AMTD Digital Inc. [HKD] Filings

20-F 1 d345906d20f.htm FORM 20-F Form 20-F

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM

20-F

(Mark One)

☐	REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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

For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022

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

For the transition period from to

☐	SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission File Number:

001-40463

AMTD Digital Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)

25/F Nexxus Building

41 Connaught Road Central

Hong Kong

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Mark Chi Hang Lo, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Telephone: +852 3163-3298

Facsimile: +852 3163-3289

25/F Nexxus Building

41 Connaught Road Central

Hong Kong

(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile Number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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


Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
American depositary shares, each representing 0.4 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share*	HKD	New York Stock Exchange

*	Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Table of Contents

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

None

(Title of Class)

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

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: 1,968,142 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, and 65,650,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, as of April 30, 2022.

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

Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

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.


Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐	Non-accelerated filer	☒

				Emerging growth company	☒

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. ☐

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


U.S. GAAP ☐	International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the	Other ☐
	International Accounting Standards Board ☒

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 Exchange Act).

☐ 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

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS


			Page
INTRODUCTION				1
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION				2
PART I				4
	ITEM 1.	IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS		7
	ITEM 2.	OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE		7
	ITEM 3.	KEY INFORMATION		7
	ITEM 4.	INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY		48
	ITEM 4A.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS		85
	ITEM 5.	OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS		85
	ITEM 6.	DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES		102
	ITEM 7.	MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS		109
	ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL INFORMATION		112
	ITEM 9.	THE OFFER AND LISTING		113
	ITEM 10.	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION		113
	ITEM 11.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK		126
	ITEM 12.	DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES		127
PART II.				128
	ITEM 13.	DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES		128
	ITEM 14.	MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS		128
	ITEM 15.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES		129
	ITEM 16A.	AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT		130
	ITEM 16B.	CODE OF ETHICS		130
	ITEM 16C.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES		131
	ITEM 16D.	EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES		131
	ITEM 16E.	PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS		131
	ITEM 16F.	CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT		131
	ITEM 16G.	CORPORATE GOVERNANCE		131
	ITEM 16H.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE		132
	ITEM 16I.	DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS		132
PART III.				132
	ITEM 17.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS		132
	ITEM 18.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS		132
	ITEM 19.	EXHIBITS		132
SIGNATURES				135

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires:

•

“ADRs” refers to the American depositary receipts that evidence the ADSs;

•

“ADSs” refers to our American depositary shares, every five of which represents two Class A ordinary shares;

•

“AMTD Group” refers to the Controlling Shareholder and its subsidiaries;

•

“China” or “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China;

•

“Class A ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each;

•

“Class B ordinary shares” refers to our Class B ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each;

•

“Controlling Shareholder” refers to AMTD Group Company Limited, a British Virgin Islands company;

•

“HK$” or “Hong Kong dollars” refers to the legal currency of Hong Kong;

•

“Hong Kong” refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China;

•

“NYSE” refers to the New York Stock Exchange;

•

“SEC” refers to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;

•

“S$” or “Singapore dollars” refers to the legal currency of Singapore;

•

“SEHK” refers to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited;

•

“SGX-ST”

refers to the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited;

•

“shares” or “ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares;

•

“US$” or “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States; and

•

“we,” “us,” “our company,” or “our” refers to AMTD Digital Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability, and its subsidiaries.

Any discrepancies in any table between the amounts identified as total amounts and the sum of the amounts listed therein are due to rounding.

This annual report includes our audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended April 30, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Our reporting currency is Hong Kong dollars as most of our revenue is denominated in Hong Kong dollars. This annual report on Form

20-F

contains translations from Hong Kong dollars to U.S. dollars solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from Hong Kong dollars to U.S. dollars were made at a rate of HK$7.8465 to US$1.00, which was the certified noon buying rate in effect as of April 29, 2022, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We make no representation that any Hong Kong dollar amounts referred to in this annual report on Form

20-F

could have been, or could be, converted to U.S. dollars at any particular rate, or at all.

Table of Contents

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This annual report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

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

•

our goals and strategies;

•

our future business development, financial condition and results of operations;

•

the trends in, expected growth and market size of the financial services industry in Hong Kong;

•

expected changes in our revenues, costs or expenditures;

•

our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services;

•

competition in our industry;

•

our proposed use of proceeds;

•

government policies and regulations relating to our industry;

•

fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China, Singapore, and globally; and

•

assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing.

These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations are generally set forth in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors,” “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview,” “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” and other sections in this annual report. You should read thoroughly this annual report and the documents that we refer to in this annual report with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This annual report contains certain data and information that we obtained from industry publications and reports generated by third-party providers of market intelligence. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data and information contained in these publications and reports. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. The financial services industry

Table of Contents

may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of these markets to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of the ADSs. If any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions.

Table of Contents

PART I

Our Corporate Structure

AMTD Digital Inc. is not an operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company with operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries. Investors in the ADSs thus are purchasing equity interest in a Cayman Islands holding company. As used in this annual report, “we,” “us,” “our company,” or “our” refers to AMTD Digital Inc. and its subsidiaries. This structure involves unique risks to investors. As a holding company, we may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us may be restricted by the debt they incur on their own behalf or laws and regulations applicable to them. For a detailed description, see “—Cash Transfers and Dividend Distribution.”

Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong

We face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties relating to our operations. Although we do not have any material operation or maintain any office or personnel in mainland China and we do not have any variable interest entities structure in place, we face risks and uncertainties associated with the complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations and as to whether and how the recent PRC government statements and regulatory developments, such as those relating to variable interest entities, data and cyberspace security, and anti-monopoly concerns, would apply to us. Should these statements or regulatory actions apply to us, including our Hong Kong operations, in the future, or if we expand our business operations into mainland China leveraging our

fusion-in

program, through AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem or in some other ways such that we become subject to them to a greater extent, our ability to conduct our business, invest into mainland China as foreign investments or accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted. For example, PRC regulators have been increasingly focusing on regulation in areas of data security and data protection and the PRC authorities requirements regarding cybersecurity are constantly evolving. Various regulatory authorities in China, specifically the Cyberspace Administration of China, have enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with varying and evolving standards and interpretations. As of the date of this annual report, we do not have any material operation in mainland China and we have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in mainland China. Our management have conducted an analysis of the status and scope of our operations, including data compliance, and have concluded that currently we do not expect that laws and regulations in mainland China on data security, data protection or cybersecurity to be applied to us or that the oversight of the Cyberspace Administration of China will be extended to our operations outside of mainland China. However, we still face uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations in the future and if the recent PRC regulatory actions on data security or other data-related laws and regulations were to apply to us, we could become subject to certain cybersecurity and data privacy obligations, including the potential requirement to conduct a cybersecurity review for our public offerings at a foreign stock exchange, and the failure to meet such obligations could result in penalties and other regulatory actions against us and may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. These risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to continue to offer securities to investors, or cause the value of such securities to significantly decline. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—Failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, or any other laws and regulations related to data may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.”

The PRC government has significant authority to regulate, influence or intervene in the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time. It also oversees and controls and may exert more control over offerings conducted outside mainland China by, and foreign investment in, China-based issuers. We cannot assure you that such oversight and control will not be extended to companies operating in Hong Kong such as us. These risks, together with uncertainties in the legal system and the interpretation and enforcement of laws,

Table of Contents

regulations, and policies in mainland China, could hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the ADSs, result in a material adverse change to our business operations, and damage our reputation, which could cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. For a detailed description of risks relating to doing business in mainland China and Hong Kong, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong.”

We also face risks relating to the lack of inspection on our auditor from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, which may cause our securities to be delisted from the NYSE, or prohibited from being traded

over-the-counter

in the future under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA if the SEC determines that we have filed annual report containing an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely for three consecutive years, or two consecutive years if proposed changes to the law, i.e. the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, are enacted, beginning in 2021. The delisting or the cessation of trading of the ADS, or the threat of their being delisted or prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, and identifies the registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong that are subject to such determinations. Our auditor is identified by the PCAOB and is subject to the determination. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—The PCAOB is currently unable to inspect our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements and the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections over our auditor deprives our investors with the benefits of such inspections,” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—The ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in 2024 if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or fully investigate auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong, or in 2023 if proposed changes to the law are enacted. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.”

As of the date of this annual report, we do not have any material operation or maintain any office or personnel in mainland China. We have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in mainland China. In addition, we plan to emphasize Southeast Asia as our core future area of growth. As such, we believe that we are not required to obtain any permission from PRC authorities to operate and issue the ADSs to foreign investors as of the date of this annual report, including permissions from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, or the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC. If (i) we do not receive or maintain any permission or approval required of us, (ii) we inadvertently concluded that certain permissions or approvals have been acquired or are not required, or (iii) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations thereof change and we become subject to the requirement of additional permissions or approvals in the future, we may have to expend significant time and costs to procure them. If we are unable to do so, on commercially reasonable terms, in a timely manner or otherwise, we may become subject to sanctions imposed by the PRC authorities, which could include fines and penalties, proceedings against us, and other forms of sanctions, and our ability to conduct our business, invest into mainland China as foreign investments or accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted, and our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. See also “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—The PRC government’s significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time could limit our ability to transfer or use our cash outside of China, and otherwise result in material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—Uncertainties arising from the legal system in mainland China, including uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of laws in mainland China and the possibility that regulations and rules can change quickly with little advance notice, could hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the ADSs, result in a material adverse change to our business operations, and

Table of Contents

damage our reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.”

Cash Transfers and Dividend Distribution

We conduct the majority of our operations in Hong Kong and maintain our bank accounts and balances primarily in licensed banks in Hong Kong and Singapore. Most of our cash is in Hong Kong dollars. If needed, cash can be transferred between our Cayman Islands holding company and subsidiaries through intercompany fund advances, and there are currently no restrictions of transferring funds between our Cayman Islands holding company and subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore. No transfer of cash or other types of assets has been made between our Cayman Islands holding company and subsidiaries as of the date of this annual report.

Our Cayman Islands holding company has not declared or paid dividends in the past given the early development stage of our businesses, nor any dividends or distributions were made by a subsidiary to the Cayman Islands holding company. We intend to have our holding company distribute dividends in the future, but we do not have a fixed dividend policy. Although we intend to distribute dividends in the future, the amount, timing, and whether or not we actually distribute dividends at all is at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors has complete discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to applicable laws. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the form, frequency, and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions, and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.

Our Cayman Islands holding company has not declared or made any dividend or other distribution to its shareholders, including U.S. investors, in the past. U.S. investors will not be subject to Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, or Singapore taxation on dividend distributions, and no withholding will be required on the payment of dividends or distributions to them while they may be subject to U.S. federal income tax. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Dividends.”

One of our subsidiaries, AMTD Risk Solutions Group Limited, or AMTD RSG, a licensed insurance intermediary under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41) of Hong Kong, is subject to minimum

paid-up

capital requirements under relevant rules. BaoXianBaoBao Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PolicyPal Pte. Ltd. for which we hold a 51% equity interest, is a registered insurance broker and an exempt financial adviser in Singapore and is subject to a

paid-up

share capital requirement of an amount of not less than S$300,000 under relevant rules. In considering any distribution of the earnings to their respective holding companies, we must consider their respective financial conditions before making a decision. There are no other significant restrictions and limitations on our ability to distribute earnings from our businesses, including our subsidiaries, to the parent company and U.S. investors or our ability to settle amounts owed. There are no significant restrictions on foreign exchange or our ability to transfer cash between entities within our group, across borders, or to U.S. investors.

The PRC government has significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time, and such oversight may also extend to companies operating in Hong Kong like us. We cannot assure you that the PRC government will not prevent us from transferring the cash we maintain outside of China, or restrict our ability to deploy our cash into business or to pay dividends. We could also be subject to limitations on the transfer or the use of our cash if we expand our business operations into mainland China or conduct our operations in some other ways such that we become subject to laws in mainland China that regulate these activities. Any limitation on our ability to transfer or use our cash could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—The PRC government’s significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time could limit our ability to transfer or use our cash outside of China, and otherwise result in material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs.

Table of Contents

ITEM 1.

IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2.

OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

Not applicable.

ITEM 3.

KEY INFORMATION

A.	[Reserved]

B.	Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C.	Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

D.	Risk Factors

Summary of Risk Factors

An investment in the ADSs involves significant risks. Below is a summary of material risks that we face, organized under relevant headings. These risks are discussed more fully in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.”

Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong

•

The PRC government’s significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time could limit our ability to transfer or use our cash outside of China, and otherwise result in material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs.

•

Uncertainties arising from the legal system in mainland China, including uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of laws in mainland China and the possibility that regulations and rules can change quickly with little advance notice, could hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the ADSs, result in a material adverse change to our business operations, and damage our reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

•

The PCAOB is currently unable to inspect our auditor in relation to their audit work performed for our financial statements and the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections over our auditor deprives our investors with the benefits of such inspections.

•

The ADSs will be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in 2024 if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or fully investigate auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong, or in 2023 if proposed changes to the law are enacted. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

•

Although we do not have any material operation in mainland China and plan to emphasize Southeast Asia as our core future area of growth, we face risks and uncertainties associated with the complex and evolving laws and regulations in mainland China and as to whether and how the recent PRC government statements and regulatory developments, such as those relating to data and cyberspace

Table of Contents

security and anti-monopoly concerns, would apply to us. Should these statements or regulatory actions apply to us in the future, or if we expand our business operations into mainland China leveraging our

fusion-in

•

As we do not currently have any material operation or maintain any office or personnel in mainland China and have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in mainland China, we believe that we are not required to obtain any permission from PRC authorities to operate and issue our securities to foreign investors as of the date of this annual report, including permissions requirements from the CSRC or CAC. However if (i) we inadvertently concluded that certain permissions or approvals are not required, or (ii) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations thereof change and we become subject to the requirement of additional permissions or approvals in the future, we may have to expend significant time and costs to procure them. If we are unable to do so, on commercially reasonable terms, in a timely manner or otherwise, we may become subject to sanctions imposed by the PRC authorities, which could include fines and penalties, proceedings against us, and other forms of sanctions, and our ability to conduct our business, invest into mainland China as foreign investments or accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted, and our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

•

We operate in the emerging, dynamic, and competitive digital financial services industry, which makes it difficult for investors to evaluate our future prospects, and we cannot assure you that our current or future strategies will be successfully implemented or will generate sustainable profit.

•

We have a limited operating history and experience in our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business. We cannot assure you that the market for our services will develop as we expect or that we will be able to maintain the growth rate that we have experienced to date.

•

We and our Controlling Shareholder have a limited operating history and experience in the newly developed digital banking business in Asia, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business. We cannot assure you that the digital banking initiatives of our Controlling Shareholder and our company will develop or succeed as we expect.

•

We face additional risks as we offer new products and services, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties, and expose ourselves to new geographical markets.

•

If we fail to develop market leading products or provide satisfactory services to address the rapidly evolving market in a timely manner, and if we are not able to implement successful enhancements and new features for our products and services, we may not be able to attract or retain clients.

•

Failure to maintain and enlarge our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem including our client base or strengthen client engagement may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

•

Failure to obtain, renew, or retain licenses, permits, or approvals may affect our ability to conduct or expand our business.

Table of Contents

•

We are subject to extensive and developing regulatory requirements, and noncompliance with or changes to these regulatory requirements may affect our business operations and financial results.

