firms, as well as high growth fintech partners supporting the financial services industry.

 


James S. Cassano. Mr. Cassano was appointed as director of the Company effective as of January 11, 2008. Mr. Cassano is currently a Partner & Chief Financial Officer of CoActive Health Solutions, LLC, a worldwide contract research organization, supporting the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Mr. Cassano has served as executive vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and director of Jaguar Acquisition Corporation a Delaware corporation (OTCBB: JGAC), a blank check company, since its formation in June 2005. Mr. Cassano has served as a managing director of Katalyst LLC, a company which provides certain administrative services to Jaguar Acquisition Corporation, since January 2005. In June 1998, Mr. Cassano founded New Forum Publishers, an electronic publisher of educational material for secondary schools, and served as its chairman of the Board and chief executive officer until it was sold to Apex Learning, Inc., a company controlled by Warburg Pincus, in August 2003. He remained with Apex until November 2003 in transition as vice president business development and served as a consultant to the company through February 2004. In June 1995, Mr. Cassano co-founded Advantix, Inc., a high volume electronic ticketing software and transaction services company which handled event related client and customer payments, that was renamed Tickets.com and went public through an IPO in 1999. From March 1987 to June 1995, Mr. Cassano served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Hill Group, Inc., a privately-held engineering and consulting organization, and from February 1986 to March 1987, Mr. Cassano served as vice president of investments and acquisitions for Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a public venture development company. From May 1973 to February 1986, Mr. Cassano served as partner and director of strategic management services (Europe) for the strategic management group of Hay Associates. Mr. Cassano received a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jerry Fan. Mr. Fan was appointed as director of the Company on January 12, 2016. Mr. Fan has served as Managing Director and Country Manager for the Greater China region at Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI), a global semiconductor company since November, 2012. Prior to ADI, Mr. Fan worked for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) for 15 years between 1997 and 2012 in a number of senior management roles, including Sales Managing Director for Cisco China, Sale Director for Cisco Australia and Senior Manager for Operations and Strategy for the Cisco Service Provider business based in Hong Kong. Mr. Fan started his career in 1998 working at Fudan University as a faculty member in both teaching and research roles. He graduated from Fudan University with a Computer Science Bachelor degree and an Executive MBA degree from CEIBS (China European International Business School) in 1999.

Steven Fadem.Mr. Fadem was appointed as director of the Company effective as of August 14, 2019. He is an innovative executive and thought leader with substantial experience building media, entertainment, technology, information services, big data and cybersecurity companies with experience in the digital transformation of traditional businesses. Mr. Fadem has successfully launched start-ups; turnarounded and revitalized complex corporate businesses and created long-term-value for professional services organizations. Mr. Fadem was the Chairman of Global Data Sentinel, a cybersecurity firm he co-founded in 2014. In his capacity as Chairman, he has led the company’s strategic development and client acquisition efforts. Previously, Mr. Fadem ran several private equity-backed companies in media, energy, information services and financial services; the business side of a top-five Am Law firm, Kirkland & Ellis; and a major financial services firm, Geller & Co. which, among other things, possesses a major multifamily office servicing the ultra-high net worth community and is the outsourced CFO for Bloomberg L.P. Mr. Fadem received his JD from Emory University School of Law and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania .

Harry Edelson. Mr. Edelson was appointed as director of the Company effective as of September 15, 2019, CFA, CCP, CDP, is the Founder of Edelson Technology Partners, and President since 1980 of Edelson Technology, Inc., a company involved in consulting, fundraising, M&A, and investments. From 1984 until 2005 Mr. Edelson was an advisor and consultant for 10 multinational corporations (AT&T, Viacom, 3M, Ford Motor, Cincinnati Bell, Colgate-Palmolive, Reed Elsevier, Imation, Asea Brown Boveri and UPS). During this time he managed four technology-oriented strategic venture capital funds for the aforementioned 10 companies using corporate rather than pension money. He has served on over 150 boards of directors, 12 as chairman. At some time in the past five years, Harry Edelson served as a director of four private companies, Airwire, PogoTec, eChinaCash, Pathway Genomics, and one public company, China Gerui. Executive positions in industry include Senior Systems Computer Engineer for Unisys, Transmission Engineer for AT&T (1962-1967), CTO for Cities Service (1967-1970) and Director of Marketing for a terminal manufacturer serving the nascent internet industry (1971-1973). His experience in technology led him to a 12 year career as a securities analyst on Wall Street covering telecommunications, computers, and office equipment for three leading investment banking firms in the 1970s and 1980s. Harry obtained a BS in Physics from Brooklyn College in 1962, MBA from New York University Graduate School of Business in 1965, and completed a Graduate Program in Telecommunications Engineering at the Cornell Graduate School of Electrical Engineering in 1966. In 2007, Harry served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for China Opportunity Acquisition Corp., a SPAC that raised $40 million and merged with China Gerui in 2009. Mr. Edelson was a Council member of The Julliard School of Music Dance & Drama, and is the founder and still Chairman of the China Investment Group; and the founder and current member of the Chinese Cultural Foundation. Harry’s qualifications to serve as a director include decades of experience on Wall Street and various venture capital ventures. He has SPAC experience, vast board experience, and participated in numerous M&A transactions.

John Wallace.Mr. Wallace is a seasoned executive with experience across a range of industries. For the majority of his career, John was a senior executive & officer of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange ("PHLX"). John started at the PHLX in 1964 and became a member of the PHLX in 1971. John served as a member of the PHLX Board of Governors from 1984 until August 2008. During his tenure at the PHLX John held several senior positions including Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He traded on all floors of the exchange in the capacity of a specialist/market maker on the options and equity floors, and as a floor broker for equities, options, and currencies. In addition to his service as Chairman of the PHLX Options Committee and member of the PHLX Executive Committee, John served on virtually every PHLX Committee and chaired the following PHLX committees: Admissions, Allocation, Arbitration, Elections, Evaluation and Securities, Finance, Long Range Strategic Planning, Marketing, New Product Development and Nominating. John also served as Chairman of the Board of the Stock Clearing Corporation of Philadelphia, Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Board of Trade, Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Depository Corporation and as a board member of the PHLX's technology subsidiary, and Advanced Tech Source Company. Over the course of his career in the securities industry, John has also been a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange, a seat owner of the New York Mercantile Exchange as well as registered with the National Futures Association as a floor broker.


Chao Yang. Mr. Yang was appointed as a director of the Company on August 7, 2018. Mr. Yang has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Fosun International Limited since December 2014. Mr. Yang was the chairman of China Life Insurance Company Limited (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock code: 02628) from July 2005 to June 2011, the president and secretary of party committee of China Life Insurance (Group) Company from May 2005 to May 2011 and an independent non-executive director of SRE Group Limited (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock code: 01207) from November 2013 to December 2015. As at 31 December 2017, Mr. Yang has been a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and its Social and Legislative Committee. Mr. Yang, a Senior Economist, has more than 40 years of experience in the insurance and banking industries, and was awarded special allowance by the State Council. Mr. Yang graduated from Shanghai International Studies University and Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, majoring in English and business administration respectively, and received a master’s degree in business administration.

