Farmmi, Inc. [FAMI] Filings

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

OR

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023

OR

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report……………

For the transition period from _____to______

Commission file number 001-38397

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Fl 1, Building No. 1, 888 Tianning Street, Liandu District

Lishui, Zhejiang Province

People’s Republic of China 323000

(Address of principal executive offices)

Lingge Wu, Chief Financial Officer

+86-0578-82612876

wlg@farmmi.com

Fl 1, Building No. 1, 888 Tianning Street, Liandu District

Lishui, Zhejiang Province

People’s Republic of China 323000

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

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None 

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None 

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: 6,094,078 Ordinary Shares

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

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. ☐ Yes   ☒ No

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

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

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

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

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

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

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. ☐ Item 17  ☐ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). ☐ Yes   ☒ No

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court. ☐ Yes    ☐ No

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this annual report with respect to the Company’s current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of the Company. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those statements using words such as “believe,” “expect,” “plans,” “strategy,” “prospects,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “project,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “could” or “should,” and words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operations, financial performance, events or conditions. From time to time, oral or written forward-looking statements may also be included in other materials released to the public. These statements are based on management’s assumptions, judgments and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. The Company cautions investors that a number of important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks contained in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Therefore, investors should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ significantly from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the company, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Part I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

Item 3. Key Information

Our Corporate Structure and the Operations of Our PRC Subsidiaries and Consolidated Entities

Farmmi, Inc. (the “Farmmi,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is not a PRC operating company but a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands (“Cayman”). As a holding company, we own equity interests, directly or indirectly, in our operating subsidiaries. The vast majority of the business operations are conducted by our subsidiaries based in mainland China, or PRC, the U.S. and Canada. In addition, we have also operated limited products sales through online and e-commerce channels. PRC laws and regulations restrict and impose conditions on foreign investment in internet based, value-added telecommunication services, mobile application services and certain other businesses. Accordingly, we have operated our online and e-commerce sales in China mainly through our consolidated affiliated entities and rely on contractual arrangements among our PRC subsidiaries, consolidated affiliated entities and their nominee shareholder to control the business operations. Those affiliated entities are consolidated for accounting purposes, but are not entities in which our Cayman holding company, or our investors, own equity. Such structure and the contractual arrangements are designed to enable Farmmi to have power to direct significant activities of those entities and to receive economic benefits from these entities where PRC law prohibits, restricts or imposes conditions on diret foreign investment in such entities.

Our consolidated affiliated entities have been treated as Variable Interest Entities under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 810 Consolidation and we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of our consolidated affiliated entities, or VIEs. Accordingly, we treat our VIEs as our consolidated entities under U.S. GAAP and we consolidate the financial results of our VIEs in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Our subsidiaries, our VIEs and the shareholder of VIEs have entered into a series of contractual agreements. These contractual arrangements enable us to: (a) receive the economic benefits that could potentially be significant to our consolidated affiliated entities in consideration for the services provided by our subsidiaries; (b) exercise effective control over our consolidated affiliated entities; and (c) hold an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in our VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. The contractual arrangements among our subsidiaries, our VIEs and their shareholder generally include shareholder voting rights proxy agreements, exclusive equity purchase option agreements, technologies, management and consulting services agreements, and equity interest pledge agreements. As a result of the contractual arrangements, we have effective control over and are considered the primary beneficiary of these affiliated companies, and we have consolidated the financial results of these companies in our consolidated financial statements. For more details of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company-B. Business Overview;” and “Item 4. Information on the Company-C. Organizational Structure.”

The contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our consolidated affiliated entities and we may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements. Uncertainties in the PRC legal system may limit our ability, as a Cayman holding company, to enforce these contractual arrangements. Our corporate structure is subject to risks associated with our contractual arrangements with our VIEs. Investors may never directly hold equity interests in our VIEs. If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our business do not comply with PRC laws and regulations, or if these regulations or their interpretations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations. See “Item 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors-Risks Relating to Doing Business in China.”

The following diagram illustrates our Company’s organizational structure as of the date of this annual report:

There are significant legal and operational risks associated with conducting a substantial portion of our operations in mainland China, including those changes in the legal, political, and economic policies of the PRC government, the relations between China and the United States, or PRC or U.S. regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and the market price of our ordinary shares. Any such changes could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our shares to investors and could cause the value of our shares to significantly decline or become worthless. Recent statements made and regulatory actions undertaken by the PRC government, including the recent enactment of China’s Data Security Law, as well as our obligations to comply with China’s new Cybersecurity Review Measures (which became effective on February 15, 2022), regulations and guidelines relating to the multi-level protection scheme, Personal Information Protection Law, or PIPL, the Trial Measures for the Administration of Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises and related guidelines (collectively, the “Trial Measures” or “Overseas Listing Rules”), and any other future laws and regulations may require us to incur significant expenses and could materially affect our ability to conduct our business, accept foreign investments or continue to be listed on a U.S. or foreign stock exchange.