•

AMTD Digital Inc. is not an operating company but a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and this structure involves unique risks to investors. We may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us may be restricted by the debt they incur on their own behalf or laws and regulations applicable to them. Our digital investments business is subject to liquidity risks, and we may need additional financing but may not be able to obtain it on favorable terms or at all. All of these may impose liquidity risks on us and adversely affect our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders. See “Item 5. Operating And Financial Review And Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Holding Company Structure,” “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—Our digital investment business is subject to liquidity risks,” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—We may need additional financing but may not be able to obtain it on favorable terms or at all.”

Risks Relating to Our Relationship with the Controlling Shareholder

•

We have limited experience operating as a stand-alone public company.

•

Our financial information included in this annual report may not be representative of our financial condition and results of operations if we had been operating as a stand-alone company.

•

We may not continue to receive the same level of support from our Controlling Shareholder.

Risks Relating to the ADSs

•

The trading price of the ADSs has been volatile and could continue to fluctuate significantly, which could result in substantial losses to you.

•

An active public market may not develop for the ADSs on the NYSE, and you may not be able to resell the ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.

•

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions against us or our directors and officers named in this annual report based on foreign laws

Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong

Our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic, and social conditions in China generally. The PRC government has significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time as the government deems appropriate to advance regulatory and social objectives and policy positions. For instance, the PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries. We cannot assure you that the oversight of the PRC government will not be extended to companies operating in Hong Kong like us or that new policies will not be introduced to regulate our industry. The PRC government may also prevent us from transferring the cash we maintain outside of China, or restrict our ability to deploy our cash into business or to pay dividends. Any such action could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business, and could result in a material adverse change to our business operations, including our

Table of Contents

Hong Kong operations, our prospects, financial condition, and results of operations, require us to seek additional permission to continue our operations, and damage our reputation, which could cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless. See also “—Failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, or any other laws and regulations related to data may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.”

We may be affected directly or indirectly by laws and regulations in mainland China. The legal system in mainland China is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which decided legal cases may be cited for reference but have less precedential value. The laws, regulations, and legal requirements in China are quickly evolving and their interpretation and enforcement involve uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to you and us. In addition, we cannot predict the effect of future developments in the legal system in mainland China, particularly with regard to new economies, including the promulgation of new laws, changes to existing laws or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, or the preemption of local regulations by national laws. Furthermore, the legal system in mainland China is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules. In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

New laws and regulations may be enacted from time to time and substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of current and any future laws and regulations in mainland China applicable to our businesses. In particular, the PRC government authorities may continue to promulgate new laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines governing new economy companies with respect to a wide range of issues, such as intellectual property, unfair competition and antitrust, privacy and data protection, and other matters. Compliance with these laws, regulations, rules, guidelines, and implementations may be costly, and any incompliance or associated inquiries, investigations, and other governmental actions may divert significant management time and attention and our financial resources, bring negative publicity, subject us to liabilities or administrative penalties, or materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and the value of the ADSs.

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Since our auditor is located in China, with operations in and who performs audit operations of registrants in mainland China and Hong Kong, jurisdictions where the PCAOB has been unable to fully conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditor is not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

As a result, we and investors in the ADSs are deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in mainland China and Hong Kong makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of mainland China and Hong Kong that are subject to

Table of Contents

the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in the ADSs to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

The HFCAA was signed into law on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states that if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection for the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC will prohibit our shares or the ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in

the over-the-counter trading

market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The PCAOB identified our auditor, who also serves as the auditor of AMTD IDEA Group, as one of the registered public accounting firms that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely. The SEC conclusively listed AMTD IDEA Group as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA in May 2022 subsequent to the filing of its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, following which AMTD IDEA Group is required to satisfy certain additional disclosure requirements in its annual reports on Form 20-F under the HFCAA. AMTD IDEA Group’s ADSs will be delisted from the NYSE and prohibited from being traded over-the-counter in the United States if it has been identified so for two more consecutive years. If we do not use an auditor the PCAOB can inspect or fully investigate, we may be listed as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA after we have filed this annual report. Our ADSs could be delisted from the NYSE and prohibited from being traded over-the-counter in the United States if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA for three years.

Whether the PCAOB will be able to conduct inspections of our auditor before the issuance of our financial statements on

Form 20-F for

the year ending April 30, 2024, which is due by August 31, 2024, or at all, is subject to substantial uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditor’s, control. If the ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on

a non-U.S. exchange

or that a market for the ADSs will develop outside of the United States. Such a prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase the ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of the ADSs. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill, which would reduce the number of

consecutive non-inspection years

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

consecutive non-inspection years

required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA is reduced from three years to two, then the ADSs could be prohibited from trading in the United States as early as 2023.

Failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, or any other laws and regulations related to data may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may be subject to a variety of cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, and other laws and regulations related to data, including those relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, disclosure, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. These laws and regulations apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information within our organization. These laws and regulations may restrict our business activities and require us to incur increased costs and efforts to comply, and any breach or noncompliance may subject us to proceedings against us, damage our reputation, or result in penalties and other significant legal liabilities, and thus may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Table of Contents

In some jurisdictions, including mainland China where we do not have material operations, the cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, or other data-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and application may be uncertain. For example, on December 28, 2021, the CAC, the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, and several other PRC government authorities jointly issued the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which took effect on February 15, 2022 and further restates and expands the applicable scope of the cybersecurity review in effect. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, critical information infrastructure operators that procure internet products and services and network platform operators engaging in data processing activities must be subject to the cybersecurity review if their activities affect or may affect national security. The Cybersecurity Review Measures further stipulates that network platform operators holding personal information of over one million users must apply to the Cybersecurity Review Office for a cybersecurity review before a foreign listing. Given that the Cybersecurity Review Measures was recently promulgated, there are substantial uncertainties as to its interpretation, application, and enforcement. On July 30, 2021, the state council promulgated the Regulations on Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, which became effective on September 1, 2021. Pursuant to the Regulations on Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, critical information infrastructure shall mean any important network facilities or information systems of the important industry or field such as public communication and information service, energy, transportation, water conservation, finance, public services,

e-government

affairs and national defense science, which may endanger national security, people’s livelihood and public interest in case of damage, function loss or data leakage. In addition, relevant administration departments of each critical industry and sector, or Protection Departments, shall be responsible to formulate eligibility criteria and determine the critical information infrastructure operator in the respective industry or sector. The operators shall be informed about the final determination as to whether they are categorized as critical information infrastructure operators. As of the date of this annual report, no detailed rules or implementation have been issued by any authority and the exact scope of “critical information infrastructure operators” under the current regulatory regime remains unclear, and the PRC government authorities may have wide discretion in the interpretation and enforcement of these laws. On November 14, 2021, the CAC released the Regulations on the Network Data Security (Draft for Comments), or the Draft Data Security Regulations. The Draft Data Security Regulations provide that data processors refer to individuals or organizations that autonomously determine the purpose and the manner of processing data. In accordance with the Draft Data Security Regulations, data processors shall apply for a cybersecurity review for the following activities: (i) merger, reorganization or division of internet platform operators that have acquired a large number of data resources related to national security, economic development or public interests to the extent that affects or may affect national security; (ii) listing abroad of data processors which process over one million users’ personal information; (iii) the listing of data processors in Hong Kong which affects or may affect national security; or (iv) other data processing activities that affect or may affect national security. However, there have been no clarifications from the authorities as of the date of this annual report as to the standards for determining such activities that “affects or may affect national security. There is also no timetable as to when the Draft Data Security Regulations will be enacted. As such, it remains unclear whether the final version adopted in the future will have any further material changes, and it is uncertain how the draft regulations will be enacted, interpreted, or implemented and how they will affect us. It remains uncertain whether future regulatory changes in China would impose additional restrictions on companies like us. We cannot predict the impact of these future regulatory changes, if any, at this stage, and we will closely monitor and assess any development in the rule-making process. If future regulatory updates mandate clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by companies operating in Hong Kong like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all. As of the date of this annual report, we do not have any material operation in mainland China. We have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in mainland China. In addition, we plan to emphasize Southeast Asia as our core future area of growth. As such, we currently do not expect the Cybersecurity Review Measures, the Draft Data Security Regulations or other recent regulations will have an impact on our business or results of operations, and we believe that we are compliant with the regulations and policies that have been issued by the CAC to date. However, we still face uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations in the future. Cybersecurity review could result in disruption in our operations, negative publicity with respect to our company, and diversion of our

Table of Contents

managerial and financial resources. Furthermore, if we were found to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations in China during such review, we could be subject to fines or other government sanctions and reputation damages. Therefore, potential cybersecurity review, if applicable to us, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, the PRC Data Security Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on June 10, 2021 and took effect on September 1, 2021, requires data collection to be conducted in a legitimate and proper manner, and stipulates that, for the purpose of data protection, data processing activities must be conducted based on data classification and hierarchical protection system for data security. Furthermore, the recently issued Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities require (i) speeding up the revision of the provisions on strengthening the confidentiality and archives management relating to overseas issuance and listing of securities and (ii) improving the laws and regulations relating to data security, cross-border data flow, and management of confidential information. The PRC Personal Information Protection Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on August 20, 2021 and took effect on November 1, 2021, integrates previously scattered rules with respect to personal information rights and privacy protection and applies to the processing of personal information within China as well as certain personal information processing activities outside China, including those for the provision of products and services to natural persons within China or for the analysis and assessment of acts of natural persons within China. Although as of the date of this annual report, we have not collected, stored, or managed any personal information in China, given that there remain uncertainties regarding the further interpretation and implementation of those laws and regulations, if they are deemed to be applicable to us, we cannot assure you that we will be compliant with such new regulations in all respects, and we may be ordered to rectify and terminate any actions that are deemed illegal by the government authorities and become subject to fines and other government sanctions, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If we were to be required to obtain any permission or approval from the CSRC, the CAC, or other PRC authorities under PRC law, we may be fined or subject to other sanctions, and our business, reputation financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals and that have been formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies or assets to obtain CSRC approval prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and implementation of the regulations remain unclear.

In addition, the PRC government authorities may strengthen oversight over offerings that are conducted overseas. For instance, on July 6, 2021, the relevant PRC government authorities promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities, which emphasized the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by PRC companies. Effective measures, such as promoting the establishment of relevant regulatory systems, are to be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of overseas listing of China-based companies, cybersecurity and data privacy protection requirements and similar matters. As a

follow-up,

on December 24, 2021, the State Council issued a draft of the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Draft Provisions, and the CSRC issued a draft of Administration Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Draft Administration Measures, for public comments. The Draft Provisions and the Draft Administration Measures propose to establish a new filing-based regime to regulate overseas offerings and listings by PRC domestic companies. On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China and other PRC authorities promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which took effect on February 15, 2022, and further restates and expands the applicable scope of the cybersecurity review in effect. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, critical information infrastructure operators that procure internet products and services and network platform operators engaging in data processing activities must be subject to the cybersecurity review if their activities affect or may affect national security. The Cybersecurity Review Measures

Table of Contents

further stipulates that network platform operators holding personal information of over one million users must apply to the Cybersecurity Review Office for a cybersecurity review before an overseas listing. On December 27, 2021, the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2021 Version), or the 2021 Negative List, which became effective on January 1, 2022. Pursuant to such Special Administrative Measures, if a domestic company engaging in the prohibited business stipulated in the 2021 Negative List seeks an overseas offering and listing, it must obtain the approval from the competent government authorities. Besides, the foreign investors of the company should not be involved in the company’s operation and management, and their shareholding percentage should be subject to the relevant regulations on the domestic securities investments by foreign investors. The foregoing regulations are either recently issued or remain in draft form and there remain substantial uncertainties with respect to their interpretation and implementation.

As such, we believe that we are not required to obtain any permission from PRC authorities to operate and issue the ADSs to foreign investors as of the date of this annual report, including permissions from the CSRC or CAC. If (i) we do not receive or maintain any permission or approval required of us, (ii) we inadvertently concluded that certain permissions or approvals have been acquired or are not required, or (iii) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations thereof change and we become subject to the requirement of additional permissions or approvals in the future, we may have to expend significant time and costs to procure them. If we are unable to do so, on commercially reasonable terms, in a timely manner or otherwise, we may become subject to sanctions imposed by the PRC regulatory authorities, which could include fines and penalties, proceedings against us, and other forms of sanctions, and our ability to conduct our business, invest into mainland China as foreign investments or accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted, and our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. See also “—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—The PRC government’s significant authority to intervene in or influence the mainland China operations of an offshore holding company at any time could limit our ability to transfer or use our cash outside of China, and otherwise result in material adverse change in our operations and the value of the ADSs” and “—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—Uncertainties arising from the legal system in mainland China, including uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of laws in mainland China and the possibility that regulations and rules can change quickly with little advance notice, could hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the ADSs, result in a material adverse change to our business operations, and damage our reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause the ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.”

We may be affected by the currency peg system in Hong Kong.

Since 1983, Hong Kong dollars have been pegged to the U.S. dollars at the rate of approximately HK$7.80 to US$1.00. We cannot assure you that this policy will not be changed in the future. If the pegging system collapses and Hong Kong dollars suffer devaluation, the Hong Kong dollar cost of our expenditures denominated in foreign currency may increase. This would in turn adversely affect the operations and profitability of our business.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We primarily operate in Asia’s digital financial services industry. The digital financial services industry is relatively new and rapidly evolving, business models continue to evolve, and the industry may not develop as we

Table of Contents

anticipate. The regulatory framework in Singapore and Hong Kong governing the digital financial services industry is also developing and may remain uncertain in the near future. As our business develops and in response to the evolving client needs and market competition, we need to continually introduce new products and services, improve our existing products and services, or adjust and optimize our business model. In response to new regulatory requirements or industry standards, or in connection with the introduction of new products, we may need to impose more rigorous risk management systems and policies, which may adversely affect the growth of our business. Any significant change to our business model may not achieve expected results and may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. It is therefore difficult to accurately predict our future prospects.

You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and challenges that we encounter or may encounter as an entrant in the newly emerging and rapidly evolving market in which we operate and our limited operating history. These risks and challenges include our ability to, among other things:

•

maintain the value proposition of AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem;

•

build a well-recognized and respected brand;

•

acquire and/or operate existing or future digital financial licenses;

•

establish and expand our client base;

•

maintain and enhance our relationships with our business partners;

•

attract, retain, and motivate talented employees;

•

anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions and competitive landscape;

•

manage our future growth;

•

ensure that the performance of our products and services meets client expectations;

•

maintain or improve our operational efficiency;

•

navigate a complex and evolving regulatory environment;

•

defend ourselves in any legal or regulatory actions against us;

•

enhance our technology infrastructure and maintain the security of our system and the confidentiality of the information provided and utilized across our system;

•

avoid and remedy operating errors as a result of human or system errors; and

•

identify and address conflicts of interest.

If we fail to address any or all of these risks and challenges, if we fail to educate business partners and clients about the value of our platform and services, if the market for our products and services does not develop as we expect, if we fail to address the needs of our target clients, or if we are not able to effectively tackle other risks and challenges that we may encounter, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We commenced operations of our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business in December 2017, primarily providing clients with exclusive paid membership access to the AMTD SpiderNet. Since then we have achieved rapid growth in terms of client base and revenue. For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020, 2021, and 2022, our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business accounted for 94.1%, 94.0%, and 93.7% of our total revenue,

respectively. However, our limited operating history in our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business may not be

Table of Contents

indicative of our future growth or financial results. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our historical growth rates in future periods. Our growth prospects should be considered in light of the risks and uncertainties that fast-growing companies with a limited operating history and experience in our industry may encounter, including, among others, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to:

•

enrich the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem;

•

identify business synergies and enhance connectivity for our clients;

•

enrich our content offerings;

•

retain existing clients and attract new clients;

•

offer customized and comprehensive services tailored to corporates’ needs throughout their lifecycles;

•

upgrade existing technology and infrastructure and develop new technologies;

•

successfully compete with other companies that are currently in, or may in the future enter, our industry or similar industries; and

•

observe and strategize on the latest market trends.