Mr. Yang has significant senior management experience, including service as chairman, president and director. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Yang’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

There are no agreements or understandings between any of our executive officers or directors and any other persons to resign at the request of another such other person and to act on behalf of or at the direction of any such other person.

Directors are elected for one-year term and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Corporate Governance

Our current corporate governance practices and policies are designed to promote shareholder value and we are committed to the highest standards of corporate ethics and diligent compliance with financial accounting and reporting rules. Our Board provides independent leadership in the exercise of its responsibilities. Our management oversees a system of internal controls and compliance with corporate policies and applicable laws and regulations, and our employees operate in a climate of responsibility, candor and integrity.

Corporate Governance Guidelines

We and our Board are committed to high standards of corporate governance as an important component in building and maintaining shareholder value. To this end, we regularly review our corporate governance policies and practices to ensure that they are consistent with the high standards of other companies. We also closely monitor guidance issued or proposed by the SEC and the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as the emerging best practices of other companies. The current corporate governance guidelines are available on the Company’s website www.ideanomics.com. Printed copies of our corporate governance guidelines may be obtained, without charge, by contacting our Corporate Secretary at No.4 Drive-in Movie Theater Park, No. 21 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100125, China.


The Board and Committees of the Board

The Company is governed by the Board that currently consists of nine members: Bruno Wu, Shane McMahon, Alfred Poor, James Cassano, Jerry Fan, Chao Yang, John Wallace, Steven Fadem, and Harry Edelson. The Board has established three Committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. Each of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee are comprised entirely of independent directors. From time to time, the Board may establish other committees. The Board has adopted a written charter for each of the Committees which are available on the Company’s website www.ideanomics.com. Printed copies of these charters may be obtained, without charge, by contacting our Corporate Secretary at No.4 Drive-in Movie Theater Park, No. 21 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100125, China.

Governance Structure

Our Board of Directors is responsible for corporate governance in compliance with reporting laws and for representing the interests of our shareholders. As of the date of this Annual report, the Board was composed of nine members, five of whom are considered independent, non-executive directors. Details on Board membership, oversight and activity are reported below.

We encourage our shareholders to learn more about our Company’s governance practices at our website, www.ideanomics.com.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

The Board oversees that the assets of the Company are properly safeguarded, that the appropriate financial and other controls are maintained, and that the Company’s business is conducted wisely and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and proper governance. Included in these responsibilities is the Board of Directors’ oversight of the various risks facing the Company. In this regard, the Board seeks to understand and oversee critical business risks. The Board does not view risk in isolation. Risks are considered in virtually every business decision and as part of the Company’s business strategy. The Board recognizes that it is neither possible nor prudent to eliminate all risk. Indeed, purposeful and appropriate risk-taking is essential for the Company to be competitive on a global basis and to achieve its objectives.

While the Board oversees risk management, Company management is charged with managing risk. The Company has robust internal processes and a strong internal control environment to identify and manage risks and to communicate with the Board. The Board and the Audit Committee monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the internal controls and the risk management program at least annually. Management communicates routinely with the Board, Board committees and individual directors on the significant risks identified and how they are being managed. Directors are free to, and indeed often do, communicate directly with senior management.

The Board implements its risk oversight function both as a whole and through Committees. Much of the work is delegated to various Committees, which meet regularly and report back to the full Board. All Committees play significant roles in carrying out the risk oversight function. In particular:

·F-38The Audit Committee oversees risks related to the Company’s financial statements, the financial reporting process, accounting and legal matters. The Audit Committee members meet separately with representatives of the independent auditing firm.

·The Compensation Committee evaluates the risks and rewards associated with the Company’s compensation philosophy and programs. The Compensation Committee reviews and approves compensation programs with features that mitigate risk without diminishing the incentive nature of the compensation. Management discusses with the Compensation Committee the procedures that have been put in place to identify and mitigate potential risks in compensation.


Independent Directors

In considering and making decisions as to the independence of each of the directors of the Company, the Board considered transactions and relationships between the Company (and its subsidiaries) and each director (and each member of such director’s immediate family and any entity with which the director or family member has an affiliation such that the director or family member may have a material direct or indirect interest in a transaction or relationship with such entity). The Board has determined that James Cassano, Shane McMahon, Jerry Fan, Chao Yang and Kang Zhao are independent as defined in applicable SEC and NASDAQ rules and regulations, and that each constitutes an “Independent Director” as defined in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605.

Audit Committee

Our Audit Committee consists of James Cassano, Jerry Fan and Steven Fadem with Mr. Cassano acting as Chair. The Audit Committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. Mr. Cassano serves as our Audit Committee financial experts as that term is defined by the applicable SEC rules. The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things:

·selecting our independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by our independent auditors;
·reviewing with our independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response;
·reviewing and approving all proposed related-party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
·discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and our independent auditors;
·reviewing major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special audit steps adopted in light of significant internal control deficiencies;
·annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our Audit Committee charter;
·overseeing the work of our independent auditor, including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting;
·reporting regularly to and reviewing with the full Board any issues that arise with respect to the quality or integrity of the Company’s financial statements, the performance and independence of the independent auditors and any other matters that the Audit Committee deems appropriate or is requested to review for the benefit of the Board.

The Audit Committee may engage independent counsel and such other advisors it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities and powers, and, if such counsel or other advisors are engaged, shall determine the compensation or fees payable to such counsel or other advisors. The Audit Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more of its members as the Audit Committee deems appropriate to carry out its responsibilities and exercise its powers.

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee consists of  Steven Fadem and James Cassano with Mr. Fadem acting as Chair. Our Compensation Committee assists the Board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure of our directors and executive officers, including all forms of compensation to be provided to our directors and executive officers. The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things:

·reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our chief executive officer, evaluating the performance of our chief executive officer in light of those goals and objectives, and setting the compensation level of our chief executive officer based on this evaluation;
·reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with regard to the compensation of other executive officers;
·reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to the compensation of our directors; and
·reviewing and making recommendations to the Board regarding all incentive-based compensation plans and equity-based plans.

The Compensation Committee has sole authority to retain and terminate any consulting firm or other outside advisor to assist the committee in the evaluation of director, chief executive officer or senior executive compensation and other compensation-related matters, including sole authority to approve the firms’ fees and other retention terms. The Compensation Committee may also form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members of the Compensation Committee.