Permissions Required from the PRC Authorities for Our Operations

We conduct our business in China through our subsidiaries and VIEs, or PRC entities. We are required to obtain certain permissions from the PRC authorities to operate, issue securities to foreign investors, and transfer certain data. The PRC government has exercised, and may continue to exercise, substantial influence or control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be undermined if our PRC subsidiaries are not able to obtain or maintain approvals to operate in China. The central or local governments could impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that could require additional expenditures, and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. To operate our general business activities currently conducted in mainland China, each of our PRC entities is required to obtain a business license from the local counterpart of the State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR. Each of our PRC entities has obtained a valid business license from the local SAMR, and no application for any such license has been denied. Our PRC entities are also required to obtain certain licenses and permits. Among our PRC entities, Farmmi Food and Farmmi Biotech are required to obtain food business licenses pursuant to the PRC Food Safety Law. Prior to April 2021, Nongyuan Network was required to made, and had made, a record filing with the competent telecommunications authority as a non-operational Internet Content (ICP) Provider and has received the ICP License. As of the date of this report, as advised by our PRC legal counsel, Zhengbiao Law Firm, we and our PRC entities have received all requisite permits, approvals and certificates from the PRC government authorities to conduct our business operations in China. To our knowledge, no permission or approval has been denied or revoked. However, given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by government authorities, we cannot be certain that relevant policies in this regard will not change in the future, which may require us or our subsidiaries or VIEs to obtain additional licenses, permits, filings or approvals for conducting our business in the PRC. If we or our subsidiaries or VIEs do not receive or maintain required permissions or approvals, or inadvertently conclude that such permissions or approvals are not required, we may be subject to governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, penalties, suspension of operations, or be prohibited from engaging in relevant business or conducting securities offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

In connection with our previous issuance of securities to foreign investors, under current PRC laws, regulations and regulatory rules, as of the date of this annual report, we and our PRC subsidiaries, (i) are not required to obtain permissions from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, (ii) are not required to go through cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, and (iii) have not received or were denied such requisite permissions by any PRC authority. However, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers.

On July 10, 2021, the CAC published a revised draft revision to the Cybersecurity Review Measures for public comment, or the Revised Cybersecurity Measures. Under these measures, an operator having more than one million users shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. The cybersecurity review will evaluate the risk of critical information infrastructure, core data, important data, or a large amount of personal information being influenced, controlled or maliciously used by foreign governments after going public overseas. The procurement of network products and services, data processing activities and overseas listing should also be subject to cybersecurity review if they concern or potentially pose risks to national security. According to the effective Cybersecurity Review Measures, online platform/website operators of certain industries may be identified as critical information infrastructure operators by the CAC, once they meet standard as stated in the National Cybersecurity Inspection Operation Guide, and such operators may be subject to cybersecurity review. On December 28, 2021, the CAC, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”), and other government agencies jointly issued the final version of the Revised Measures for Cybersecurity Review, or the Measures, which took effect on February 15, 2022 and replaced the previously issued Revised Cybersecurity Review Measures. Under the Measures, an “online platform operator” in possession of personal data of more than one million users must apply for a cybersecurity review if it intends to list its securities on a foreign stock exchange. The operators of critical information infrastructure and the online platform operators (collectively, the “Operators”) carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, shall conduct a cybersecurity review, and any online platform operator who controls more than one million users’ personal information must go through a cybersecurity review by the cybersecurity review office if it seeks to be listed in a foreign country. Pursuant to the Measures, we believe we are not subject to the cybersecurity review by the CAC, given that (i) we possess personal information of a relatively small number of users in our business operations as of the date of this report, significantly less than one million users; and (ii) data processed in our business does not have a bearing on national security and thus shall not be classified as core or important data by the PRC authorities. We don’t believe that we are an Operator within the meaning of the Measures, nor do we control more than one million users’ personal information, and as such, we should not be required to apply for a cybersecurity review under the Revised Measures. Further, an expert interpretation of the Measures published at the CAC’s website on February 17, 2022 indicated no application review is required for operators that have been listed abroad before the implementation of the Revised Cybersecurity Measures. However, the Measures were just recently released and there is a general lack of guidance and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to their interpretation and implementation. Whether the data processing activities carried out by traditional enterprises (such as food, medicine, manufacturing, and merchandise sales enterprises) are subject to such review and the scope of the review remain to be further clarified by the regulatory authorities in the subsequent implementation process.