All of these endeavors involve risks and will require significant allocation of management and employee resources. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage our growth or implement our business strategies effectively. If the market for our services does not develop as we expect or if we fail to address the needs of this dynamic market, our business, results of operations, and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

Airstar Bank, a virtual bank jointly established by our Controlling Shareholder and Xiaomi Corporation, or Xiaomi, provides digital banking services in Hong Kong. Airstar Bank launched a pilot trial of its digital banking services to a limited and selected number of clients, including deposit, loan, and fast payment and remittance in March 2020, and fully launched its platform to the general public in June 2020. It will gradually expand its product and service offerings as its business develops. We have entered into an agreement with our Controlling Shareholder to provide Airstar Bank with the support from our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions services, including resources, capital support, and expertise in the financial services industry to support its business development and support them to gradually build up their own ecosystem for an annual service fee. Airstar Bank expects to rely on the industry experience and technological and operational support of our business partner, Xiaomi, to provide online banking services to retail and corporate clients. The existing client base of Xiaomi and AMTD Group will also initially be a key target customer segment for Airstar Bank. Although we expect Airstar Bank to continuously improve its product designs and services based on client feedback, we cannot assure you that Airstar Bank will be able to achieve the expected results with respect to its product and service offerings.

Our subsidiary, AMTD Digital Holdings Pte. Ltd., entered into a binding term sheet in December 2019 with Xiaomi, SP Group, and Funding Societies to establish a consortium in which AMTD Digital Holdings Pte. Ltd. were to become the largest shareholder. The consortium has submitted an application for the Singapore digital banking wholesale license on December 31, 2019. We intended to pursue digital banking opportunities in Singapore through Singa Bank and other parts of Asia through cooperation, the launch of which is subject to obtaining a digital wholesale banking license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, or the MAS, or other regulators in the respective regions. The MAS had previously announced that they planned to grant up to five digital banking licenses. On December 4, 2020, the MAS announced the grant of four licenses to other

Table of Contents

applicants, indicating that the digital banking licenses are introduced as a pilot, and the MAS will consider granting more of such licenses in the future. We and Xiaomi intend to further pursue such digital banking license opportunity, and plan to submit an application if and when the MAS opens up new round of applications for such licenses in the future. We expect to provide online banking products and services through Singa Bank. However, it is uncertain whether and when the MAS will open a new round to accept new applications and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in obtaining a digital wholesale banking license within a certain time frame or at all, or that Singa Bank will be established, or such digital banking operations will be launched as planned.

The limited operating history and experience of our Controlling Shareholder and our company in digital banking exposes us to uncertain risks and challenges. We cannot assure you that the online platforms of Airstar Bank and Singa Bank (upon obtaining relevant licenses) will be accepted by our clients or that the market for our new products and services will develop as we expect. If Singa Bank is not eventually established or launched, or if Airstar Bank or Singa Bank is unable to achieve the expected results with respect to the new business development initiatives, our business prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

We face additional risks as we offer new products and services, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties, and expose ourselves to new geographical markets.

We are committed to providing new products and services in order to strengthen our market position in the industries that we operate in. We expect to expand our product and service offerings as permitted by relevant regulatory authorities, transact with new clients not in our traditional client base, and enter into new markets. For example, our client base for our digital financial services business consisted primarily of corporate and other institutional clients, but the acquisition of PolicyPal Pte. Ltd. and its subsidiaries, or PolicyPal, in August 2020 has expanded our client base to cover retail clients.

In addition, our Controlling Shareholder operates its digital banking business in Hong Kong, and we plan to commence our digital banking business in Singapore. We aim to continue our expansion into Southeast Asia as we grow our business and as regulations permit. In the future, we expect to consolidate the financial results of Singa Bank into our financial statements following its establishment, which is subject to regulatory approvals.

As such, our historical financial results may not be indicative of our future financial results, and investors may find it difficult to evaluate our business.

We completed the acquisition of PolicyPal in August 2020. We also have mutual understanding with CapBridge Financial Pte. Ltd. and its subsidiaries, or CapBridge, which contemplates a three-phase investment in CapBridge, subject to negotiation of the final terms and conditions and regulatory approvals (including MAS approval).

These activities expose us to new and increasingly challenging risks, including, but not limited to:

•

we may have insufficient experience or expertise in offering new products and services and dealing with inexperienced counterparties and clients may harm our reputation;

•

we may be subject to stricter regulatory scrutiny, or increasing exposure to credit risks, market risks, compliance risks, and operational risks;

•

we may be unable to provide clients with adequate levels of service for our new products and services;

•

our new products and services may not be accepted by our clients or meet our profitability expectations; and

•

our new products and services may be quickly copied by our competitors so that its attractiveness to our clients may be diluted.

If we are unable to achieve the expected results with respect to our offering of new products and services, our new client base, and in new geographical markets, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Table of Contents

Our success depends on our ability to attract or retain clients through the provision of a strong value proposition of our SpiderNet ecosystem, high-quality products, and satisfactory services, and to generate recurring business from existing clients. To attract and retain clients, we need to further enrich our product and service offerings by producing and providing new high-quality products and satisfactory services in a cost-effective and timely manner. Furthermore, we need to anticipate and quickly respond to changing client preferences and development in the market trends. We make bespoke recommendations of insurance products and services to clients based on their needs, and we also develop insurance products in cooperation with our insurer partners to meet the evolving needs of insurance solutions clients. Our ability to provide these products and services is dependent on our industry expertise and innovative ideas and technologies. However, we cannot assure you that the products and services that we design and develop on our own or together with our insurer partners will cater to the needs of potential or existing clients, sustain for a period of time that we expect them to, or be welcomed or accepted by the market at all. If we fail to cater to the needs and preferences of our clients or deliver high-quality product or provide satisfactory service in an efficient manner, or our clients cannot find their desired products or services at attractive prices and terms, they may turn to other channels for their needs and we may suffer from reduced client base. If we are unable to grow our client base or increase client satisfaction, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to maintain and enlarge our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem including our client base or strengthen client engagement may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our revenue growth depends on our ability to maintain and enlarge our client base and strengthen client engagement so that more of our clients will use our products and services more often and contribute to our revenue growth. Our clients may not continue to use our solutions once their existing contract expires or they may not purchase additional solutions from us. This risk is especially apparent in circumstances where it is inexpensive for them to switch service providers. Our ability to maintain and enlarge our client base and strengthen our client engagement will depend on many factors, some of which are out of our control, including:

•

our ability to continually innovate our technologies to keep pace with rapid technological changes;

•

our ability to continually innovate our solutions in response to evolving client demands and expectations and intense market competition;

•

our ability to customize solutions for our clients;

•

client satisfaction with our solutions, including any new solutions that we may develop, and the competitiveness of our pricing and payment terms; and

•

the effectiveness of our solutions in helping our clients improve efficiency, enhance service quality, and reduce costs.

In addition, historically, we have derived a significant number of our clients either through referrals from the Controlling Shareholder or through the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. We may not be able to develop clients organically as rapidly or at the same pace as we have historically done through referrals. In addition, if we do not receive as many client referrals from the Controlling Shareholder or the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem as we have historically, we may not be able to grow our client base as quickly or at all.

Failure to obtain, renew, or retain licenses, permits, or approvals may affect our ability to conduct or expand our business.

Financial services is a highly-regulated industry, and we are required to obtain applicable licenses, permits, and approvals from different regulatory authorities in order to conduct or expand our business. Various

Table of Contents

government authorities in Singapore and Hong Kong have promulgated various regulations on the financial services, including regulations requiring digital banking license, insurance brokerage license, and exempt financial advisor status. We have maintained our deemed insurance brokerage license issued by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority through AMTD RSG and we are in the process of applying for the formal insurance brokerage license. In Singapore, BaoXianBaoBao Pte. Ltd., a digital insurance platform in which we hold a 51% equity interest, is a registered insurance broker with respect to direct insurance and exempt financial advisor in relation to advising on investment products that are life policies and arranging of life policies, other than for reinsurance (and has notified the MAS of the same), and offering technology services to insurance partners. Applaud Digital Solutions Pte. Ltd. was incorporated by one of our subsidiaries, AMTD Digital Solutions Pte. Ltd., together with PolicyPal Pte. Ltd. Applaud submitted an application to the MAS for a direct insurer (composite) license on July 14, 2020. Applaud has made two presentations and multiple rounds of written communications with the MAS and is working on the provision of additional information based on the last conversation with the MAS, including identification of talents to form the core team if the license is granted, potential insurance companies to partner with including but not limited to a potential joint force on the application, and other updates on the business plan, if necessary. We cannot be certain whether or not the supplemental information to our application will necessarily bring us to the approval of a license and whether there will be additional questions or requirements to be imposed by the MAS. In addition, we and several business partners have jointly applied, in the name of Singa Bank, for a digital wholesale banking license in Singapore with the MAS. The MAS had previously announced that they planned to grant up to five digital banking licenses. We have submitted our application for the license on December 31, 2019. On December 4, 2020, the MAS announced the grant of four licenses to other applicants, indicating that the digital banking incenses are introduced as a pilot, and the MAS will consider granting more of such licenses in the future. We and Xiaomi intend to further pursue such digital banking license opportunity, and plan to submit an application if and when the MAS opens up new round of applications for such licenses. It is uncertain whether and when the MAS will open a new round to accept new applications, and we cannot assure you that Singa Bank will successfully obtain the license. Furthermore, any dropout of our business partners in our license application consortium or any change in the relevant regulatory environment could materially and adversely affect our chance to successfully obtain the relevant licenses. Failure by Singa Bank to obtain the digital wholesale banking license and by Applaud to obtain the direct insurer (composite) license from the MAS may impair our ability to expand our digital financial services business to Singapore, which may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects. Additionally, there is no assurance that the Singapore or Hong Kong regulatory authorities will not issue new regulations governing the financial product and service industry that might require us or our business partners to obtain additional licenses, permits, or approvals for our current or future business operations, which may materially and adversely affect our business operations and financial condition. Failure to obtain additional licenses under current or new regulations may also impair our ability to expand our businesses across new geographical regions.

We are subject to extensive and developing regulatory requirements, and noncompliance with or changes to these regulatory requirements may affect our business operations and financial results.

The digital financial services industry is highly regulated in Asia. In the Singapore and Hong Kong markets where we currently or plan to operate, the government or other regulatory authorities regulate the financial services industry extensively. A number of regulatory authorities, such as the MAS, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Hong Kong Insurance Authority, oversee different aspects of the financial services business in Singapore and Hong Kong, and promulgate and enforce laws and regulations that cover banking, insurance, stored-value facilities, and money-lending services, including entry into such businesses, scope of permitted activities, licenses and permits for various operations, and pricing. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulations in Singapore” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulations in Hong Kong.”

As the digital financial services industry is an emerging and evolving market, the applicable laws, rules, and regulations are continually developing and evolving. Compliance with these regulations is complicated, time

Table of Contents

consuming, and expensive. Any changes in the relevant rules and regulations may result in an increase in our cost of compliance, or might restrict our business activities. Our ability to comply with all applicable laws and regulations is largely dependent on the relevant internal compliance system, as well as the relevant license holder’s ability to attract and retain qualified compliance personnel. While we maintain systems and procedures designed to ensure that we comply with applicable laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that we are able to prevent all possible violations. If we fail to comply with the applicable rules and regulations, we may face fines or restrictions on our business activities, or even a suspension or revocation of some or all of our licenses that allow us to carry on our business activities. In addition, we consider the digital wholesale banking license of the planned Singa Bank, if successfully obtained, as a competitive advantage in the digital financial services industry. If the regulatory authorities in Singapore change their rules and regulations on digital banking licenses affecting the digital banking operations, or delay granting new digital banking licenses, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We are subject to regular and ad hoc regulatory inspections. If the results of the inspections reveal any noncompliance or misconduct, the regulatory authorities may take disciplinary action such as imposing monetary fines, or even revocation or suspension of license. Any material disciplinary actions taken against or penalties imposed on us or our business partners in the future could have an adverse impact on our business operations and financial results.

Our digital financial services business is subject to intense competition, and we may fail to compete successfully against existing or new competitors, which may reduce demand for our services, reduce operating margins, and further result in loss of market share, departures of qualified employees, and increased capital expenditures.

The digital financial services industry is intensely competitive and subject to rapid change, and we expect it to remain so. We currently compete primarily in Singapore and Hong Kong, and on the basis of a number of factors, including the ability to adapt to evolving financial needs of a broad spectrum of clients, our ability to identify market demands and business opportunities, the quality of our services, our employees, the range and price of our products and services, our innovation, our reputation, and the strength of our relationships. If we fail to compete effectively against our competitors, our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.

Digital banking, digital insurance, digital payment, and digital asset exchange, as integral parts of our digital financial services business, generally requires us to react promptly to the evolving demand of our clients and be able to provide innovative financial solutions tailored to their needs. If we are unable to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, drive value for our clients, or effectively align our resources with our goals and objectives, we may not be able to compete effectively. Our competitors may introduce their own value-added services or solutions more effectively than we do, which could adversely impact our growth. Failure to compete effectively against any of these competitive threats could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, the highly competitive nature of our industry could lead to increased pricing pressure which could have a material impact on our overall business and results of operations. We may not be able to compete effectively with our competitors at all times and always be able to provide innovative financial solutions that promptly and accurately address our clients’ needs. If this were to happen, our ability to attract new or retain existing clients will suffer, which would materially and adversely affect our revenue and earnings.

Some of our competitors include other digital and traditional financial institutions and, within the insurance solutions industry, our competitors include (i) other online insurance product and service platforms, (ii) traditional insurance intermediaries, including agents, brokers, and consultants, (iii) online direct sales channels of large insurance companies, (iv) major internet companies that have commenced insurance distribution businesses, and (v) other online insurance technology companies. Some of our competitors have far broader financial and other resources and significant name recognition than us and have the ability to offer a wider range of products, which may enhance their competitive position. They may also offer services which we

Table of Contents

do not currently provide or more attractive products, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage and could result in pricing pressures or lost opportunities, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, we may be at a competitive disadvantage with regard to some of our competitors that have larger client bases, and more professionals.

Our Controlling Shareholder and we may have limited control over Airstar Bank.

Our Controlling Shareholder has limited control over Airstar Bank in light of our Controlling Shareholder’s ownership of 10% of equity interest in Airstar Bank and lack of any contractual arrangements providing our Controlling Shareholder and us with any rights or control over Airstar Bank. Although we believe that we exert our influence through the directors whom our Controlling Shareholder has nominated on Airstar Bank’s board of directors, we do not have the necessary power to mandate or block material corporate actions of Airstar Bank. In addition, we do not consolidate the financial results of Airstar Bank into our financial statements. If Airstar Bank fails to carry out business in a compliant manner, incurs overly excessive amount of debt or goes bankrupt, or its business operations decline, our reputation and prospects may be adversely affected. We are subject to the risk that the controlling shareholder or the board of directors of Airstar Bank may act in a manner that does not serve our interests. The general operational risks, such as inadequate or failing internal control of Airstar Bank, may also expose us and our Controlling Shareholder to reputational and other risks. Furthermore, Airstar Bank or its controlling shareholder may fail to abide by their agreements with us, for which we may have limited or no recourse. Failure of Airstar Bank to perform their obligations or to achieve their expected results, or any negative publicity, whether or not substantiated, may adversely affect our reputation and brand. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business and reputation could be materially and adversely affected.