Governance and Nominating Committee

Our Governance and Nominating Committee consists of Jerry Fan and  Harry Edelson with Harry Edelson acting as Chair. The Governance and Nominating Committee assists the Board of Directors in identifying individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the Board and its committees. The Governance and Nominating Committee is responsible for, among other things:

·identifying and recommending to the Board nominees for election or re-election to the Board, or for appointment to fill any vacancy;
·selecting directors for appointment to committees of the Board; and
·overseeing annual evaluation of the Board and its committees for the prior fiscal year

The Governance and Nominating Committee has sole authority to retain and terminate any search firm that is to be used by the Company to assist in identifying director candidates, including sole authority to approve the firms’ fees and other retention terms. The Governance and Nominating Committee may also form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members of the Governance and Nominating Committee.

Director Qualifications

Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s business consistent with their fiduciary duty to shareholders. This significant responsibility requires highly-skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes and professional experience. The Board believes that there are general requirements for service on the Company’s Board of Directors that are applicable to all directors and that there are other skills and experience that should be represented on the Board as a whole but not necessarily by each director. The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board consider the qualifications of directors and director candidates individually and in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition and the Company’s current and future needs.

Qualifications for All Directors

In its assessment of each potential director candidate, including those recommended by shareholders, the Governance and Nominating Committee considers the nominee’s judgment, integrity, experience, independence, understanding of the Company’s business or other related industries and such other factors the Governance and Nominating Committee determines are pertinent in light of the current needs of the Board. The Governance and Nominating Committee also takes into account the ability of a director to devote the time and effort necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities to the Company.

The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee require that each director be a recognized person of high integrity with a proven record of success in his or her field. Each director must demonstrate innovative thinking, familiarity with and respect for corporate governance requirements and practices, an appreciation of multiple cultures and a commitment to sustainability and to dealing responsibly with social issues. In addition to the qualifications required of all directors, the Board assesses intangible qualities including the individual’s ability to ask difficult questions and, simultaneously, to work collegially.

The Board does not have a specific diversity policy, but considers diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, age, cultural background and professional experiences in evaluating candidates for Board membership. Diversity is important because a variety of points of view contribute to a more effective decision-making process.

Qualifications, Attributes, Skills and Experience to be represented on the Board as a Whole

The Board has identified particular qualifications, attributes, skills and experience that are important to be represented on the Board as a whole, in light of the Company’s current needs and business priorities. The Company’s services are performed in areas of future growth located outside of the United States. Accordingly, the Board believes that international experience or specific knowledge of key geographic growth areas and diversity of professional experiences should be represented on the Board. In addition, the Company’s business is multifaceted and involves complex financial transactions. Therefore, the Board believes that the Board should include some directors with a high level of financial literacy and some directors who possess relevant business experience as a Chief Executive Officer or President. Our business involves complex technologies in a highly specialized industry. Therefore, the Board believes that extensive knowledge of the Company’s business and industry should be represented on the Board.


Summary of Qualifications of Current Directors

Set forth below is a narrative disclosure that summarizes some of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences of our directors. For more detailed information, please refer to the biographical information for each director set forth above.

Bruno Wu. Dr. Wu is a leading media investor and entrepreneur with experience in helping Chinese media companies achieve business transformation, operational and financial performance improvement and sustainable business growth. In light of our business and structure, Dr. Wu’s extensive executive, industry and management experience led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Shane McMahon. Mr. McMahon has significant marketing and promotion experience and has been instrumental in exploiting pay-per-view programming on a global basis. In light of our business and structure, Mr. McMahon’s extensive executive and industry experience led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Alfred Poor. Mr. Poor is a client-focused and profitability-driven management executive with a track record of success at both rapidly-growing technology companies and large, multi-national, organizations. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Poor’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

James S. Cassano. Mr. Cassano has substantial experience as a senior executive in management consulting, corporate development, mergers and acquisitions and start up enterprises across a numerous different industries. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Cassano’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

John Wallace.Mr. Wallace as a senior executive in the US financial markets. Mr. Wallace was a senior executive & officer of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange ("PHLX") holding variously the positions of Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the exchange. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Wallace’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Steven Fadem.Mr. Fadem is an innovative executive and thought leader with substantial experience building media, entertainment, technology, information services, big data and cybersecurity companies with experience in the digital transformation and turnaround of traditional businesses.In light of our business and structure, Mr. Fadem’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Harry Edelson. Mr. Edelson is the Founder of Edelson Technology Partners, and President since 1980 of Edelson Technology, Inc., a company involved in consulting, fundraising, M&A, and investments.In light of our business and structure, Mr. Edelson’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.


Jerry Fan. Mr. Fan has more than 20 years of experience in top management positions in China and the Asia Pacific region, working for several multinational technology companies. He also has served in senior management positions of several U.S. public companies. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Fan’s extensive industry and business experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Chao Yang. Mr. Yang has significant senior management experience, including service as chairman, president and director. In light of our business and structure, Mr. Yang’s extensive executive experience and his educational background led us to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of our Company.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our directors and officers.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

To the best of our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has, during the past ten years:

·been convicted in a criminal proceeding or been subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offences);
·had any bankruptcy petition filed by or against the business or property of the person, or of any partnership, corporation or business association of which he was a general partner or executive officer, either at the time of the bankruptcy filing or within two years prior to that time;
·been subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction or federal or state authority, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting, his involvement in any type of business, securities, futures, commodities, investment, banking, savings and loan, or insurance activities, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such activity;
·been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law, and the judgment has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated;
·been the subject of, or a party to, any federal or state judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated (not including any settlement of a civil proceeding among private litigants), relating to an alleged violation of any federal or state securities or commodities law or regulation, any law or regulation respecting financial institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution, civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease-and-desist order, or removal or prohibition order, or any law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or


·been the subject of, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26))), any registered entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1(a)(29))), or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member.

Except as set forth in our discussion below in Item 13- Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence - Transactions with Related Persons, none of our directors, director nominees or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Section 16(A) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Under U.S. securities laws, directors, certain executive officers and persons holding more than 10% of our common stock must report their initial ownership of the common stock, and any changes in that ownership, to the SEC. The SEC has designated specific due dates for these reports. Based solely on our review of copies of such reports filed with the SEC by and representations of our directors and executive officers, except for the Form 3 Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership to be filed by our directors Alf Poor, and Kang Zhao, and the Form 4 in connection with grants of stock options to be filed by our directors Jim Cassano, Shane McMahon, Jin Shi and Jerry Fan.

Code of Ethics

Our board of directors adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers, employees and advisors, which became effective in January 2015. We have posted a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics on our website at www.ideanomics.com.


ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table (2019 and 2018)

The following table sets forth information concerning all cash and non-cash compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to the named persons (our “named executive officers”) for services rendered in all capacities during the noted periods.