The PRC government recently initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China, including adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. The PRC government is increasingly focused on data security. In July 2021, the CAC opened cybersecurity probes into several U.S.-listed technology companies focusing on anti-monopoly regulation, and how companies collect, store, process and transfer data. On November 14, 2021, the CAC published the Draft Regulations on Network Data Security Management for public comments, which among other things, stipulates that a data processor listed overseas must conduct an annual data security review by itself or by engaging a data security service provider and submit the annual data security review report for a given year to the municipal cybersecurity department before January 31 of the following year. If the Draft Regulations on Network Data Security Management are enacted in the current form, we, as an overseas listed company, would be required to carry out an annual data security review and comply with the relevant reporting obligations. As of the date of this report, the draft regulations have been released for public comment only and have not been formally adopted. The final provisions and the timeline for its adoption are subject to changes and uncertainties. We have been closely monitoring the regulatory development in China, particularly regarding the requirements of approvals, annual data security review or other procedures that may be imposed on us. If any approval, review or other procedure is in fact required, we cannot assure our investors that we will be able to obtain such approval or complete such review or other procedure timely or at all. For any approval that we may be able to obtain, it could nevertheless be revoked and the terms of its issuance may impose restrictions on our operations and/or securities offerings. The PRC regulatory requirements with respect to cybersecurity and data security are constantly evolving and can be subject to varying interpretations and significant changes, resulting in uncertainties about the scope of our responsibilities in that regard. Failure to comply with these cybersecurity and data privacy requirements in a timely manner, or at all, may subject us to government enforcement actions and investigations, fines, penalties, suspension or disruption of our operations.

On February 17, 2023, China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) issued the Trial Measures for the Administration of Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises and five supporting guidelines (collectively, the “Trial Measures” or “Overseas Listing Rules”), which took effect on March 31, 2023. Under the Trial Measures, a company established in mainland China seeking securities offering and listing, by both direct or indirect means, in an overseas market is required to undertake filing procedures with the CSRC for its overseas offering and listing activities. The Trial Measures also set forth a list of circumstance under which overseas offering and listing by domestic companies established in mainland China is prohibit, including: (i) where such securities offering and listing is explicitly prohibited by the PRC laws; (ii) where the intended securities offering and listing may endanger national security as reviewed and determined by competent PRC authorities under the State Council in accordance with PRC laws; (iii) where the domestic company established in mainland China, or its controlling shareholders and the actual controller, have committed crimes such as corruption, bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of property or undermining the order of the socialist market economy during the latest three (3) years; (iv) where the domestic company established in mainland China seeking securities offering and listing is suspected of committing crimes or major violations of laws and regulations, and is under investigation according to law, and no conclusion has yet been made thereof; and (v) where there are material ownership disputes over equity held by the controlling shareholder of the company established in mainland China or by other shareholders that are controlled by the controlling shareholder and/or actual controller. In accordance with the Trial Measures, the listing and trading of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq is deemed as an indirect overseas offering and listing by domestic companies established in mainland China, and thus, we are subject to the relevant filing procedures as required. Further, we believe, as of the date of this report, none of the circumstances prohibiting the overseas offering and listing by domestic companies established in mainland China as listed above applies to us, and we can offer and continue to offer our ordinary shares on Nasdaq.

In accordance with the Notice on the Arrangement for the Filing of Overseas Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies issued by the CSRC, we are deemed as an “Existing Issuer” because we had been listed overseas before March 31, 2023. Under such Notice, we are not required to undertake the initial filing procedure immediately. However, we shall carry out filing procedures as required in a timely manner for the subsequent events, including any further follow-up offerings on Nasdaq, dual and/or secondary offering and listing on different overseas markets, and occurrence of material events including change of control, investigations or sanctions imposed by overseas securities regulatory agencies or other relevant competent authorities, change of listing status or transfer of listing segment, and voluntary or mandatory delisting. Among other things, if an overseas listed issuer intends to effect any follow-on offering in an overseas stock market, it should, through its major operating entity incorporated in the PRC, submit filing materials to the CSRC within three working days after the completion of the offering. The required filing materials shall include, but not be limited to, (1) filing report and relevant commitment letter and (2) domestic legal opinions.  We may be subject to additional compliance requirements in the future, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to get the above-mentioned clearance of filing procedures on a timely basis, or at all. If we or our PRC Subsidiaries in the future fail to undertake filing procedures as stipulated in the Trial Measures, or offer and list securities in an overseas market in violation of the Trial Measures, the CSRC may order rectification, issue warnings to us and/or our PRC Subsidiaries, and impose a fine of between RMB 1,000,000 and RMB 10,000,000. The CSRC may also inform its regulatory counterparts in the overseas jurisdictions, such as the SEC, via cross-border securities regulatory cooperation mechanisms.