We depend on our cooperation with our business partners and participants in the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. Our business may be negatively affected if such partners do not continue their relationship with us or if their operations fail.

We cooperate with various business partners and participants in the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem in developing our various businesses. The AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem is a key contributor to our large and expanding client base. If we are not able to attract new partners to our ecosystem, retain our existing ecosystem partners, or renew our existing contracts with major ecosystem partners on terms favorable to us, we may not be able to increase our client base, which will hinder our business growth. Additionally, we may rely on our partners to drive the growth of our client base, and we may incur significant client acquisition costs in the future. The occurrence of any of these circumstances may significantly hinder our ability to carry out our business operations and increase our client base, and may significantly increase our expense and thus our business, financial condition, results of operation, and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

A significant portion of our income is contributed by a limited number of clients. If we cannot retain these clients for any reason or expand our client base, our income may decrease and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020, 2021, and 2022, the top five clients in terms of overall income contribution aggregately accounted for 78.0%, 41.5%, and 43.6% of our total revenue, respectively. Although we plan to continue to expand our client base, launch more tailor-made products and solutions, and generate income from a wider range of clients, we cannot guarantee you that we will be able to succeed, and that such client concentration will decrease. If we fail to retain our top clients, our overall income may decrease and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our businesses depend on key management executives and professional staff, and our business may suffer if we are unable to recruit and retain them.

Our businesses depend on the skills, reputation, and professional experience of our key management executives, the network of resources and relationships they generate during the ordinary course of their activities,

Table of Contents

and the synergies among the diverse fields of expertise and knowledge held by our senior professionals. Therefore, the success of our business depends on the continued services of these individuals. If we lose their services, we may not be able to execute our existing business strategy effectively, and we may have to change our current business direction. These disruptions to our business may take up significant energy and resources of our company, and materially and adversely affect our future prospects.

Moreover, our business operations depend on our professional staff, our most valuable assets. Their skills, reputation, professional experience, and client relationships are critical elements in obtaining and executing client engagements. We devote considerable resources and incentives to recruiting and retaining these personnel. However, the market for quality professional staff is increasingly competitive. We expect to face significant competition in hiring such personnel. Additionally, as we mature, current compensations scheme to attract employees may not be as effective as in the past. The intense competition may require us to offer more competitive compensation and other incentives to our talent, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. As a result, we may find it difficult to retain and motivate these employees, and this could affect their decisions about whether or not they continue to work for us. If we do not succeed in attracting, hiring and integrating quality professional staff, or retaining and motivating existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively.

We may undertake acquisitions, share swaps, investments, joint ventures, or other strategic alliances in the digital financial services industry, which could present unforeseen integration difficulties or costs and may not enhance our business as we expect.

Our strategy includes plans to grow both organically and through acquisitions, share swaps, participation in joint ventures or other strategic alliances in the digital financial services industry. Joint ventures and strategic alliances may expose us to new operational, regulatory and market risks, as well as risks associated with additional capital requirements. We may not be able, however, to identify suitable future acquisition or share swap candidates or alliance partners. Even if we identify suitable candidates or partners, the evaluation, negotiation, and monitoring of the transactions could require significant management attention and internal resources and we may be unable to complete an acquisition, share swap, or alliance on terms commercially acceptable to us. Even when acquisitions or share swaps are completed, we may encounter difficulties in integrating the acquired entities and businesses, achieving expected synergies, or aligning the interests of our businesses, such as difficulties in retention of clients and personnel, implementation of our business plan for the combined business or to achieve anticipated revenue or profitability targets, challenge of integration and effective deployment of operations or technologies, for acquisitions in which the acquired company’s financial performance is incorporated into our financial results (either in full or in part), the dependence on the acquired company’s accounting, financial reporting, internal controls and processes, and assumption of unforeseen or hidden material liabilities or regulatory noncompliance issues. Any of these events could disrupt our business plans and strategies, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Such risks could also result in our failure to derive the intended benefits of the acquisitions, share swaps, digital investments, joint ventures or strategic alliances, and we may be unable to recover our investment in such initiatives. We expect that acquisitions and share swaps will continue to be a key part of business strategy. Our success in this regard will depend on ability to identify and compete for appropriate acquisition candidates and to complete the transactions we decide to pursue with favorable results. We cannot assure you that we could successfully mitigate or overcome these risks.

Completion of our proposed acquisitions is subject to a number of conditions, including certain regulatory approvals for which the receipt and timing cannot be guaranteed or predicted.

As part of our

fusion-in

program, we have entered, and may continue to enter, into binding term sheets for proposed acquisitions with which we may decide not to proceed. For example, we have entered into a binding term sheet in June 2020 pursuant to which we will acquire a controlling interest in CapBridge Financial Pte. Ltd., the holding company of a leading online capital raising platform based in Singapore for global growth

Table of Contents

companies. We further updated our mutual understanding with CapBridge to establish a long-term strategic partnership alongside with AMTD IDEA Group for the three entities to focus on digitalization solutions connecting private markets with public capital markets opportunities and to update the overall transaction framework to include three separate phases of investment. CapBridge is integral to our plans to help companies in various stages of development in our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem raise private capital, as well as to conduct direct private listings and share trading via 1exchange, a digital asset exchange platform licensed by the MAS. If we fail to complete our proposed acquisitions, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to ensure the accuracy and completeness of third-party insurance product information and the effectiveness of our recommendation of insurance products.

Our insurance brokerage clients rely on the third-party insurance product information we provide. While we believe that such information is generally accurate, complete and reliable, there can be no assurance that the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information can be maintained in the future. We are legally required to provide certain disclosures to our clients, including how we are paid as an insurance broker. If we provide any inaccurate or incomplete information, or we fail to present accurate or complete information of any insurance products which could lead to our clients’ failure to get the protection or us being warned or punished by regulatory authorities, our reputation could be harmed and we could experience reduced client engagement, which may adversely affect our business and financial performance.

We may not be able to recommend suitable insurance products to our clients. The data provided to us by our clients, insurer partners, and other channels may not be accurate or up to date. Our risk consultation team may not fully understand our clients’ insurance and risk management needs and recommend suitable products to them. If our clients are recommended insurance solutions that do not suit their protection or related needs, or such solutions are ineffective, they may lose trust in us. Our insurance clients and insurer partners may consequently be reluctant to continue to engage or partner with us. As a result, our business, reputation, financial performance, and prospects will be materially and adversely affected.

Because the brokerage income we earn on the sale of insurance products is based on premiums, and commission fee rates agreed between us and our insurer partners, any decrease in these premiums or commission fee rates may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We derive a significant portion of revenue in our insurance solutions business from commission fees paid to us out of the premiums that insurer partners charge our clients for coverage. The commission fee rates are negotiated between insurer partners and us, and are typically based on the premiums that the insurer products charge. Commission fee rates and premiums can change based on the prevailing economic, regulatory, taxation, competitive, and other possible factors that affect our commission fee agreement with insurer partners. These factors, which are not within our control, include the capacity of insurer partners to place new business, profits of insurer partners, client demand for insurance products, the availability of comparable products from other insurance companies at lower costs, and the availability of alternative insurance products, such as government benefits and self-insurance plans, to clients. Because we do not determine, and cannot predict, the timing or extent of premium or commission fee rate changes, we cannot predict the effect any of these changes may have on our operations. Any decrease in premiums or commission fee rates may significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Unfavorable financial market and economic conditions could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

As a digital financial services firm with business exposure and operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, our businesses are or will be materially affected by conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions in Singapore, Hong Kong, and throughout the world. Financial markets and economic conditions could be

Table of Contents

negatively impacted by many factors beyond our control, such as inability to access credit markets, rising interest rates or inflation, terrorism, political uncertainty, pandemic, social unrest, fiscal policy of Singapore, Hong Kong, or other governments and the timing and nature of any regulatory reform. The rising political tensions between the United States and China, which is caused by, among other things, trade disputes, the

COVID-19

(COVID-19)

in a significant number of countries around the world has resulted in, and may intensify, global economic distress, and the extent to which it may affect our results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

The credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions due to the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The conflict is expected to have further global economic consequences, including but not limited to the possibility of severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in inflation rates and uncertainty about economic and political stability. In addition, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russia which increases the risk that Russia may resort to retaliatory actions, including the launching of cyberattacks. Any of the foregoing consequences, including those we cannot yet predict, may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of the ADSs to be adversely affected.

We make investments using our own capital and may not realize any profits from these investments for a considerable period of time.

Our investments consist of investments in equity securities of private companies using our own capital. We make investment decisions based on a number of factors, including how the investment can contribute to the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, rather than purely targeting for investment returns. We may make unsound investment decisions for this reason or due to fraudulent and concealed, inaccurate or misleading statements from a target company in the course of our due diligence, which could lead us to mistakenly estimate the value of the target company and affect our ability to derive profit from such investments. In addition, our understanding and judgment of the industry in which the target company operates may be mistaken and result in unwise investment decisions.

We make investments in digital finance and new economy sectors in Asia and are subject to concentration risks. Our investment portfolio may be concentrated in certain sectors, geographic regions, individual investments, or types of securities that may or may not be listed. Any significant decline in the value of our investment portfolio may therefore adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, we have limited control over all of our investee companies. Even if we have a board seat in certain investee companies, we do not have the necessary power to mandate or block material corporate actions.

If these investee companies fail to carry out business in a compliant manner, incur overly excessive amount of debt or go bankrupt, or the business operations decline, the fair value of our investment in these companies may deteriorate or, in extreme cases, decrease to zero. We are subject to the risk that the majority shareholders or the management of these investee companies may act in a manner that does not serve our interests. The general operational risks, such as inadequate or failing internal control of these investee companies, may also expose our investments to risks. Furthermore, these investee companies may fail to abide by their agreements with us, for which we may have limited or no recourse. Our investees may not declare dividend, or even if they do, we may not be able to secure liquidity conveniently until we receive such dividend. Failure of our investees to perform their obligations or to achieve their expected results, or any negative publicity, whether or not substantiated, may

Table of Contents

adversely affect our reputation and brand. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our digital investments business is subject to liquidity risks.

All of our digital investments are in the form of securities that are not publicly traded and are subject to liquidity risks. In many cases, there may be prohibition by contract or by applicable laws from selling such securities for a period of time or there may not be a public market for such securities. Accordingly, under certain conditions, we may be forced to either sell securities at lower prices than we had expected to realize or defer, potentially for a considerable period of time, sales that we had planned to make. Investing in these securities can involve a high degree of risk, and we may lose some or all of the principal amount of such investments.

Our results of operations may be materially affected by fluctuations in the fair value of our equity investments in our investee companies.

We have made equity investments in private companies and recognize changes in fair value on financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss, or FVTPL, on our consolidated statement of profit or loss. For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020, 2021, and 2022, changes in fair value on financial assets measured at FVTPL from our digital investments business and digital media, content, and marketing business accounted for 27.5%, 41.0%, and 65.6% of our profit for the year, respectively.

Fair value of our equity investments is subject to market fluctuations due to changes in the market prices of securities, interest rates, or other market factors, such as liquidity. While we may seek to hedge the market risk for some of these investments, an effective hedge may not be available, and if available, may not be fully effective. We measure their fair value based on an assessment of each underlying security, considering rounds of financing, third-party transactions, and market-based information, including comparable company transactions, trading multiples, and changes in market outlook.

Our international expansion is subject to various risks.

We primarily operate in Singapore and Hong Kong, but have been pursuing and will continue to pursue international expansion strategies, initially in Southeast Asia. International expansion may expose us to additional risks, including:

•

ever changing global environment, including changes in U.S. and international trade policies;

•

challenges associated with relying on local partners in markets that are not as familiar to us, including joint venture partners to help us establish our business;

•

difficulties managing operations in new regions, including complying with the various regulatory and legal requirements;

•

different approval or licensing requirements;

•

recruiting sufficient suitable personnel in new markets;

•

challenges in providing services and solutions as well as support in these new markets;

•

challenges in attracting business partners and clients;

•

potential adverse tax consequences;

•

foreign exchange losses;

•

limited protection for intellectual property rights;

•

inability to effectively enforce contractual or legal rights; and

•

local political, regulatory and economic instability or wars, civil unrest, and terrorist incidents.

Table of Contents

If we are unable to effectively avoid or mitigate these risks, our ability to expand our business internationally will be affected and our operations thus will be limited to only the Singapore and Hong Kong markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We depend on our cooperation with insurer partners. Our business may be negatively affected if our insurer partners do not continue their relationship with us or if their operations fail.

Our insurance solutions business is, to a significant extent, dependent on our continued and healthy relationship with our insurer partners, and may be negatively affected if our insurer partners terminate their relationship with us or fail to meet performance obligations. Certain insurer partners have been associated with a significant portion of our revenue generated from clients in the past. Our ability to attract clients depends on the quantity and quality of insurance products offered by insurer partners. Our arrangements with our insurer partners are typically not exclusive, and they may have similar arrangements with our competitors. Our partners may terminate their relationships with us or decide to exclusively or preferentially cooperate with our competitors. There can be no assurance that we can maintain relationships with our existing insurer partners on commercially desirable terms. If our insurer partners terminate their relationship with us, our supply of products and services may be interrupted and affect our ability to maintain existing clients and secure new clients.

If our insurer partners or the reinsurance company partners fail to properly fulfill their obligations as insurers under the insurance policies sold by us, it may affect our ability to maintain existing clients and secure new clients. If our insurer partners or the reinsurance companies with whom they or we partner become insolvent, our clients may not be able to realize the protection expected from the insurance policies, which will negatively affect our reputation and, in turn, our performance and financial results.

Our business is subject to various cybersecurity and other operational risks.

We face various cybersecurity and other operational risks relating to our businesses on a daily basis. We rely heavily on financial, accounting, communication and other data processing systems as well as the people who operate them to securely process, transmit and store sensitive and confidential client information, and communicate globally with our staff, clients, partners, and third-party vendors. We also depend on various third-party software and cloud-based storage platforms as well as other information technology systems in our business operations. These systems, including third-party systems, may fail to operate properly or become disabled as a result of tampering or a breach of our network security systems or otherwise, including for reasons beyond our control.

Our clients typically provide us with sensitive and confidential information as part of our business arrangements. We are susceptible of attempts to obtain unauthorized access of such sensitive and confidential client information. We also may be subject to cyber-attacks involving leak and destruction of sensitive and confidential client information and our proprietary information, which could result from an employee’s or agent’s failure to follow data security procedures or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by government authorities. Although cyber-attacks have not had a material impact on our operations to date, breaches of our or third-party network security systems on which we rely could involve attacks that are intended to obtain unauthorized access to and disclose sensitive and confidential client information and our proprietary information, destroy data or disable, degrade or sabotage our systems, often through the introduction of computer viruses and other means, and could originate from a wide variety of sources, including state actors or other unknown third parties. The increase in using mobile technologies can heighten these and other operational risks.

We cannot assure you that we or the third parties on which we rely will be able to anticipate, detect or implement effective preventative measures against frequently changing cyber-attacks. We may incur significant costs in maintaining and enhancing appropriate protections to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated methods

Table of Contents

of attack. In addition to the implementation of data security measures, we require our employees to maintain the confidentiality of the proprietary information that we hold. If an employee’s failure to follow proper data security procedures results in the improper release of confidential information, or our systems are otherwise compromised, malfunctioning or disabled, we could suffer a disruption of our business, financial losses, liability to clients, regulatory sanctions, and damage to our reputation.