Name and Principal Position Year  Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)
  Stock
awards
(3)
($)
  Option awards
(#)
 Nonequity
incentive plan
compensation
($)
  Nonqualified
deferred
compensation
earnings
($)
  All other
compensation
($)
 Total
($)
 
Bruno Wu (FormerChief Executive Officer)(1)  2018   312,500   125,000  415,332  - -  -  - 852,832 
   2019   250,000        2,500,000 -  -  - 250,000 
Alf Poor(Chief Executive Officer )  2018   133,333   -  -  - -  -  - 133,333 
   2019   300,000   50,000  -  2,000,000 -  -  - 350,000 
Conor McCarthy(Chief Financial Officer)(2)  2018   -     -  - -  -  - - 
   2019   116,667   50,000     1,500,000 -  -  - 166,667 
Carla Oiong Zhou (Chief Revenue Officer)  2018    250,000   -  -    -  -  - 250,000 
   2019   250,000   -  -  1,000,000 -  -  - 250,000 

(1)On November 12, 2018 , Bruno Wu resigned from his position as a Chief Executive Officer of the Company. On February 22, 2019 Bruno Wu rejoined the Company as Executive Chairman

(2) Mr.McCarthy joined The Company on September 9, 2019, the salary represents a prorated amount for the year.

(3)Reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of option or restricted stock units determined in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.

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Segment disclosuresEmployment Agreements

Alfred Poor

Employment Agreement

Effective on August 1st, 2018, we entered into employment agreement with Mr. Poor for a term of 1 year pursuant to which Mr. Poor will receive an annual base salary of $200,000 and will be entitled to participate in all employment benefit plan and policies of the Company generally available. Effective Feb 15, 2019, the Board appointed Mr. Poor as the CEO. Mr. Poor will receive an annual base salary of $300,000. If the Company achieves two consecutive quarters in profits from operations, the base salary shall immediately be raised to $400,000.  Mr. Poor will be entitled to stock options up to 2,000,000 shares.


We have not provided retirement benefits (other than a state pension scheme in which all of our employees in China participate) or change of control benefits to our named executive officers.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth the equity awards of our named executive officers outstanding at December 31, 2019.

  Option awards    
Name Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#) exercisable
  Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#) unexercisable
  Equity
incentive
plan awards: Number
of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options
(#)
  Option
exercise
price
($)
  Option
expiration
date
 Number of
shares or
units of
stock that
have not
vested
(#)
  Market value
of shares of
units of stock
that have not
vested
($)
 
Bruno Wu  1,041,666   1,458,334   -   1.98  February 20, 2029  1,041,666  $739,582 
                           
Alf Poor  833,333   1,166,667   -   1.98  February 20, 2029  833,333   591,666 
Conor McCarthy (1)     1,500,000   -   1.97  September 20, 2029  1,500,000   1,065,000 
Carla Qiong Zhou  416,666   583,334   -   1.98  February 20, 2029  416,666   295,832 


Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the compensation paid to our directors for services rendered to us during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

Name Fees
earned or
paid in
cash
($)
  Stock
awards(1)
($)
  Option
awards(2)
(#)
  Non-equity
incentive plan
compensation
($)
  Nonqualified
deferred
compensation
earnings
($)
  All other
compensation
($)
  Total
($)
 
Bruno Wu  250,000   -   2,500,000   -   -   -   250,000 
Shane McMahon  36,000   -   -   -   -   -   36,000 
Alf Poor  300,000   -   2,000,000   -   -   50,000   350,000 
James Cassano  81,504   80,501   -   -   -    50,000   212,005 
Jerry Fan  36,000   -   -   -   -   -   36,000 
John Wallace  -   -   250,000   -   -   -    
Steven Fadem  19,894   -   500,000   -   -   -   19,894  
Harry Edelson  13,473   -   250,000   -   -   -   13,473  
Jin Shi  49,500   80,501   -   -   -   -   130,001 
Kang Zhao  -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Chao Yang  -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
Richard Frankel (3)  18,000   -   -   -   -   -   18,000 
Brett McGonegal (4)  -   -   -   -   -   -   - 

(1)Reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of restricted stock determined in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.

(2)

Reflects the number of stock options grant in 2019.

(3)

Mr.Frankel resigned from the Board on July 2, 2019.

(4)Mr. McGonegal resigned from the Board on February 20, 2019.


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

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 15, 2020 (i) by each person who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock; (ii) by each of our executive officers and directors as a group; and (iii) by all of our executive officers and directors as a group. Unless otherwise specified, the address of each of the persons set forth below is in care of Ideanomics, Inc., at No.4 Drive-in Movie Theater Park, No. 21 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100125, China.


Name and
Address of
   Common Stock(2)  Series A Preferred Stock (3)  Combined Common Stock and
 Series A(4)
 
Beneficial
Owner
 Office, If
Any
 Shares  % of
Class
  Shares  % of
Class
  Votes  Percentage 
Directors and Officers                          
Bruno Wu Chairman  24,394,044   15.2%  7,000,000       33,682,374   21.0%
Shane McMahon Vice Chairman  6,090,589(6)  3.8%  0   *   6,101,767   3.8%
James Cassano Director  258,993(7)  *   0   *   296,990   *%
John Wallace Director  340,000(14)  *           340,000     
Jerry Fan Director  159,569(9)  *   0   *   159,569   * 
Kang Zhao Director (Former)  86,923(11)  *   0   *   86,923   * 
Chao Yang Director  26,923(12)  *   0   *   26,923   * 
Federico Tovar CFO (Former)  60,000(10)  *   0   *   60,000   * 
                           
All officers and directors as a group (8 persons named above)    31,417,041   19.6%          40,754,546   25.4%
5% Securities Holders                          

*Less than 1%.


(1)Beneficial Ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. Each of the beneficial owners listed above has direct ownership of and sole voting power and investment power with respect to our securities. For each beneficial owner above, any options exercisable within 60 days have been included in the denominator.

(2)After this offering a total of 160,301,387 shares of our Common Stock are considered to be outstanding pursuant to SEC Rule 13d-3(d)(1) as of February 5, 2020.

(3)Based on 7,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of March 25, 2019, with the holders thereof being entitled to cast ten (10) votes for every share of Common Stock that is issuable upon conversion of a share of Series A Preferred Stock (each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into 0.1333333 shares of Common Stock), or a total of 9,333,330 votes.

(4)Represents total voting power with respect to all shares of our Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock.