Further, on February 24, 2023, the CSRC, together with Ministry of Finance, National Administration of State Secrets Protection, and National Archives Administration of China, released the Provisions on Strengthening the Confidentiality and Archives Administration Related to the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Enterprises (the “Confidentiality Provisions”), which went into effect on March 31, 2023 with the Trial Measures. Under the Confidentiality Provisions, domestic companies established in mainland China seeking overseas offering and listing, by both direct and indirect means, are required to institute a sound confidentiality and archives system. If such domestic companies established in mainland China intend to, either directly or through its overseas listed entity, publicly disclose or provide to relevant individuals or entities including securities companies, securities service providers and overseas regulators, any documents and materials that contain state secrets or working secrets of government agencies, they shall obtain approval from competent authorities and complete the relevant filing procedure with the competent secrecy administrative department prior to their disclosure or provision of such documents and materials. Further, if they provide or publicly disclose documents and materials which may adversely affect national security or public interests, they shall strictly follow the corresponding procedures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Any failure or perceived failure by us or our subsidiaries to comply with the above confidentiality and archives administration requirements under the Confidentiality Provisions and other relevant PRC laws and regulations may cause relevant entities to be held legally liable by competent authorities, and referred to the judicial organ to be investigated for criminal liability if suspected of committing a crime. As of the date of this report, we believe that we and our subsidiaries have not provided or publicly disclosed any documents or materials involving state secrets or work secrets of PRC government agencies or any of which may adversely affect national security or public interests, to relevant securities companies, securities service institutions, overseas regulatory agencies and other entities and individuals. We intend to comply with the Confidentiality Provisions and other relevant PRC laws and regulations in our future offerings.

However, any failure of us or our PRC Subsidiaries to fully comply with the Trial Measures and/or the Confidentiality Provisions, may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares on Nasdaq, cause significant disruption to our business operations, severely damage our reputation, materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause our ordinary shares to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

For more detailed information, see “Item 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors-Risks Relating to Doing Business in China.”

Cash Flows through Our Organization

Farmmi is a holding company with no operations of its own. We conduct our operations principally in China through our subsidiaries. As a result, we may rely upon dividends paid to us by our subsidiaries in the PRC to pay dividends and to finance any debt we may incur. As of the date of this report, none of our subsidiaries has issued any dividends or distributions to us and we have not made any dividends or distributions to our shareholders. Our subsidiaries in the PRC generate and retain cash generated from operating activities and re-invest it in our business.

Current PRC regulations permit our subsidiary in mainland China to pay dividends to the Company only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. Under our current corporate structure, we rely on dividend payments or other distributions from our subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders or to service any debt we may incur. If any subsidiary incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends to us. In addition, under PRC laws and regulations, each of our Chinese subsidiaries is required to set aside a portion of their net income each year to fund a statutory surplus reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. This reserve is not distributable as dividends. As a result, our PRC subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of its net assets to us in the form of dividends, loans or advances. Further, the PRC government also imposes controls on the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies and the remittance of currencies out of the PRC. Therefore, we may experience difficulties in completing the administrative procedures necessary to obtain and remit foreign currency for the payment of dividends from our profits, if any. If we are unable to receive funds from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to pay cash dividends on our ordinary shares.

Cash dividends, if any, on our ordinary shares will be paid in U.S. dollars. If we are considered a PRC tax resident enterprise for tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders may be regarded as China-sourced income and as a result may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%. A 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to dividends payable to investors that are non-resident enterprises. Any gain realized on the transfer of ordinary shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10% which in the case of dividends will be withheld at source if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC.

Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, the 10% withholding tax rate may be lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns no less than 25% of a PRC resident enterprise. However, the 5% withholding tax rate does not automatically apply and certain requirements must be satisfied, including without limitation that (a) the Hong Kong resident enterprise must be the beneficial owner of the relevant dividends; and (b) the Hong Kong resident enterprise must directly hold no less than 25% share ownership in a PRC entity during the 12 consecutive months preceding its receipt of the dividends. In current practice, a Hong Kong entity must obtain a tax resident certificate from the Hong Kong tax authority to apply for the 5% lower PRC withholding tax rate. As the Hong Kong tax authority will issue such a tax resident certificate on a case-by-case basis, we cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority and enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% under the Double Taxation Arrangement with respect to dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to our Hong Kong subsidiaries. As of the date of this report, we have not applied for the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority. Our Hong Kong subsidiaries intend to apply for the tax resident certificate when our subsidiaries in mainland China plan to declare and pay dividends to their Hong Kong parent companies.

As an offshore holding company, we will be permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding from the proceeds of our offshore fund-raising activities to our subsidiaries in China only through loans or capital contributions, subject to the satisfaction of the applicable government registration and approval requirements. Before providing loans to our PRC subsidiaries, we will be required to make filings about details of the loans with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC (the “SAFE”) in accordance with relevant PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries that receive the loans are only allowed to use the loans for the purposes set forth in these laws and regulations. Under regulations of the SAFE, Renminbi is not convertible into foreign currencies for capital account items, such as loans, repatriation of investments and investments outside of China, unless the prior approval of the SAFE is obtained and prior registration with the SAFE is made.

Under PRC law, we may provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through capital contributions or loans, and prior to the dismantling of our PRC consolidated affiliated entities only through loans to our former consolidated affiliated entities, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration and approval requirements.

For the year ended September 30, 2023, we provided working capital loans of $151.7 million in aggregate to our subsidiaries.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022, we provided working capital loans of $140.4 million in aggregate to our wholly owned subsidiaries.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, we provided working capital loans of $132.9 million in aggregate to our wholly owned subsidiaries.

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends, nor do we have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

As of the date of this report, we do not anticipate any difficulties on our ability to transfer cash between subsidiaries. We have not installed any cash management policies that dictate the amount of such funds and how such funds are transferred.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Our ordinary shares may be prohibited from trading on a national exchange or “over-the-counter” markets under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors for two consecutive years. Pursuant to the HFCAA enacted in December 2020 and related legislation, if the SEC determines that a company has filed an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC is required to prohibit such company’s securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S.

Pursuant to the HFCAA, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021, which found that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified the specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol (SOP) Agreement with the CSRC and the MOF of the PRC regarding cooperation in the oversight of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong to establish a method for the PCAOB to conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong, as contemplated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Under the agreement, (a) the PCAOB has sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates without consultation with, or input from, PRC authorities; (b) procedures are in place for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed; (c) the PCAOB has direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates; and (d) the PCAOB shall have the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the SEC can use the information for all regulatory purposes, including administrative or civil enforcement actions. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and vacated its previous 2021 adverse determinations. However, should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB’s access in the future, the PCAOB will consider the need to issue a new determination.

Our current auditor is based in the U.S. and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. Our auditor is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB’s determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the future, if it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely, or if there is any regulatory change or step taken by PRC regulators that does not permit our auditor to provide audit documentations to the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection. Any audit reports not issued by auditors that are completely inspected or investigated by the PCAOB, or a lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work undertaken in China that prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditors’ audits and their quality control procedures, could result in a lack of assurance that our financial statements and disclosures are adequate and accurate, which could result in limitation or restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets and trading of our securities, including trading on the national exchange or “over-the-counter” markets, may be prohibited under the HFCAA.

A. Selected Financial Data

In the table below, we provide you with historical selected financial data for our company. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021 and the selected consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2023 and 2022 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019 have been derived from our audited consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, which are not included in this annual report. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2020, which are not included in this annual report. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with US GAAP.

(All amounts in U.S. dollars)

Statements of operations data:

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1.  On September 25, 2023, the Company consolidated its ordinary shares at a ratio of one-for-eight. The weighted average ordinary shares had been retrospectively adjusted from 2019 to reflect the consolidation of ordinary shares. 

Balance sheets data

Selected Consolidated Financial Schedule

The tables below disaggregated the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) of the Company into FAMI, the VIE and its subsidiaries, the WFOE that is the primary beneficiary of the VIEs and an aggregation of other entities that are consolidated for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021.

The tables below disaggregated the Consolidated Balance Sheets of the Company into loss FAMI, the VIE and its subsidiaries, the WFOE that is the primary beneficiary of the VIEs and an aggregation of other entities that are consolidated as of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022.