We operate in businesses that are highly dependent on proper processing of financial transactions. We also rely on third-party service providers for certain aspects of our business. Any interruption or deterioration in the performance of these third parties or failures of their information systems and technology could impair our operations, affect our reputation and adversely affect our businesses.

The technologies we use for the operation of our business are new and require continuous developments and upgrades. We cannot assure you that these technologies will fully support our business.

We regard technology as critical to our ability to provide high-quality products and superior client services in our businesses and operations. We rely on our business partners and investees in developing the sophisticated and innovative technology systems that we use for our business activities. We expect these technologies to support the smooth performance of key functions in our platform. To adapt to evolving client needs, requirements of our business partners, and emerging industry trends, we may need to continue to invest in new technologies or the upgrade of existing technologies to deliver our products and services. We have a number of strategic initiatives involving investments in or partnerships with technology companies as well as investments in technology systems and infrastructure to support our growth strategy. These investments may be costly, may not be profitable or may be less profitable than what we have experienced historically. If these business partners or investees fail to perform their obligations or otherwise cease to work with us, our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives could be adversely affected. If our efforts to invest in the development of new technologies or the upgrade of existing technologies are unsuccessful, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, the maintenance and processing of various operating and financial data is essential to our data analytical capabilities and the

day-to-day

operation of our business. Our ability to provide products and services and to conduct

day-to-day

business operations depend, in part, on our ability to maintain and make timely and cost-effective enhancement and introduce innovative functions which can meet changing business and operational needs. Failure to do so could put us at a disadvantage to our competitors and cause economic losses. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to keep up with technological improvements or that the technology developed by others will not render our services less competitive or attractive.

The proper functioning of our online platform and technology infrastructure is essential to our business. Any errors in or disruption to our IT systems and infrastructure and those on which we rely could materially affect our ability to maintain the satisfactory performance of our platform and deliver consistent services to our clients.

Our business is dependent on the ability of our IT systems and those of our business partners, vendors, and investee companies to timely process a large amount of information and transactions. We expect to rely on the API Exchange platform of ASEAN Financial Innovation Network, or AFIN, and other third parties to deploy digital solutions for the planned Singa Bank’s future digital banking platform in Singapore, subject to successfully obtaining a digital wholesale banking license from the MAS and meeting other regulatory requirements. We may also rely on PolicyPal’s IT systems and infrastructure to provide digital financial services to clients in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as CapBridge to provide the same upon completion of our proposed transaction. The reliability, availability and satisfactory performance of our IT systems and those on which we rely are critical to our success, our ability to attract and retain clients and our ability to maintain a satisfactory user experience and client service. Our servers and those of our business partners and investee companies may be vulnerable to computer viruses, traffic spike that exceeds the capacity of our or their servers,

Table of Contents

electricity power interruptions, physical or electronic

break-ins,

and similar disruptions, which could lead to system interruptions, website slowdown and unavailability, delays in transaction processing, loss of data, and the inability to accept and fulfill client orders.

Our software, hardware, and systems and those on which we rely may contain undetected errors that could have a material adverse effect on our business, particularly to the extent such errors are not detected and remedied quickly. The solutions we provide are designed to process complex transactions and deliver reports and other information related to those transactions, all at high volumes and processing speeds. Since clients use our services for important aspects of their businesses, any errors, defects, disruptions in services, or other performance problems with our services could hurt our reputation and damage our clients’ businesses. Software and system errors, or human error, could delay or inhibit settlement of payments, result in over-settlement, cause reporting errors, or prevent us from collecting transaction fees. We can provide no assurance that we, our business partners or our investee companies will not experience unexpected human errors, system errors or interruptions in the future. We can provide no assurance that our current security mechanisms and those of our business partners and investee companies will be sufficient to protect our and their IT systems and technology infrastructure from any third-party intrusions, electricity power interruptions, viruses and hacker attacks, information and data theft, and other similar activities. Any such future occurrences could damage our reputation and result in a material decrease in our revenue.

Maintaining and upgrading the technology infrastructure on which we rely require significant investment of time and resources, including adding new hardware, updating software, and recruiting and training new engineering personnel. During updates, systems on which we rely may experience interruptions, and the new technologies and infrastructures may not be fully integrated with the existing systems timely, or at all. Any failure to maintain and improve the technology infrastructure on which we rely could result in unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times, impaired quality of user experience and delays in reporting accurate operating and financial information, which, in turn, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any negative publicity with respect to us, our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, or other beneficial owners, our peers, business partners, or our industry in general, may materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, and results of operations.

Our reputation and brand recognition play an important role in earning and maintaining the trust and confidence of our existing and prospective clients. Our reputation and brand are vulnerable to many threats that can be difficult or impossible to control, and costly or impossible to remediate. Negative publicity about us, such as alleged misconduct, other improper activities, or negative rumors relating to our business, shareholders, or other beneficial owners, founders, affiliates, directors, officers, or other employees, can harm our reputation, business, and results of operations, even if they are baseless or satisfactorily addressed. There has been media report that our founder was alleged to have not adhered to certain internal policies during his previous employment. In addition, we recently became aware of additional media reports and allegations leading to further negative publicity. These reports and allegations, even if unproven or meritless, may lead to inquiries, investigations, or other legal actions against us by any regulatory or government authorities. Any regulatory inquiries or investigations and lawsuits against us, and perceptions of conflicts of interest, inappropriate business conduct by us or perceived wrong doing by any key member of our management team, among other things, could substantially damage our reputation regardless of their merits, and cause us to incur significant costs to defend ourselves. As we reinforce our ecosystem and stay close to our clients and other “AMTD SpiderNet” stakeholders, any negative market perception or publicity on our business partners that we closely cooperate with, or any regulatory inquiries or investigations and lawsuits initiated against them, may also have an impact on our brand and reputation, or subject us to regulatory inquiries or investigations or lawsuits. Moreover, any negative media publicity about the industries in which we operate in general or product or service quality problems of other firms in such industries, including our competitors, may also negatively impact our reputation and brand. If we are unable to maintain a good reputation or further enhance our brand recognition, our ability to

Table of Contents

attract and retain clients, third-party partners, and key employees could be harmed and, as a result, our business, financial position, and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Our operations may be subject to transfer pricing adjustments by competent authorities.

We may use transfer pricing arrangements to account for business activities between us and our Controlling Shareholder, the different entities within our consolidated group, or other related parties. We cannot assure you that the tax authorities in the jurisdictions where we operate would not subsequently challenge the appropriateness of our transfer pricing arrangements or that the relevant regulations or standards governing such arrangements will not be subject to future changes. If a competent tax authority later finds that the transfer prices and the terms that we have applied are not appropriate, such authority may require us or our subsidiaries to

re-assess

the transfer prices and

re-allocate

the income or adjust the taxable income. Any such reallocation or adjustment could result in a higher overall tax liability for us and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our risk management and internal control systems, as well as the risk management tools available to us, may not fully protect us against various risks inherent in our business.

We follow our comprehensive internal risk management framework and procedures to manage our risks, including, but not limited to, reputational, legal, regulatory, compliance, operational, market, liquidity, and credit risks. However, our risk management policies, procedures, and internal controls may not be adequate or effective in mitigating our risks or protecting us against unidentified or unanticipated risks. In particular, some methods of managing risks are based upon observed historical market behavior and our experience in the financial industry. These methods may fail to predict future risk exposures, which could be significantly greater than those indicated by our historical measures. Other risk management methods depend upon an evaluation of available information regarding operating and market conditions and other matters, which may not be accurate, complete,

up-to-date,

or properly evaluated. In addition, the capital markets are constantly developing, the information and experience that we rely on for our risk management methods may become quickly outdated as capital markets and regulatory environment continue to evolve. Any material deficiencies or failure in our risk management and internal control systems and procedures may adversely affect our ability to identify or report our deficiencies or

non-compliance.

For a discussion of risks relating to these material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, see “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—We have identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and if we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control to remediate our material weakness over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations, or prevent fraud.” In addition, failure of our employees to effectively enforce such risk management and internal controls procedures, or any of the foregoing risks, may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Fraud or misconduct by our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients, or other third parties could harm our reputation and business and may be difficult to detect and deter.

It is not always possible to detect and deter fraud or misconduct by our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients or other third parties. The precautions that we take to detect and prevent such activity may not be effective in all cases, and we may suffer significant reputational harm and financial loss for any fraud misconduct by any of these individuals. The potential harm to our reputation and to our business caused by such fraud or misconduct is impossible to quantify.

There is a risk that our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients or other third parties could engage in fraud or misconduct that materially and adversely affects our business, including a decrease in returns on our own invested capital. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our

Table of Contents

businesses. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients or other third parties could materially and adversely affect us and our investors. For example, our businesses require that we properly handle confidential information. If our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients or other third parties were to improperly use or disclose confidential information, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position, and existing and future business relationships. If any of our directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, clients or other third parties were to engage in fraud or misconduct or were to be accused of such fraud or misconduct, our business and reputation could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to litigation and regulatory investigations and proceedings and may not always be successful in defending ourselves against such claims or proceedings.

We face significant litigation and regulatory risks, especially operating in the financial services and insurance industries, including the risk of lawsuits and other legal actions relating to compliance of regulatory requirements in areas such as information disclosure, sales practices, product design, fraud and misconduct, as well as protection of sensitive and confidential client information. From time to time we may be subject to lawsuits and arbitration claims in the ordinary course of our business brought by external parties or disgruntled current or former employees, inquiries, investigations, and proceedings by regulatory and other governmental agencies. Actions brought against us, with or without merits, may result in administrative measures, settlements, injunctions, fines, penalties, negative publicities, or other results adverse to us that could have material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Even if we are successful in defending ourselves against these actions, the costs of such defense may be significant.

In market downturns, the number of legal claims and amount of damages sought in litigation and regulatory proceedings may increase. In addition, our affiliates may also encounter litigation, regulatory investigations and proceedings for the practices in their business operations. Our clients may also be involved in litigation, investigation or other legal proceedings, some of which may relate to deals that we have advised, whether or not there has been any fault on our part.

We may not be able to fully detect money laundering and other illegal or improper activities in our business operations on a timely basis or at all, which could subject us to liabilities and penalties.

We are required to comply with applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws and other regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate. The anti-money laundering laws and regulations in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States require us to establish sound internal control policies and procedures with respect to anti-money laundering monitoring and reporting activities. Although we have adopted policies and procedures aimed at detecting, and preventing being used for, money-laundering activities by criminals or terrorist-related organizations and individuals or improper activities (including but not limited to market manipulation and aiding and abetting tax evasion), such policies and procedures may not completely eliminate instances where our networks may be used by other parties to engage in money laundering and other illegal or improper activities. If we fail to fully comply with applicable laws and regulations, the relevant government agencies may impose fines and other penalties on us, which may adversely affect our business.

We regularly encounter potential conflicts of interest, and our failure to identify and address such conflicts of interest could adversely affect our business.

We face the possibility of actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest in the ordinary course of our business operations. Conflicts of interest may exist between (i) our different businesses; (ii) us and our clients; (iii) our clients; (iv) us and our employees; (v) our clients and our employees, or (vi) us and our controlling shareholders and their controlling entities. As we expand the scope of our business and our client base, it is critical for us to be able to timely address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where two or more

Table of Contents

interests within our businesses naturally exist but are in competition or conflict. We have put in place internal control and risk management procedures that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest. However, appropriately identifying and managing actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation and our clients’ confidence in us could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. It is possible that actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest could also give rise to client dissatisfaction, litigation, or regulatory enforcement actions. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including a reluctance of some potential clients and counterparties to do business with us. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The current tensions in international economic relations may negatively affect the demand for our services, and our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

Recently there have been heightened tensions in international economic relations, such as the one between the United States and China and also as a result of the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

The U.S. government has recently imposed, and has recently proposed to impose additional, new, or higher tariffs on certain products imported from China to penalize China for what it characterizes as unfair trade practices. China has responded by imposing, and proposing to impose additional, new, or higher tariffs on certain products imported from the United States. For example, September 17, 2018, former President Trump announced his decision to impose a 10% tariff on the third list of US$200 billion in imports from China to the United States effective September 24, 2018. On May 8, 2019, the U.S. government announced it would increase these tariffs to 25%. These tariffs are in addition to two earlier rounds of tariffs implemented against Chinese products on June 6, 2018 and August 16, 2018 that amount to tariffs on US$50 billion of Chinese products imported into the United States. On May 13, 2019, China responded by imposing tariffs on certain U.S. goods on a smaller scale, and proposed to impose additional tariffs on U.S. goods. On January 15, 2020, the United States and China entered into a phase one trade deal.

In addition, political tensions between the United States and China have escalated due to, among other things, trade disputes, the

COVID-19

outbreak, sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury on certain officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the PRC central government and the executive orders issued by the U.S. government in August 2020 that prohibit certain transactions with certain selected leading Chinese internet companies as well as their products. Rising political tensions could reduce levels of trades, investments, technological exchanges, and other economic activities between the two major economies. Such tensions between the United States and China, and any escalation thereof, may have a negative impact on the general, economic, political, and social conditions in China and, in turn, adversely impacting our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Amid these tensions, the U.S. government has imposed and may impose additional measures on entities in China, including sanctions.

Uncertainty surrounding the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine could also negatively impact global and regional financial markets. Poor relations between the United States and Russia, sanctions by the United States and the European Union against Russia, and any escalation of political tensions or economic instability could increase the threat of armed conflict, cyberwarfare and economic instability that could further increase market volatility and uncertainty.

As a financial services firm with business exposure and operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, our businesses are materially affected by the financial markets and economic conditions in Singapore, China, and

Table of Contents

elsewhere in the world. Escalations of the tensions may lead to slower growth in the global economy in general, which in turn could negatively affect our clients’ businesses and materially reduce demand for our services, thus potentially negatively affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may need additional financing but may not be able to obtain it on favorable terms or at all.

We may require additional financing for further growth and development of our business, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If our existing resources are insufficient to satisfy our requirements, we may seek to issue equity or debt securities or obtain new or expanded credit facilities. Our ability to obtain external financing in the future is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including our future financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, share price performance, liquidity of international capital and lending markets, and the Singapore and Hong Kong financial industry. We cannot assure you that we will be able to secure financing in a timely manner or in amounts or on terms favorable to us, or at all. Any failure to raise needed funds on terms favorable to us, or at all, could severely restrict our liquidity as well as have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Moreover, any issuance of equity or equity-linked securities could result in significant dilution to our existing shareholders.

We may be subject to legal or regulatory liability if we are unable to protect the personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients.

We collect, store, and process certain personal and sensitive data from our clients, particularly under our insurance solutions business, and we make certain personal information provided by clients or third party data providers available to insurer or other partners with client consent. We also collect, store, and process operating data and other information from our clients under our SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business. We are required to protect the personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients under applicable laws, rules and regulations. While we have taken steps to protect the personal and sensitive data and confidential information of clients that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. In addition, we enter into

non-disclosure

agreements with potential business partners from time to time which may contain personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients. Any breach or leakage of such

non-disclosure

agreements by our potential business partners may subject us to liability. The relevant authorities may impose sanctions or issue orders against us if we fail to protect the personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients, and we may have to compensate our clients if we fail to do so. We routinely transmit and receive personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients through the internet and other electronic means. Any inability to adequately address privacy concerns, even if unfounded, or to comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations and privacy standards, or any misuse or mishandling of such personal and sensitive data and confidential information could result in additional cost, legal liabilities, regulatory actions, and reputational damage to us, which could in turn inhibit the use of our platform, and materially and adversely affect our business prospects and results of operation.