(5)Includes (i) 7,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, (ii) 22,584,038 shares of Common Stock, (iii) 174,536 shares of Common Stock are beneficially owned directly by Bruno Wu and 189,091 shares of Common Stock are beneficially owned by Lan Yang, the spouse of Bruno Wu. 7,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock are beneficially owned directly by Wecast Media Investment Management Limited, a Hong Kong Company (“WMIML”) a wholly–owned subsidiary of Shanghai Sun Seven Stars Cultural Development Limited, a PRC company (“SSSSCD”) a wholly– owned subsidiary of Tianjin Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited, a PRC company (“TSSSCD”) a wholly–owned subsidiary of Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited, a PRC company (“SSS”) a directly controlled subsidiary of Tianjin Sun Seven Stars Partnership Management Co., Ltd., a PRC company (“TSSS”). Lan Yang, who is the direct controlling shareholder and the Chairperson of TSSS, is the spouse of the Company’s director Bruno Wu, who serves as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and as a director of SSS. 20,584,038 shares of Common Stock are beneficially owned directly by Sun Seven Stars Investment Group Limited, a British Virgin Islands Company (“SSSMG”) a wholly-owned entity of Lan Yang. Dr. Wu disclaims beneficial ownership of 1,421,052 shares of common stock owned by Tiger Sports- BDCG, however, Dr. Wu has the right to vote such shares on behalf of Tiger Sports- BDCG.

(6)Includes (i) 3,081,462 shares of Common Stock, (ii) 533,333 shares of Common Stock underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $3.00 per share, (iii) 40,000 shares of Common Stock underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $4.50 per share; (iv) 166,666 shares of Common Stock underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $2.00 per share, (v) 75,800 shares of Common Stock underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $5.57 per share, and (vi) 91,411 vested restricted shares units. In addition, Mr. McMahon’s shares of Common Stock includes 2,101,917 shares of Common Stock, issuable within 60 days, upon conversion of a promissory note which is convertible into Common Stock at a conversion price of $1.50, until December 31, 2019.

(7)Includes (i) 133,963 shares of Common Stock, (ii)13,333 shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $2.00 per share, (iii) 8,974 shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $2.91 per share, (iv)75,800 shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $5.57 and (v) 26,923 vested restricted shares units.

(8)Includes (i) 123,963 shares of Common Stock, (ii)75,800 shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $5.57 and (iii) 26,923 vested restricted shares units.

(9)Includes (i) 83,769 shares of Common Stock, (ii)75,800 shares underlying options exercisable within 60 days at $5.57 and (iii) vested 26,923 restricted shares units.

(10)Includes (i) 60,000 shares of Common Stock.

(11)Includes (i) 60,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) vested 26,923 restricted shares units.

(12)Includes (i) vested 26,923 restricted shares units.

(13)Includes (i) 70,000 shares of Common Stock.

(14)Includes (i) 340,000 shares of Common Stock


Changes in Control

There are no arrangements known to us, including any pledge by any person of our securities, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of the Company.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table includes the information as of December 31, 2019 for each category of our equity compensation plan:

        Number of securities remaining 
  Number of securities to  Weighted-average  available for future issuance 
  be issued upon exercise  exercise price of  under equity compensation 
  of outstanding options  outstanding options  plans (excluding securities 
Plan category and rights (a)  and rights (b)  reflected in column (a)) (c) 
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders(1)  1,706,431  $3.28   27,635,499 
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders  -   -   - 
Total  1,706,431  $3.28   27,635,499 

(1)On August 3, 2018, our Board of Directors approved and on August 28, 2018 our shareholders approved the Ideanomics Amended and Restated 2010 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to increase the number of shares authorized for issuance under the Plan to 31,500,000 pursuant to which incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance units and performance shares may be granted to employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries. 


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

Review and Approval of Related Party Transactions

We have adopted a written policy with respect to the review, approval and ratification of related person transactions. The Audit Committee has primary responsibility for reviewing all related party transactions involving the Company’s directors, officers and directors’ and officers’ immediate family members. The Board may determine to permit or prohibit the Related Party Transaction. For any ongoing relationships, the Board shall annually review and assess the relationships with the Related Party and whether the Related Party Transaction should continue.

Under the policy, a “related party transaction” means any transaction directly or indirectly involving any Related Party that would need to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. Under Item 404, the Company is required to disclose any transaction occurring since the beginning of the Company’s last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, in which the Company was or is a participant and the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and in which any related party had or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related Party Transaction” also includes any material amendment or modification to an existing Related Party Transaction. For the purposes of this policy, a “Related Party” means (A) a director, including any director nominee, (B) an executive officer; (C) a person known by the Company to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the Company’s common stock; or (D) a person known by the Company to be an immediate family member of any of the foregoing. “Immediate family member” means a child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of such director, executive officer, nominee for director, or beneficial owner, and any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing the household of such director, executive officer, nominee for director, or beneficial owner.

The following is a summary of transactions since the beginning of the 2018 fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved exceeded or exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed years, and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than compensation described under Item 11—“Executive Compensation”). We believe the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with the transactions described below were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, in arm’s-length transactions.

Related Party Transactions with Bruno Wu, Chairman

On November 25, 2019, the Company entered into a convertible promissory note agreement with SSSIG, an affiliate of Dr. Wu, in the aggregate principal amount of $2.5 million. The convertible promissory note bears interest at a rate of 4.0%, matures on November 25, 2021, and is convertible into the shares of the Company’s common stock at a performance basis consistentconversion price of $1.25 per share anytime at the option of SSSIG. As of December 31, 2019, the Company received $0.25 million from SSSIG.

On February 8, 2019, the Company entered into a convertible promissory note agreement with internal management reporting.SSSIG, an affiliate of Dr. Wu, in the aggregate principal amount of $2.5 million. The convertible promissory note bears interest at a rate of 4.0%, was scheduled to mature on February 8, 2020, and is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $1.83 per share anytime at the option of SSSIG. The Company doesis in the process of negotiating an extended due date, and believes it has the ability to do so. As of December 31, 2019, the Company received $1.3 million from SSSIG. The Company has not allocate expenses below segment gross profit since these segmentsreceived the remaining $1.2 million as of the date of this report. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded interest expense of $48,357 related to the Note. The Company has not paid the interest yet.


In connection with our acquisition with Grapevine on September 4, 2018, Fomalhaut Limited (“Fomalhaut”), a British Virgin Islands company and an affiliate of Bruno Wu (“Dr. Wu”), the Chairman of the Company, is the non-controlling equity holder of 34.35% in Grapevine (the “Fomalhaut Interest”). Fomalhaut entered into an option agreement, effective as of August 31, 2018 (the “Option Agreement”), with the Company pursuant to which the Company provided Fomalhaut with the option to sell the Fomalhaut Interest to the Company. In May 2019, the Company entered into two amendments to the Option Agreement. The aggregate exercise price for the Option was amended to the greater of: (1) fair market value of the Fomalhaut Interest in Grapevine as of the close of business on the date preceding the date upon which the option is exercised; and (2) $1.84 per share the same executive team, office space, occupancy expenses, information technology infrastructures, human resources and finance department. The following tables summarizedof the Company’s revenue and cost generated from different revenue streams.

  2017  2016 
NET SALES TO EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS        
-Legacy YOD $794,273  $4,543,616 
-Wecast Service  143,544,532   30,641,892 
Net sales  144,338,805   35,185,508 
GROSS PROFIT        
-Legacy YOD  31,659   109,356 
-Wecast Service  7,118,793   (475,046)
Gross profit  7,150,452   (365,690)

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
TOTAL ASSETS        
-Legacy YOD $27,141,163  $36,975,911 
-Wecast Service  29,679,735   14,448,702 
-Unallocated assets  11,270,378   4,321,677 
-Intersegment elimination  (5,051,660)  - 
Total  63,039,616   55,746,290 

22. Subsequent Event

On January 12 and February 28, 2018,common stock. It was also agreed that the Company enters into another two stock purchase agreements with certain existing DBOT shareholders to acquire their owned sharesfull amount of the exercise price shall be paid in the form of common stock of DBOT in an aggregate amount of 1,000,000 shares. To acquire those shares,the Company. In June 2019, the Company agreed to issueissued 0.6 million shares in the aggregate amount of 640,000 SSC common stock. Sameexchange for a 34.3% ownership in Grapevine as the closing condition set forth in the first transaction in December 2017 which was disclosed in Note 9, the closing of this transaction shall occur within 30 daysa result of the executionexercise of this agreement and obtain necessary approval such as FINRA, and therefore the Company did not issue the shares and recorded it as investment yet as of this reporting date.Option.

 

On March 17,September 7, 2018, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase FinTalk Assets with Sun Seven Star International Limited, a subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”)Hong Kong company and an affiliate of Dr. Wu. FinTalk Assets are the rights, titles and interest in a secure mobile financial information, social, and messaging platform that has been designed for streamlining financial-based communication for professional and retail users. The purchase price for Fintalk Assets is $7.0 million payable with GT Dollar Ptd. Ltd. (“GTD”) for a private placement of a total amount of $40.0 million. Pursuant to the terms of the Subscription Agreement, the Company (i) will issue$1.0 million in cash and sell to GTD, an aggregate of 13,773,010 shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $6.0 million. The Company paid $1.0 million in October 2018 and recorded in prepaid expense because the transaction had not closed. The purchase price was later amended to $6.4 million, payable with $1.0 million in cash and shares of the Company, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for $1.82 per share, or a total purchase price of $25,066,878.20, and (ii) issue two convertible promissory notes (each a “Note” and together, the “Notes”)Company’s common stock with a statedvalue of $5.4 million.  The Company issued 2.9 million common shares in June 2019 and completed the transaction. 

In May 2019, the Company determined to sell the Red Rock business and entered into an agreement with Redrock Capital Group Limited, an affiliate of Dr. Wu, to sell its entire interest in Red Rock for consideration of $0.7 million. The Company decided to sell Red Rock primarily because it has incurred operating losses and its business is no longer needed based on the Company’s business plan. The transaction was completed in July 2019 and the Company recorded a disposal gain of $0.6 million recorded in “Loss on disposal of subsidiaries, net” in the consolidated statements of operations.

Other Related Party Transactions

On May 10, 2012, at the Company’s request, our then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and current Vice Chairman, Shane McMahon, made a loan to the Company in the amount of $3,000,000. In consideration for the loan, the Company issued a convertible note to Mr. McMahon in the aggregate principal amount of $10 million$3,000,000 at an annual interest rate of 4% (the “McMahon Note”). Effective on January 31, 2014, the Company and $4,933,121.80, respectively. GTD shall pay $30 million ofMr. McMahon entered into an amendment to the purchase priceMcMahon Note pursuant to which the McMahon Note will be, at Mr. McMahon’s option, payable on demand or prior to March 31, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the 13,773,010convertible on demand into shares of CommonSeries E Preferred Stock at a conversion price of $1.75, until December 31, 2015. On December 30, 2014, the Company and Mr. McMahon entered into an amendment extending the $4,933,121.80 Note, and the remaining $10 million on or prior to April 30, 2018, in connection with the issuance of the $10 million Note. The Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants and a 9 month lock-up period for GTD from thematurity date of the Subscription Agreement. The Notes bear interest at the rate of 0.56% per annum and maturesMcMahon Note to December 31, 2019. In2016. On December 31, 2016, the event of default,Company and Mr. McMahon entered into an amendment pursuant to which the NotesMcMahon Note will become immediately due and payable. Until receipt of necessary shareholder approvals for the transactions contemplated by these agreements, the Notes note may not be, converted, to the extent that such conversion would result in GTD and its affiliates beneficially owning more than 19.9%at Mr. McMahon’s option, payable on demand or convertible on demand into shares of the Company’s outstanding sharesSeries E Preferred Stock, provided that the McMahon Note will no longer be convertible into Series E Preferred Stock upon the conversion of the Series E Preferred stock owned by C Media Limited into the Company’s Common Stock. Once the necessary shareholder approval is received, the unpaid principal and interest on the NotesStock (pursuant to which all Series E Preferred Stock will be automatically convertconverted) but then convertible only into shares of Common Stock at a conversion rateprice of $1.82.$1.50, until December 31, 2018. C Media Limited converted all Series E Preferred Stock owned by it to Common Stock on March 8, 2017, and as a result, the McMahon Note is currently convertible solely into the Company’s Common Stock. the Company and Mr. McMahon entered into an amendment extending the maturity date of the McMahon Note to December 31, 2019 On November 9, 2017, then further extending the maturity date to December 31, 2020 on May 7, 2019.

76

Except as set forth in our discussion above, none of our directors or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Promoters and Certain Control Persons

We did not have any promoters at any time during the past five fiscal years.

ITEM 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

Independent Auditor’s Fees

The following is a summary of the fees billed to the Company by its principal accountants for professional services rendered for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2019  2018 
Audit Fees:        
BF Borgers (BFB) $856,090  $500,000 
TOTAL $856,090  $500,000 

* “Audit Fees” consisted of the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements and the reviews of the financial statements included in our Forms 10-Q and for any other services that were normally provided in connection with our statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

On February 16, 2018, the Audit Committee approved the change in the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm from Grant Thornton to BFB.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, all audit and non-audit services performed by our auditors must be approved in advance by our Audit Committee to assure that such services do not impair the auditors’ independence from us. In accordance with its policies and procedures, our Audit Committee pre-approved the audit services performed by BFB for our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.


PART IV

ITEM 15.EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

Financial Statements and Schedules

The financial statements are set forth under Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Financial statement schedules have been omitted since they are either not required, not applicable, or the information is otherwise included.

Exhibit List

See the Exhibit Index immediately preceding the signature page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference here.

ITEM 16.FORM 10-K SUMMARY

None.


Exhibit Index

Exhibit

No.