If our insurance coverage is insufficient, we may be subject to significant costs and business disruption.

We currently have insurance coverage such as professional indemnity insurance for certain of our regulated activities, and property, office, computer insurance, employee compensation and benefits, and travel insurance through policies maintained by our Controlling Shareholder. We have purchased directors and officers insurance from reputable global insurers and we do not plan on purchasing

key-man

insurance coverage. We consider our insurance coverage to be reasonable in light of the nature of our business, but we cannot assure you that our insurance coverage is sufficient to prevent us from any loss or that we will be able to successfully claim our losses under the current insurance policies on a timely basis, or at all. If we incur any loss that is not covered by our Controlling Shareholder’s insurance policies, or the compensated amount is significantly less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Table of Contents

If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

We have identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and if we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control to remediate our material weakness over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations, or prevent fraud.

In the course of auditing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended April 30, 2022, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as well as other control deficiencies as of April 30, 2022, in accordance with the standards established by the PCAOB. As defined in the standards established by the PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

The material weakness identified relates to a lack of internal audit function to monitor, evaluate and communicate internal control deficiencies. Following the identification of the material weaknesses, we have taken measures and plan to continue to take measure to remedy the material weakness that has been identified. For a discussion of these measures, see “Item 15. Controls and Procedures—Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” We cannot assure you, however, that these measures will fully address the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting or that we will not identify additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the future.

We are a public company in the United States and are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the rules and regulations of the NYSE. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, requires that we include a report from management on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form

20-F

beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2023. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated, or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, as we have become a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of the ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our consolidated financial statements for prior periods.

Table of Contents

We may face intellectual property infringement claims, which could be time-consuming and costly to defend and may result in the loss of significant rights by us.

Although we have not been subject to any litigation, pending or threatened, alleging infringement of third parties’ intellectual property rights, we cannot assure you that such infringement claims will not be asserted against us in the future. Third parties may own copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, ticker symbols, internet content, and other intellectual properties that are similar to ours in jurisdictions where we currently have no active operations. If we expand our business to or engage in other commercial activities in those jurisdictions using our own copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and internet content, we may not be able to use these intellectual properties or face potential lawsuits from those third parties and incur substantial losses if we fail to defend ourselves in those lawsuits. We have policies and procedures in place to reduce the likelihood that we or our employees may use, develop, or make available any content or applications without the proper licenses or necessary third-party consents. However, these policies and procedures may not be effective in completely preventing the unauthorized posting or use of copyrighted material or the infringement of other rights of third parties.

Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming and could divert resources and management attention from the operation of our business. If there is a successful claim of infringement, we may be required to alter our services, cease certain activities, pay substantial royalties and damages to, and obtain one or more licenses from third parties. We may not be able to obtain those licenses on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Any of those consequences could cause us to lose revenue, impair our client relationships and harm our reputation.

Any failure to protect our intellectual property could harm our business and competitive position.

We maintain a number of registered domain names. As of the date of this annual report, we had one trademark registered in Hong Kong and two trademarks registered in Singapore. We may in the future acquire new intellectual property such as trademarks, copyrights, domain names, and

know-how.

We will rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and contractual arrangements to protect our intellectual property rights. It is possible that third parties may copy or otherwise obtain and use our trademarks without authorization or otherwise infringe on our rights. We may not be able to successfully pursue claims for infringement that interfere with our ability to use our trademarks, website, or other relevant intellectual property or have adverse impact on our brand. We cannot assure you that any of our intellectual property rights would not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented, or such intellectual property will be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, other parties may misappropriate our intellectual property rights, which would cause us to suffer economic or reputational damages.

We may incur losses or experience disruption of our operations as a result of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including the emergence of an epidemic, pandemic, social unrest, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters.

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by catastrophic events or other business continuity problems, such as natural or

man-made

disasters, pandemics, social unrest, war, riots, terrorist attacks, or other public safety concerns. If we were to experience a natural or

man-made

disaster, disruption due to social or political unrest, or disruption involving electronic communications or other services used by us or third parties with which we conduct business, the continuity of our operations will partially depend on the availability of our people and office facilities and the proper functioning of our computer, software, telecommunications, transaction processing, and other related systems. A disaster or a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses, a disruption involving electronic communications or other services used by us or third parties with whom we conduct business, or a disruption that directly affects our business exposure and operations in Singapore and Hong Kong, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to continue to operate our business without interruption. Our business could also be adversely affected if our employees are affected by epidemics, pandemics, natural or

man-made

disasters, disruptions due to social or political unrest or disruption

Table of Contents

involving electronic communications. In addition, our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that any epidemic or pandemic harms the Singapore, Hong Kong, or global economy in general. The incidence and severity of disasters, epidemics or pandemics or other business continuity problems are unpredictable, and our inability to timely and successfully recover could materially disrupt our businesses and cause material financial loss, regulatory actions, reputational harm, or legal liability.

In addition, although the recent outbreak of

COVID-19

may increase demand for online financial solutions, digital media marketing, and other online-based products and services, its impact, including impact on our employees, clients, business partners, and third-party service providers, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. This outbreak of

COVID-19

has caused, and may continue to cause, companies in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the rest of the world, including us and certain of our business partners, to implement temporary adjustment of work schedules and travel plans, mandating employees to work from home and collaborate remotely. As a result, we may experience lower efficiency and productivity, internally and externally, which may adversely affect our service quality. Moreover, our business operations depend on our professional staff and the continued services of these individuals. If any of our employees is suspected of having contracted

COVID-19,

we may be required to apply quarantines or suspend our operations. The extent to which this outbreak impacts our results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of this outbreak and future actions we take, if any, to contain this outbreak or treat its impact, among others.

Increases in labor costs may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The economy in Singapore, Hong Kong, and globally has experienced general increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, average wages in Singapore, Hong Kong, and certain other regions are expected to continue to increase. In addition, we are required by Singapore and Hong Kong laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including mandatory provident fund to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to fines and other penalties. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to control our labor costs or pass on these increasing labor costs, our financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Risks Relating to Our Relationship with the Controlling Shareholder

We have limited experience operating as a stand-alone public company.

AMTD Digital Inc. was incorporated in September 2019 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of our Controlling Shareholder. Our Controlling Shareholder also controls AMTD IDEA Group, a leading Hong Kong-headquartered comprehensive financial institution dual-listed on both the NYSE and

SGX-ST

(NYSE: AMTD; SGX: HKB). However, we have limited experience conducting our operations as a stand-alone public company. Prior to our initial public offering in July 2022, our Controlling Shareholder has provided us with financial, administrative, human resources, and legal services, and also has provided us with the services of a number of its executives and employees. After we become a stand-alone public company, we expect our Controlling Shareholder to continue to provide us with certain support services, but to the extent our Controlling Shareholder does not continue to provide us with such support, we will need to create our own support system. We may encounter operational, administrative, and strategic difficulties as we adjust to operating as a stand-alone public company. This may cause us to react more slowly than our competitors to industry changes and may divert our management’s attention from running our business or otherwise harm our operations.

In addition, since we have become a public company, our management team will need to develop the expertise necessary to comply with the numerous regulatory and other requirements applicable to public companies, including requirements relating to corporate governance, listing standards and securities and investor

Table of Contents

relationships issues. As a stand-alone public company, our management will have to evaluate our internal controls system with new thresholds of materiality, and to implement necessary changes to our internal controls system. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so in a timely and effective manner.

Our financial information included in this annual report may not be representative of our financial condition and results of operations if we had been operating as a stand-alone company.

Prior to our establishment, the operations of our insurance solutions, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, and digital investments businesses were carried out by companies owned or controlled by our Controlling Shareholder. For all periods presented, our consolidated financial statements include all assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and cash flows that were directly attributable to our insurance solutions, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, and digital investments businesses whether held or incurred by our Controlling Shareholder or by us. With respect to costs of operations of the insurance solutions, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, and digital investments businesses, an allocation of certain costs and expenses of our Controlling Shareholder were also included. These allocations were made using a proportional cost allocation method by considering the proportion of revenue and actual usage metrics, among other things attributable to us. We made numerous estimates, assumptions, and allocations in our historical financial statements because our Controlling Shareholder did not account for us, and we did not operate as a stand-alone company for any period prior to the completion of our initial public offering in July 2022. Although our management believes the assumptions underlying our financial statements and the above allocations are reasonable, our financial statements may not necessarily reflect our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows as if we operated as a stand-alone public company during the periods presented. See Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Transactions with Our Controlling Shareholder” for our arrangements with our Controlling Shareholder and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report for our historical cost allocation. In addition, we are in the process of establishing our own financial, administrative, and other support systems to replace our Controlling Shareholder’s systems, the cost of which could be significantly different from cost allocation with our Controlling Shareholder for the same services. Therefore, you should not view our historical results as indicators of our future performance.

We may not continue to receive the same level of support from our Controlling Shareholder.

We have benefitted significantly from our Controlling Shareholder’s strong market position and brand recognition, as well as its expertise in the insurance solutions business. We may enter into a series of agreements relating to our ongoing business operations and service arrangements with our Controlling Shareholder in the future, we cannot assure you we will continue to receive the same level of support from our Controlling Shareholder as we now operate as a stand-alone public company. Our current clients may react negatively to our restructuring. This effort may not be successful, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

Our agreements with our Controlling Shareholder or any of its controlling shareholders may be less favorable to us than similar agreements negotiated between unaffiliated third parties. In particular, our

non-competition

agreement with our Controlling Shareholder limits the scope of business that we are allowed to conduct.

In May 2021, we entered into a series of agreements with our Controlling Shareholder and the terms of such agreements may be less favorable to us than would be the case if they were negotiated with unaffiliated third parties. In particular, under the

non-competition

agreement that we entered into with our Controlling Shareholder, we agree during the

non-competition

period (which will end on the later of (1) two years after the first date when our Controlling Shareholder ceases to own in aggregate at least 20% of the voting power of our then outstanding securities and (2) the fifth anniversary after July 15, 2022 being the date of our initial public offering of the ADSs listed and traded on the NYSE) not to compete with our Controlling Shareholder in the businesses then conducted by our Controlling Shareholder, except that we may own

non-controlling

equity

Table of Contents

interest in any company competing with our Controlling Shareholder. Such contractual limitations significantly affect our ability to diversify our revenue sources and may materially and adversely impact our business and prospects should the growth of our businesses slow down. In addition, pursuant to our master transaction agreement that we entered into with our Controlling Shareholder, we agree to indemnify our Controlling Shareholder for liabilities arising from litigation and other contingencies related to our business and assumed these liabilities as part of our restructuring. The allocation of assets and liabilities between our Controlling Shareholder and our company may not reflect the allocation that would have been reached by two unaffiliated parties. Moreover, so long as our Controlling Shareholder continues to control us, we may not be able to bring a legal claim against our Controlling Shareholder or its controlling shareholders in the event of contractual breach, notwithstanding our contractual rights under the agreements described above and other inter-company agreements we may enter into from time to time.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and, as a result, can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

Our Controlling Shareholder controls, through AMTD IDEA Group, a majority of the voting power of our issued outstanding ordinary shares. As a result, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. Under these rules, a listed company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group, or another company is a “controlled company” and will be permitted to elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors, and the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. As we may intend to rely on some or all of the exemptions available to issuers like us, our shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.

We may have conflicts of interest with our Controlling Shareholders or any of its controlling shareholders and, because of our Controlling Shareholder’s controlling ownership interest in our company, we may not be able to resolve such conflicts on terms favorable to us.

As of the date of this annual report, our Controlling Shareholder beneficially owned 44.3% of our outstanding ordinary shares, representing 87.6% of our total voting power.

Accordingly, our Controlling Shareholder continues to be our controlling shareholder and may have significant influence in determining the outcome of any corporate actions or other matters that require shareholder approval, such as mergers, consolidations, change of our name, and amendments of our memorandum and articles of association.

The concentration of ownership and voting power may cause transactions to occur in a way that may not be beneficial to you as a holder of the ADSs and may prevent us from pursuing transactions that would be beneficial to you. Conflicts of interest may arise between our Controlling Shareholder or any of its controlling shareholders and us in a number of areas relating to our past and ongoing relationships. Potential conflicts of interest that we have identified include the following:

•

Indemnification arrangements with our Controlling Shareholder.

In May 2021, we entered into a master transaction agreement under which we agree to indemnify our Controlling Shareholder with respect to lawsuits and other matters relating to our digital financial services, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, digital media, contents, and marketing, and digital investments businesses, including operations of those businesses when we were a private company and a subsidiary of our Controlling Shareholder. These indemnification arrangements could result in our having interests that are adverse to those of our Controlling Shareholder, for example, with respect to settlement arrangements in litigation. In addition, under these arrangements, we agreed to reimburse our Controlling Shareholder

Table of Contents

for liabilities incurred (including legal defense costs) in connection with any third party claim if it is ultimately determined that we are obligated to indemnify our Controlling Shareholder with respect to such third party claim.

•

Non-competition

arrangements with our Controlling Shareholder.

In May 2021, we entered into a

non-competition

agreement under which our Controlling Shareholder agrees not to compete with us in our digital financial services, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, digital media, content, and marketing, and digital investments businesses, except for owning

non-controlling

equity interest in any company competing with us. We agree not to compete with our Controlling Shareholder in the respective businesses then conducted by our Controlling Shareholder, except that we may own

non-controlling

equity interests in any company competing with our Controlling Shareholder.

•

Employee recruiting and retention.

Because we, and our Controlling Shareholder are engaged in financial service-related businesses in Hong Kong, we may compete with our Controlling Shareholder in the hiring of new employees. In May 2021, we entered into a

non-competition

agreement and have a

non-solicitation

arrangement with our Controlling Shareholder that restricts us and our Controlling Shareholder from hiring any of each other’s employees.

•

Our board members or executive officers may have conflicts of interest.

Our director and president, Frederic Lau, is also the executive vice chairman of our Controlling Shareholder and the chairman of executive management committee of AMTD IDEA Group. Our director and chief executive officer, Mark Chi Hang Lo, is also the group vice president of our Controlling Shareholder. Our chief financial officer, Xavier Ho Sum Zee, is also the group chief financial officer of our Controlling Shareholder and chief financial officer of AMTD IDEA Group. Our independent director, Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur, is also a director of our Controlling Shareholder and an independent director of AMTD IDEA Group. As a result, they may not have sufficient capacity to perform their duties in our company. These overlapping relationships could create, or appear to create, conflicts of interest when these persons are faced with decisions with potentially different implications for our Controlling Shareholder and us.

•

Sale of shares or assets in our company.

Upon expiration of the

lock-up

period and subject to certain restrictions under relevant securities laws and stock exchange rules, as well as other relevant restrictions, our Controlling Shareholder may decide to sell all or a portion of our shares that it holds to a third party, including to one of our competitors, thereby giving that third party substantial influence over our business and our affairs. In addition, our Controlling Shareholder may decide, or be obligated under any of its applicable debt covenant, to sell all or a portion of our shares or our assets in the event of default of our Controlling Shareholder or any of its controlling shareholders under any applicable debt or other obligations or otherwise becomes insolvent. Such a sale of our shares or our assets could be contrary to the interests of our employees or our other shareholders. In addition, our Controlling Shareholder may also discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of the ADSs.

•

Allocation of business opportunities.