Description
3.1Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended to date [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2012].
3.2Second Amended and Restated Bylaws, adopted on January 31, 2014 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on February 6, 2014].
3.3Amendment No. 1 to the Second Amended and Restated Bylaws, adopted on March 26, 2015 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2015].
3.4Amendment No. 2 to the Second Amended and Restated Bylaws, adopted on November 20, 2015. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 24, 2015]
3.5Certificate of Designation of Series A Preferred Stock [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 23, 2010].
3.6Certificate of Designation of Series C Preferred Stock [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 31, 2012].
3.7Certificate of Designation of Series D 4% Convertible Preferred Stock [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on July 11, 2013].
3.8Certificate of Designation of Series E Convertible Preferred Stock [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on February 6, 2014].
4.2Form of Warrant issued on July 30, 2010 to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed August 23, 2010].
4.4Form of Warrant issued pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated August 30, 2012 [incorporated by reference to exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 31, 2012].
4.5†YOU On Demand Holdings, Inc. 2010 Equity Incentive Plan [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 001-35561) filed on June 16, 2015]
4.6†Forms of Stock Option Agreement [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 001-35561) filed on June 16, 2015]
4.7†Form of Restricted Stock Grant Agreement [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 001-35561) filed on June 16, 2015]
4.8Warrant issued on December 21, 2015 to Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.8 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.1Management Services Agreement, dated March 9, 2010, by and between Sinotop Beijing and Sinotop Hong Kong [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2014].
10.2†Employment Agreement, dated January 31, 2014 between the Company and Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on February 6, 2014].

10.3Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated August 30, 2012, by and among the Company, the Investors and Chardan Capital Management [incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 31, 2012].


10.4Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated August 30, 2012, by and between the Company and the Investors [incorporated by reference to exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 31, 2012].
10.5Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 15, 2012].
10.6Amendment No. 1 to Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 21, 2012].
10.7Amendment No. 2 to Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on October 23, 2012].
10.8Amendment No. 3 to Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 15, 2013].
10.9Amendment No. 4 to Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on February 6, 2014].
10.10Amendment No. 5 to Convertible Promissory Note in $3,000,000 principal amount issued to Shane McMahon [incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on January 2, 2015].
10.11Amendment No. 6 to the Convertible Promissory Note, dated December 31, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on January 6, 2017].
10.12Amendment No. 7 to the Convertible Promissory Note, dated November 9, 2017 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 13, 2017].
10.13Waiver, dated November 4, 2013, between Shane McMahon and the Company [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 8, 2013].
10.14Form of Series E Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 31, 2014, between the Company and certain investors [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on February 6, 2014].
10.15Voting Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2015, by and between the Company and certain stockholders [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 24, 2015].
10.16Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2015, between the Company and Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.17Content License Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2015, by and between the Company and Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].


10.18Amended and Restated Share Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 21, 2015, by and between the Company and Tianjin Enternet Network Technology Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.27 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.19Convertible Promissory Note issued to Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited, dated December 21, 2015 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.20†Employment Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2016 by and between the Company and Mei Chen [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016]
10.21†Employment Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2016 by and between the Company and Bing Yang [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016] 
10.22Termination Agreement among Sinotop Beijing, YOD WFOE and Zhang Yan, dated January 22, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.23Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Bing Wu and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.34 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.24Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Bing Wu and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.25Power of Attorney agreements among YOD WFOE, Sinotop Beijing, Bing Wu and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.36 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.26Technical Services Agreement among YOD WFOE and Sinotop Beijing, dated as of January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.37 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.27Spousal Consents, dated January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.38 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.28Letter of Indemnification among YOD WFOE, Bing Wu and Yun Zhu, dated as of January 25, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.39 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2016].
10.29Equity Pledge Agreement among YOD WFOE, Lan Yang and Yun Zhu, dated April 5, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 16, 2016].
10.30Call Option Agreement among YOD WFOE, Tianjin Sevenstarflix Network Technology Limited, Lan Yang and Yun Zhu, dated April 5, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 16, 2016].
10.31Amendment No. 1 to Convertible Promissory Note issued to Beijing Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Limited, dated May 12, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 16, 2016].
10.32Joint Venture Agreement by and between YOU on Demand (Asia) Limited, and Megtron Hongkong Investment Group Co., Limited, dated May 30, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 15, 2016].


10.33Common Stock Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and Seven Stars Works Co., Ltd., dated July 6, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 15, 2016].
10.34Common Stock Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and Harvest Alternative Investment Opportunities SPC, dated August 11, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 15, 2016].
10.35Common Stock Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and Sun Seven Stars Hong Kong Cultural Development Limited, dated November 11, 2016 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.53 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2017].
10.36Securities Purchase Agreement by and between the Company and BT Capital Global Limited, dated January 30, 2017 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.54 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2017].
10.37Convertible Promissory Note issued BT Capital Global Limited, dated January 30, 2017 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2017].
10.38Securities Purchase Agreement by and between the Company, BT Capital Global Limited and Sun Seven Stars Media Group Limited, dated January 31, 2017 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2017].
10.39English translation of Equity Agreement, dated March 31, 2017, by and between Shanghai Blue World Investment Management Consulting Limited and Shanghai Pulse Consulting Company Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on May 15, 2017].
10.40Form of Subscription Agreement, dated May 19, 2017, by and between Company and its certain investors, including officers, directors and other affiliates of the Company [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2017].
10.41Securities Purchase Agreement, dated June 9, 2017, by and between the Company and Redrock Capital Group Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2017].
10.42Securities Purchase Agreement, dated June 30, 2017, by and between the Company and BT Capital Global Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2017].
10.43Form of Stockholder Proxy and Lock-Up Agreement, by and between Ideanomic, Inc., Bruno Wu and certain stockholders [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 13, 2017].
10.44License Agreement, dated October 17, 2017, by and between Wecast Services Group Limited and Guangxi Dragon Coin Network Technology Co., Ltd [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 13, 2017].
10.45Securities Purchase Agreement, dated October 23, 2017, by and between Ideanomic, Inc., and Hong Kong Guo Yuan Capital Holdings Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 13, 2017].
10.46Amendment to Securities Purchase Agreement dated of June 30, 2017, by and between the Company and BT Capital Global Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.45 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.47Securities Purchase Agreement, dated December 7, 2017, by and between Ideanomic, Inc., and Tiger Sports Media Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.46 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].


10.48Securities Purchase Agreement, dated December 7, 2017, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Tianjin Sun Seven Stars Culture Development Co. Ltd., Beijing Nanbei Huijin Investment Co., Ltd. And Shanghai Guangming Investment Management Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.47 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.49Stock Purchase Agreement, dated December 18, 2017, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Certain existing DBOT shareholders, and Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (“DBOT”) [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.48 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018]
10.50First Addendum to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated December 18, 2017, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Certain existing DBOT shareholders, and Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.49 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.51Second Addendum to Stock Purchase Agreement, dated December 18, 2017, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Certain existing DBOT shareholders, and Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.50 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.52Stock Purchase Agreement, dated January 12, 2018, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Certain existing DBOT shareholders, and Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.51 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.53Amendment No. 1 to Convertible Promissory Note issued BT Capital Global Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.52 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.54Stock Purchase Agreement, dated February 28, 2018, by and among Ideanomic, Inc., Certain existing DBOT shareholders, and Delaware Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.53 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.55†Employment Agreement, dated March 14, 2017 between the Company and Mr. Simon Wang[incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.54 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.56†Employment Agreement, dated November 1, 2017 between the Company and Mr. Robert Benya [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.57Subscription Agreement, dated March 17, 2018, by and between Ideanomic, Inc., and GT Dollar Pte. Ltd. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.58Form of Convertible Promissory Note issued to GT Dollar Pte, Ltd. In the amount of U.S. $10 million [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.57 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.59Form of Convertible Promissory Note issued to GT Dollar Pte, Ltd. In the amount of U.S. $4,933,121.80 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 30, 2018].
10.60Employment Agreement, dated as of June 1, 2018, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Mr. Federico Tovar [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on June 7, 2018]
10.61Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated July 11, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and the State of Connecticut [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.62Assistance Agreement, dated July 11, 2018, y and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and the State of Connecticut [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].

10.63Share Purchase & Option Agreement, dated July 24, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and Star Thrive Group Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.64Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated July 18, 2018, by and among Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., Grapevine Logic, Inc., GLI Acquisition Corp., and Mr. Grant Deken, as the representative of the holders of capital stock of Grapevine Logic, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.65Stock Option Agreement, effective August 31,2018, by and among Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and Formalhut Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].


10.66Employment Agreement, dated September 24, 2018, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Mr. Brett McGonegal [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.67Amended and Restated Convertible Note Purchase Agreement, dated June 28, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and Advantech Capital Investment II Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.68Convertible Bond Agreement, dated June 28, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and Advantech Capital Investment II Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.69Amended and Restated 2010 Equity Incentive Plan, dated August 28, 2018 [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2018].
10.70Amended and Restated Subscription Agreement, dated June 21, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and GT Dollar PTE Ltd. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 20, 2018].
10.71Registration Rights Agreement, dated June 28, 2018, by and between Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. and Advantech Capital Investment II Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 20, 2018].
10.72Supplementary Financial Advisory Agreement, dated December 24, 2018, by and among Ideanomics, Inc., Shenzhen National Transport Service Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Blue Investment Management Consulting Co. Ltd [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.72 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on April 1, 2019]
10.73Financial Advisory Service Agreement, dated October 18, 2018, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Zhonjinhuifu Resources Co., Ltd. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.73 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-35561) filed on April 1, 2019]
10.74Trade Finance Services Agreement, dated January 9, 2019, by and among the Company, Ningbo Free Trade Zone Cross-Border Supply Chain Management and Settlement Technology Co., Ltd. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]
10.75Asset Purchase Agreement, dated February 19, 2019, by and between the Company and Solid Opinion, Inc [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]
10.76Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 19, 2019, by and between the Company and Solid Opinion, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]
10.77Convertible Note Purchase Agreement, dated February 22, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC[incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.78Convertible Note, dated February 22, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC[incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.79Warrant, dated February 22, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  


10.80Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 22, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas, LLC [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]
10.81Acquisition Agreement, dated March 5, 2019, by and between the Company and Tree Motion Sdn. Bhd. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.82Asset Purchase Agreement, March 14, 2019, by and between the Company and GT Dollar PTE Ltd [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.83Employment Agreement, dated February 15, 2019, by and between the Company and Mr. Alfred Poor [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.84Termination Agreement, dated February 12, 2019 by and between the Company and Brett McGonegal [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.85Termination Agreement, dated February 12, 2019 by and between the Company and Evangelos Kalimtgis [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.86Termination Agreement, dated February 12, 2019 by and between the Company and Uwe Henke [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]  
10.87GT Dollar Service Agreement, dated March 14, 2019 by and between the Company, Thai Setakij Insurance Plc and GT Dollar Ltd [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on March 31, 2019]
10.88Stock Purchase Agreement, dated May 3, 2019, by and between Redrock Capital Group Limited and Ideanomics, Inc. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2019]
10.891st Amendment to Stock Option Agreement, dated May 7, 2019, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Fomalhaut Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2019]
10.902nd Amendment to Stock Option Agreement, dated May 30, 2019, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Fomalhaut Limited [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2019]  
10.911st Amendment to Intellectual Property Purchase and Assignment Agreement, dated June 11, 2019, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Sun Seven Star International Limited. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2019]  
10.92Share Transfer Agreement, dated July 18, 2019, by and between Ideanomics, Inc. and Beijing Financial Holdings Limited.[incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on August 14, 2019]
10.93Convertible Note Purchase Agreement, dated September 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
[incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2019]
10.94Convertible Note, dated September 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2019]  


10.95Warrant, dated September 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2019]  
10.96Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas, LLC [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-35561) filed on November 14, 2019]  
10.97Employment Agreement, dated September 5, 2019, by and between the Company and Mr. Conor McCarthy
10.98*Tree Technology Acquisition Agreement
10.99*Additional Issuance Agreement, dated October 29, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.100*Convertible Note, dated October 29, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.101*Warrant, dated October 29, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC  
10.102*Additional Issuance Agreement, dated November 8, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.103*Convertible Note, dated November 8, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.104*Warrant, dated November 8, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.105*Additional Issuance Agreement, dated November 13, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.106*Convertible Note, dated November 13, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.107*Warrant, dated November 13, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.108* Additional Issuance Agreement, dated November 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.109*Convertible Note, dated November 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.110*Warrant, dated November 27, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC  
10.111*Additional Issuance Agreement, dated December 19, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC  
10.112*Amendment to Transaction Documents, dated October 30, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
10.113*

Securities Purchase Agreement, dated December 19, 2019, with YA II PN, Ltd.

10.114*Convertible Note, dated December 19, 2019, in the amount of $2,000,000 with YA II PN, Ltd.
10.115*

Warrant, dated December 19, 2019, with YA II PN, Ltd. exercisable for 1,666,667 shares of common stock

10.116*

Warrant, dated December 19, 2019, with YA II PN, Ltd. Exercisable for 1,000,000 shares of common stock

10.117*Subsidiary Guarantee, dated September 27, 2019, from certain of the Company’s subsidiaries (the “Sub-Guarantee”) to ID Venturas 7, LLC 
10.118*

Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 19, 2019, with ID YA II PN, Ltd.

10.119*Warrant, dated December 19, 2019, by and between the Company and ID Venturas 7, LLC
21*List of subsidiaries of the registrant
23.1*Consent of BF Borgers CPA PC.
31.1*Certifications of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2*Certifications of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1*Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2*Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS*XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definitions Linkbase Document
101.LAB*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

*Filed herewith.
Indicates management contract or compensatory plan, contract, or agreement.

86

SIGNATURES

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

Date: March 16, 2020

 F-39IDEANOMICS, INC.
By:/s/ Alf Poor
Alf Poor
Chief Executive Officer
By:/s/ Conor McCarthy
Conor McCarthy
Chief Financial Officer