Business opportunities may arise that both we and our Controlling Shareholder find attractive, and which would complement our respective businesses. Although we entered into a master transaction agreement under which our Controlling Shareholder agrees not to pursue investment opportunities without first presenting them to us, our Controlling Shareholder may discourage, delay, or prevent a profitable investment opportunity before our board of directors or shareholders and subsequently decide to pursue investment opportunities or take business opportunities for itself, which would prevent us from taking advantage of those opportunities. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders.

•

Developing business relationships with our Controlling Shareholder’s competitors.

So long as our Controlling Shareholder remains as our controlling shareholder, we may be limited in our ability to do business with its competitors. This may limit our ability to market our services for the best interests of our company and our other shareholders.

Table of Contents

Risks Relating to the ADSs

The trading price of the ADSs has been volatile and could continue to fluctuate significantly, which could result in substantial losses to you.

The trading price of the ADSs has been and will likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. Since their initial listing on the NYSE on July 15, 2022, the price of the ADSs has ranged from US$12.05 to US$2,555.30.

The market price of the ADSs is likely to continue to be highly volatile and could be significantly affected by broad market and industry factors, such as performance and fluctuation in the market prices or underperformance or deteriorating financial results of other U.S.-listed companies based in China. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of other Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors towards Hong Kong- and mainland China-based, U.S.-listed companies, which consequently may affect the trading performance of the ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or matters of other Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have conducted any inappropriate activities. Furthermore, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, which may have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of the ADSs.

In addition to the above factors, the price and trading volume of the ADSs may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

•

regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;

•

variations in our revenue, profit, and cash flow;

•

changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other financial services firms;

•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results;

•

changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;

•

detrimental negative publicity about us, our services, our officers, directors, Controlling Shareholder, other beneficial owners, our business partners, or our industry;

•

announcements by us or our competitors of new service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures, capital raisings or capital commitments;

•

additions to or departures of our senior management;

•

litigation or regulatory proceedings involving us, our officers, directors, or Controlling Shareholders;

•

release or expiry of any transfer restrictions on our outstanding shares or the ADSs; and

•

sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

As a result of any of these factors, there may be large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which the ADSs will trade and the market price of the ADSs may not necessarily bear any relationship to our book value, assets, past operating results, financial condition or any other established criteria of value, and may not be indicative of the market price for the underlying shares in the future.

Table of Contents

In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

An active public market may not develop for the ADSs on the NYSE, and you may not be able to resell the ADSs at or above the price you paid, or at all.

Although the ADSs are listed on the NYSE, we cannot assure you that a liquid public market for the ADSs will develop. If an active public market for the ADSs does not develop, the market price of the ADSs may decline and the liquidity of the ADSs may decrease significantly. We cannot assure you that the price at which the ADSs are traded will not decline below the initial public offering price on the NYSE. As a result, investors in the ADSs may experience a significant decrease in the value of their ADSs due to insufficient or a lack of market liquidity of the ADSs.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding the ADSs, the market price or trading volume for the ADSs could decline.

The trading market for the ADSs will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish or maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades the ADSs or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for the ADSs to decline.

The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market could adversely affect their market price.

Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by the Controlling Shareholder or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of the ADSs.

Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

Under our dual-class share structure, our ordinary shares consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, holders of Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to twenty votes per share, while holders of Class A ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share based on our dual-class share structure. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment, or disposition of any Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person other than our founder, Dr. Calvin Choi, or any other person or entity designated by Dr. Choi, such Class B ordinary shares are automatically and immediately converted into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares.

Table of Contents

As of the date of this annual report, our Controlling Shareholder and certain other affiliates beneficially own all of our issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares. These Class B ordinary shares constitute approximately 87.6% of our total issued and outstanding ordinary shares and 99.3% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding ordinary shares due to the disparate voting powers associated with our dual-class share structure.

See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—E. Share Ownership.” As a result of the dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders of Class B ordinary shares will have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding mergers, consolidations, and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors, and other significant corporate actions. Such holders may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover, or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

The dual-class structure of our ordinary shares may adversely affect the trading market for the ADSs.

S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have recently announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies in certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class capital structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our ordinary shares may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for the ADSs. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of the ADSs.

Because the amount, timing, and whether or not we distribute dividends at all is entirely at the discretion of our board of directors, you must rely on price appreciation of the ADSs for return on your investment.

Although we currently intend to distribute dividends in the future, the amount, timing, and whether or not we actually distribute dividends at all is entirely at the discretion of our board of directors.

Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. In either case, all dividends are subject to certain restrictions under the Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium, and provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiary, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in the ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of the ADSs. We cannot assure you that the ADSs will appreciate in value in the future or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in, and you may even lose your entire investment in, the ADSs.

Table of Contents

The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs are voted.

Holders of the ADSs do not have the same rights as our registered shareholders. As a holder of ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights that are carried by the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary. If we instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try, as far as practicable, to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs in accordance with your instructions. If we do not instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, the depositary may still vote in accordance with instructions you give, but it is not required to do so. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs unless you surrender and cancel your ADSs, withdraw the shares, and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. Under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required to be given by our company to our registered shareholders for convening a general meeting is seven (7) days.

When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares to allow you to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We have agreed to give the depositary at least 40 days’ prior notice of shareholder meetings. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are voted and you may have no legal remedy if the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

The depositary for the ADSs will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs if you do not vote at shareholders’ meetings, except in limited circumstances, which could adversely affect your interests.

Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, if you do not vote, the depositary will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders’ meetings if:

•

we have instructed the depositary that we wish a discretionary proxy to be given;

•

we reasonably do not know of any substantial opposition to the matter to be voted on at the meeting; and

•

the matter to be voted on at the meeting is not materially adverse to the interests of shareholders.

The effect of this discretionary proxy is that if you do not vote at shareholders’ meetings, you cannot prevent our Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, except under the circumstances described above. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence the management of our company. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

Table of Contents

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

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

You may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to you.

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

We and the depository are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, and we may terminate the deposit agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders.

We and the depositary are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment prejudice a substantial existing right of ADS holders, ADS holders will only receive 30 days’ advance notice of the amendment, and no prior consent of the ADS holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when we decide to list our shares on a

non-U.S.

securities exchange and determine not to continue to sponsor an ADS facility or when we become the subject of a takeover or a going-private transaction. If the ADS facility terminates, ADS holders will receive at least 90 days’ prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that may prejudice a substantial existing right of is ADS holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADS holders may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying Class A ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.

ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiffs in any such action.

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim that they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our ordinary shares, the ADSs, or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.

Table of Contents

If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual

pre-dispute

jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual

pre-dispute

jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has

non-exclusive

jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual

pre-dispute

jury trial waiver provision, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement.

If you or any other owners and holders of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other owner or holder may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.

Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any owner or holder of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

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

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems it expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may close its books from time to time for a number of reasons, including in connection with corporate actions such as a rights offering, in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of the ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

We are a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct our operations outside the United States and substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, substantially all of our directors and executive officers and the experts named in this annual report reside outside the United States, and some of their assets are located outside the United States. Substantially all of our directors and executive officers reside in Hong Kong. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon these individuals or to bring an original action against us or against them in the United States or in a court in the Cayman Islands or Hong Kong in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise, including those based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong or other relevant jurisdiction may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

Table of Contents

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

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

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

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

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

Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us, which could limit our shareholders’ opportunity to sell their shares, including Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, at a premium.

Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in

change-of-control

transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. For example, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to create and issue new classes or series of shares (including preferred shares) and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, in the form of ADSs or otherwise. Preferred shares could therefore be created and issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to create and issue new class or series of preferred shares, the price of the ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the then existing holders of our ordinary shares and the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

Table of Contents

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

•

the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form

10-Q

or current reports on Form

8-K;

•

the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;

•

the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and

•

the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

We are required to file an annual report on Form

20-F

within four months of the end of each fiscal year. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form

6-K.

However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

As a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that may differ significantly from the NYSE listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the NYSE.

As a Cayman Islands company to be listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the NYSE listing standards. The NYSE rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the NYSE listing standards. For example, Cayman Islands does not require us to comply with the following corporate governance listing standards of the NYSE: (i) having the majority of our board of directors composed of independent directors, (ii) having a minimum of three members in our audit committee, (iii) holding annual shareholders’ meetings, (iv) having a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors, and (v) having a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors. Currently, we do not plan to rely on home country exemption for corporate governance matters. However, if we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under the NYSE corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

If we are deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it could adversely affect the price of the ADSs and could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We are primarily engaged in businesses relating to digital financial services, the SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, and digital media, content, and marketing. We also invest directly in various innovative technology companies to leverage, enhance, and enrich the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem by including them in our ecosystem. These investments and other future investments may be deemed to be “investment securities” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the 1940 Act. Under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act, a company is deemed to be an “investment company” if it is engaged, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire “investment

Table of Contents

securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis, or the 40% Test. We believe we are not an investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, as we do not hold ourselves out as being primarily engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities, and we pass the 40% Test with our “investment securities” not exceeding 40% of the value of our total assets on an unconsolidated basis.

We seek to conduct our operations so that we are in compliance with the 40% Test or with an exclusion or exemption from investment company status under the 1940 Act. If we fail to comply with the 40% Test and we are unable to structure or operate our business in a manner that avoids investment company status under the 1940 Act, we may be deemed to be an investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act. As a foreign private issuer, we would not be eligible to register under the 1940 Act unless the SEC issued an order permitting us to do so. As a result, if we are deemed to be an investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, we would either have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC or dispose of investment securities in order to fall outside the definition of an investment company. Additionally, we may have to forego potential future acquisitions of interests in companies that may be deemed to be “investment securities” within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Failure to avoid being deemed an investment company under the 1940 Act, coupled with our inability as a foreign private issuer to register under the 1940 Act, could make us unable to comply with our reporting obligations as a public company in the United States and lead to our being delisted from the NYSE, which would materially and adversely affect the liquidity and value of the ADSs. We would also be unable to raise capital through the sale of securities in the United States or to conduct business in the United States. In addition, we may be subject to SEC enforcement action or purported class action lawsuits for alleged violations of U.S. securities laws. Defending ourselves against any such enforcement action or lawsuits would require significant attention from our management and divert resources from our existing businesses and could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes for any taxable year, which could subject United States investors in the ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse United States income tax consequences.

We will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year if either (a) 75% or more of our gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (b) 50% or more of the value of our assets (determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). Based upon our current and expected income and assets, including goodwill, we do not presently expect to be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future.

While we do not expect to be treated as a PFIC, because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of the ADSs, fluctuations in the market price of the ADSs may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. The determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will also depend, in part, on the composition and classification of our income, including the relative amounts of income generated by and the value of assets of our strategic investment business as compared to our other businesses. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, may challenge our classification of certain income and assets as

non-passive

which may result in our being or becoming a PFIC in the current or subsequent years. In addition, the composition of our income and assets will also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in our initial public offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes, our risk of being a PFIC may substantially increase. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a factual determination made annually after the close of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year or any future taxable year.

Table of Contents

If we are a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) may incur significantly increased United States income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an “excess distribution” under the United States federal income tax rules and such holder may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or our ordinary shares, we will generally continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or our ordinary shares. For more information see “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an emerging growth company.

We are a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NYSE detailed requirements concerning corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.07 billion in net revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2012 relating to internal controls over financial reporting.

We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. Our management is and may continue to be required to devote substantial time and attention to our public company reporting obligations and other compliance matters. In addition, we incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements and it may be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

ITEM 4.

INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

A.	History and Development of the Company

Our Company

Our Controlling Shareholder, commenced our current insurance solutions business in October 2004. Our Controlling Shareholder commenced our current digital investments business in July 2016 and SpiderNet ecosystem solutions business in December 2017.

In December 2019, we carried out a restructuring to carve out the insurance, digital investments, and SpiderNet ecosystem solutions from our Controlling Shareholder. As part of the restructuring, in September 2019, AMTD Digital Inc. was incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands initially as a wholly-owned

Table of Contents

subsidiary of our Controlling Shareholder. Following the restructuring, AMTD Digital Inc. became the holding company of our businesses. We commenced our digital media, content, and marketing business in May 2020.

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and conduct our businesses through our subsidiaries. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Corporate Structure” for a diagram illustrating our corporate structure as of the date of this annual report.

On February 23, 2022, AMTD IDEA Group, a leading Hong Kong-headquartered comprehensive financial institution dual-listed on both the NYSE and

SGX-ST

(NYSE: AMTD; SGX: HKB) controlled by our Controlling Shareholder, acquired a majority stake in us. As of the date of this annual report, AMTD IDEA Group owns 87.6% of our issued and outstanding shares, and 99.3% of our total voting power.

The ADSs have been listed on NYSE since July 15, 2022 and trade under the ticker symbol “HKD.”

In August 2022, we entered into certain agreement with AMTD IDEA Group pursuant to the terms of which, we will acquire 100% of the equity interest in AMTD Assets Group and will issue a total of 515,385 Class B ordinary shares at US$520 per share in settlement of the consideration payable for the acquisition. The transactions contemplated under this agreement are subject to certain closing conditions and are expected to close in September 2022.

Our principal executive offices are located at 25/F Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong. Our telephone number at this address is +852 3163 3298. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman

KY1-1111,

Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Puglisi & Associates, located at 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, DE 19711. Our website is www.amtdigital.net. The information on our websites should not be deemed to be part of this annual report. The SEC also maintains a website at https://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy, and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC using its EDGAR system.

B.	Business Overview

As the fusion reactor at the core of the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, we are a comprehensive digital solutions platform in Asia with four main business lines: digital financial services, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, digital media, content, and marketing, and digital investments.

•

Digital Financial Services.

Primarily through our controlled entities, investees, and business partners, we provide

one-stop,

cross-market and intelligent digital financial services for retail and corporate clients in Asia. We possess and are in the process of applying for some of the most scarce digital financial licenses in Asia and provide a variety of digital financial services.

•

SpiderNet Ecosystem Solutions.

We serve as a super connector and digital accelerator for Asia-based entrepreneurs and corporates by connecting them to resources and technologies, and providing them with access to our unique AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. Centered on our ecosystem-powered strategy, we empower entrepreneurs and corporates with capital, technologies, mentorship, connectivity, and other resources essential to accelerating and enhancing their business digital transformation and corporate development journeys.

•

Digital Media, Content, and Marketing

. We create and promote digital solutions content by investing and developing multimedia channels to provide users and audiences access to content medium through a comprehensive library of traditional and digital movies, podcasts, webinars and live videos offered by content providers and online media platforms.

•

Digital Investments.

We invest directly in various innovative technology companies to leverage, enhance and enrich the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem by including them in our ecosystem.

Table of Contents

Our Ecosystem Approach

AMTD Group’s diverse and enriching initiatives and network of connections have contributed to the formation of the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem—an ever-extending network in which AMTD Group, together with its clients, shareholders, business partners, and investee companies, actively explore business collaboration opportunities.

We are the core fusion reactor that is the AMTD SpiderNet, building a digital foundation to accelerate the growth of AMTD SpiderNet and unlocking greater synergies for all stakeholders. We are dedicated to building a cross-border digital solutions platform that provides comprehensive digital services with industry-leading technologies. Our various solutions are divided into four business units, which enable us to create various touchpoints to a broad range of clients. We deepen our relationship with clients by cross-selling solutions that fulfill different needs of clients and expanding opportunities for collaboration with partners in AMTD SpiderNet.

Digital Financial Services

Digital Banking

Airstar Bank

Airstar Bank, a virtual bank jointly-established by our Controlling Shareholder and Xiaomi in which our Controlling Shareholder holds 10% of its equity interest, provides comprehensive digital banking services to retail and corporate clients in Hong Kong. We have entered into an agreement with our Controlling Shareholder to enable Airstar Bank to access our SpiderNet ecosystem and support them to gradually build up their own ecosystem.

The services that Airstar Bank provides or plans to provide include:

•

Deposit

Airstar Bank provides customized deposits at attractive interest rates with flexibility in maturity dates. Airstar Bank currently offers two types of deposit services: (i) tiered-pricing savings deposits and (ii) time deposits where clients enjoy favorable interest rate, compared to traditional banks.

•

Personal Loan

Airstar Bank offers loans to clients based on automated credit assessment capabilities utilizing big data analytics, models, and algorithms. Airstar Bank’s credit assessment system analyzes a client’s background information, including financial status, behavior patterns, and credit history to determine loan amount, loan tenor, and interest rate. Airstar Bank currently offers (i) personal loan with efficient application process and attractive annual percentage rate, and (ii) debt consolidation loan.

•

Virtual Credit Card

Airstar Bank intends to offer virtual credit cards through its automated online application system. The virtual credit cards may be used in various online and offline payment channels.

•

Fund Transfer

. Airstar Bank offers inter-bank fund transfer services through Faster Payment System and Real Time Gross Settlement with no service fee charged.

•

Corporate Services

. Airstar Bank will provide integrated services to corporates covering a full range of corporate operations, including transaction settlement services, payroll services, transfers, and remittance. To facilitate tailor-made credit and financing services for corporates, Airstar Bank will adopt blockchain technology to gain real-time access to the corporate’s information, such as cash flows, sales and purchase transactions, and inventory information.

•

Cross Border Remittance

Airstar Bank will collaborate with third-party FinTech companies to offer low cost cross-border remittance services.

•

Near Field Communication (NFC) Payment

Airstar Bank will offer NFC payment services, which allow clients to make payments via their mobile phone at local retail shops.

Table of Contents

Airstar Bank offers its digital banking services primarily through its Airstar app. Airstar Bank targets retail and corporate clients in Hong Kong. Airstar Bank seeks to take advantage of Xiaomi’s existing user-base from its smart devices, Xiaomi’s corporate clients from its supply chain, and resources in AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem to quickly scale its client base.

Airstar Bank’s digital banking platform utilizes cutting-edge technologies to provide comprehensive banking services, which serve as the gateway for clients to access other services and solutions offered on our platform. The synergies created by partners in AMTD SpiderNet will support Airstar Bank’s digital banking services and expand the resources available in the AMTD SpiderNet with clients acquired through Airstar Bank.

Singa Bank

Our subsidiary, AMTD Digital Holdings Pte. Ltd., entered into a binding term sheet in December 2019 with Xiaomi, SP Group, and Funding Societies to establish a consortium in which we expect AMTD Digital Holdings Pte. Ltd. to be the largest shareholder. The consortium intended to pursue digital banking opportunities in Singapore through Singa Bank, the launch of which is subject to obtaining a digital wholesale banking license from the MAS and other regulatory requirements. SP Group is Singapore’s largest energy utilities provider and has a large network of SME clients. Funding Societies is the largest digital

peer-to-peer

lending platform in Southeast Asia, focused on connecting SME borrowers with investors. The planned Singa Bank aims to leverage the support of its shareholders to grow its client base by taking advantage of SP Group and Funding Societies’ large SME client base, Xiaomi’s SME clients from its supply chain, and business partners in AMTD SpiderNet. We intend to consolidate Singa Bank’s financial results into our financial statements following its establishment. The MAS had previously announced that they planned to grant up to five digital banking licenses. We have submitted our application for the license previously. As of the date of this annual report, four licenses have been granted to other applicants and MAS will review and consider granting more such licenses in the future. We and Xiaomi intend to further pursue the digital banking license opportunity.

The planned Singa Bank expects to provide an

easy-to-access,

automated digital banking platform targeted to SME, corporate, and FinTech clients and in Singapore and other markets in Southeast Asia. Similar to our approach with Airstar Bank, we will provide resources and capital support from the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, and Xiaomi will provide technology expertise for the digital banking platform. The planned Singa Bank will leverage the technology skills and digital solutions from API Exchange platform, a cross-border, open architecture platform launched by AFIN, to operate its digital banking platform. Singa Bank’s proposed services will be similar to services provided by Airstar Bank with a focus on services for SME, corporate and FinTech clients. Subject to obtaining the relevant regulatory license and government approval, Singa Bank and Airstar Bank will work together closely to jointly develop new product offerings and services in the near future.

“More than Banking”

We aim to provide comprehensive solutions that go beyond banking services and provide an unrivalled client experience. The cohesiveness of our business units strengthens our value proposition to significantly reduce client acquisition costs, increase the efficiency with which we can cross-sell our solutions and boost client stickiness.

•

Comprehensive Corporate Solutions

Apart from offering digital financial services for corporates, our corporate solutions will integrate payment gateway, taxation, accounting, risk management, digital marketing, business intelligence, capital market advisory, and talent training services, all while leveraging the capabilities of our ecosystem, our portfolio companies and partners in the AMTD SpiderNet.

•

Personal Lifestyle Banking

Our service offerings to retail clients will not be limited to personal financial needs. We will integrate online banking services, wealth management, insurance solutions, and asset exchange into our ecosystem, as well as incorporate the capabilities of AMTD Group’s long-term strategic partners to optimize our services.

Table of Contents

Insurance Solutions

AMTD RSG, our wholly-owned subsidiary, was a member of the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers since October 2004. Pursuant to the new statutory regime for regulation of insurance intermediaries established in September 2019, AMTD RSG was granted a deemed insurance brokerage license issued by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority.

Traditional Insurance Brokerage

We offer a wide spectrum of general and life insurance solutions to clients in various industries. Our services are led by a team of experienced members in the insurance industry, and we have established long-standing cooperation with a variety of global insurers,

re-insurers,

and insurance solution provider partners.

We provide customized insurance products and solutions primarily underwritten by our insurance partners mainly in the following four risk categories:

•

Property Risk

Property risk relates to physical loss, destruction, or damage to physical property. For example, we provide property

all-risk

and construction

all-risk

solutions that may include relevant insurance products underwritten by our insurance partners.

•

Liability Risk

Liability risk relates to claims resulting from injuries or damages to a third party. For example, we provide directors and officers liability, professional indemnity, and employee compensation risk solutions that may include relevant insurance products underwritten by our insurance partners.

•

Financial Loss Risk

Financial loss risk relates to actions or events that may impact business operations and result in financial loss. For example, we provide business interruption risk solutions that may include relevant insurance products underwritten by our insurance partners.

•

Personal Risk

Personal risk relates to injury, illness, or death of individuals or a group of individuals. For example, we provide life and health risk solutions that may include relevant insurance products underwritten by our insurance partners.

We continually optimize insurance offerings on our platform through cooperation with new insurance, channel, and service partners to meet our clients’ evolving needs. For example, we recently offered various cyber insurances on our platform underwritten by our insurance partners. Cyber insurance solution typically provides analysis, recommendations, and coverage for a variety of risks, including: first-party coverage against losses related to cyber-attacks, such as data destruction, hacking, theft, and extortion; and indemnification against lawsuits related to cyber-attacks and errors and omissions that may have caused such cyber-attacks, such as failure to safeguard data.

Our comprehensive insurance service can be provided with flexibility and typically covers the following stages:

•

Comprehensive Risk Identification

. In consultation with clients, we leverage our expertise in the insurance industry to conduct a comprehensive analysis and determination of total risk exposure and risk tolerance. For insurable risks, we also conduct a mapping of existing risk coverage across industries, types, and geographical regions.

•

Optimal Solution and Coverage Structure Design

. Based on our extensive knowledge in the insurance industry, we conduct tailored consultation and optimal insurance program structure and solution design to meet the demands of clients.

•

Insurance Placement for Insurable Risks

For identified and requested insurable risks, we leverage proprietary industry resources, experience, expertise, and influence to provide tailored design of underwriting syndicate, for example, primary and excess insurance layer design, and select and negotiate with optimal insurers. On behalf of our clients, we then calibrate quotation and key insurance solution terms and conditions, and ultimately proceed to facilitate the inception of cover.

Table of Contents

Our clients for insurance consist primarily of corporate clients and, to a lesser extent, retail clients. As of the date of this annual report, we possess a database of over 500,000 corporate and retail clients.

PolicyPal

We acquired a controlling interest in PolicyPal Pte. Ltd., a digital insurance technology platform for consumers and SME clients in Singapore via our

fusion-in

program in August 2020.

PolicyPal is dedicated to creating a simplified and mobile-first process to provide customized insurance products to consumer and SME clients. It is a data-driven company that leverages the combination of AI, machine learning, and data analytics to gather insights from a customer’s behavioral traits, gathered through predictive analytics to create curated content to enhance consumers’ financial literacy. In addition, these insights also facilitate the provision of feedback to users such as their existing insurance coverage which is relevant towards providing tailor-made portfolio financial advisory based on specific data from the past. Customer profiles, purchase patterns and histories, brand interactions, and social data all create a detailed map of each customer’s mindset and preferences from where appropriate content creation begins, to the acquisition of registered users and to the conversion of providing of financial advice and insurance services. PolicyPal collaborates with approximately 30 insurance companies globally to provide general insurance and life insurance products.

Applaud

Applaud Digital Solutions Pte. Ltd. was incorporated by AMTD Digital Solutions Pte. Ltd. together with PolicyPal Pte. Ltd. in July 2020 to apply for a direct insurer (composite) license from the MAS. Applaud aims to be Singapore’s first homegrown digital composite insurer, providing seamless and modular protection and wealth products to Singaporeans and beyond through its open insurance platform, the license of which is subject to the MAS’s final approval.

Applaud aims to empower mass market consumers access to affordable wealth products and seamless, modular, and relevant protection covers. Applaud seeks to deliver simple, transparent, and innovative insurance products that leverage on

state-of-the-art

insurance technology, deep understanding of Singapore’s markets and consumers, and effective online distribution to enhance market penetration.

Applaud’s mission is to support the Singapore community to be more resilient, and empower people for a better life. Applaud aims to provide long-term support to Singapore as an international FinTech, wealth management, and financial center, and the Smart City of tomorrow.

Applaud’s core modular insurance offering will be the first of its kind in Asia, offering unprecedented flexibility and freedom of choice for policyholders. Applaud will also lead innovation in insurtech through its

best-in-class

UX journey and experience and automated servicing. Applaud will enable business strategy through digital differentiation and innovative use of technology. It will facilitate strong integration across partners in AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem via an Open Insurance Platform. Technology will also be leveraged to build superior risk management and robust compliance frameworks.

Proposed Transaction with CapBridge

We entered into a binding term sheet in June 2020 pursuant to which we propose to acquire a controlling interest in CapBridge Financial Pte. Ltd., the holding company of a leading online private markets integrated capital raising and secondary liquidity platform in Asia for growth companies and funds. We further updated our mutual understanding with CapBridge to establish a long-term strategic partnership alongside with AMTD IDEA Group for the three entities to focus on digitalization solutions connecting private markets with public capital

Table of Contents

markets opportunities and to update the overall transaction framework to include three separate phases: (i) an initial investment by AMTD IDEA Group in CapBridge Financial Pte. Ltd. for an equity interest of 2.98%, which has been completed as of the date of this annual report, (ii) a

follow-on

investment by AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund under our company, and (iii) an additional round of investment to top up our overall ownership, subject to negotiation of the final terms and conditions and regulatory approvals (including MAS approval). As part of our

fusion-in

approach, we will invest in CapBridge through an equity swap combined with cash investment and will add CapBridge into the AMTD SpiderNet. CapBridge Pte. Ltd. was formed in partnership with SGX and is licensed by the MAS. It holds a capital markets services license in respect of dealing in capital markets products that are securities and collective investment schemes, and is an exempt financial advisor in respect of advising on investment products and issuing or promulgating analyses/reports on investment products that are securities and collective investment schemes. Its subsidiary, 1exchange, Singapore’s first

MAS-regulated

private markets securities exchange, is a recognized market operator. See “—Regulations in Singapore” for further details.

If we complete the proposed transaction with CapBridge Financial Pte. Ltd., we expect to leverage CapBridge’s capabilities to help companies at various stages of development in our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem raise private capital, as well as to conduct direct private listings and share trading. We believe that by becoming part of our unique SpiderNet ecosystem, CapBridge will expand our network and resources, further empowering the ecosystem with its global community of business owners and investors.

SpiderNet Ecosystem Solutions

We serve as a super connector and digital accelerator for Asia-based entrepreneurs and corporates by connecting them to resources and technologies and providing them with access to our unique AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. Centered on our ecosystem-powered strategy, we empower entrepreneurs and corporates with capital, technologies, mentorship, connectivity, and other resources essential to accelerating and enhancing their business digital transformation and corporate development journeys.

Through a membership fee scheme, we provide our corporate clients with exclusive access to the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem and its prestigious corporate members, prominent business executives and partners, creating strategic and synergistic opportunities. In addition, our digital solutions initiatives and programs in partnership with industry leaders and academic institutions serve to support industry professionals and foster next generation entrepreneurs in the region by equipping them with the latest trends and knowledge in the digital space. These entrepreneurs become permanent members of the AMTD alumni network. Our services help our ecosystem members to enhance connectivity, identify business synergies, and create valuable business propositions. We further deepen our relationship with corporate clients by facilitating synergies between their portfolio companies and other partners in the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem and by connecting innovative minds and bright ideas to smart ideas.

We cultivate next generation entrepreneurs by continuously fueling up our business model and enlarging our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem. We empower startups, entrepreneurs and innovative talents with capital resources and knowledge through various educational programs. We invite university professors, successful entrepreneurs, and Nobel Prize winners to provide professional guidance for entrepreneurs. Moreover, we groom

start-up

founders and outstanding entrepreneurs by providing network connectivity and business exposure in regional and global stages. Through our various programs, we engage with entrepreneurs and future leaders from their early development stage and facilitate their growth by providing resources and strategic guidance throughout their business operations. We integrate selected

start-ups

into AMTD SpiderNet to foster their growth and create value to other stakeholders.

Digital Media, Content, and Marketing

Over the past few years, we have devoted significant resources in working with governmental and quasi-government entities to promote financial service industry in Asia. Such efforts laid the foundation for our digital

Table of Contents

media, content, and marketing business as these events established our leadership role for providing insightful content to mass audience.

Based on our extensive experience, unique insights, and deep knowledge in digital finance industry, we create and promote digital solutions content by investing and developing multimedia channels to provide users and audiences access to content medium through a comprehensive library of traditional and digital movies, podcasts, webinars and live videos offered by content providers and online media platforms.

Through our offering of digital media and content, we are able to spearhead industry trends and create effective marketing for our clients and ecosystem partners through innovative content creation, digital marketing platforms and cutting-edge technology.

Digital Investments

Our digital investments business focuses on long-term equity investments in leading FinTech and technology companies that augment the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem and optimize our business operations. Our portfolio companies allow us to access unique opportunities and resources that complement the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, and we engage the portfolio companies with connections in the AMTD SpiderNet. We also established a S$50 million AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund partnering with the Singapore FinTech Association, or SFA, and S$6 million

MAS-SFA-AMTD

FinTech Solidarity Grant, partnering with the MAS and the SFA. Both the AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund and the

MAS-SFA-AMTD

FinTech Solidarity Grant focus on investing in or providing funding and business support to those leading FinTech companies with growth potential and possibility to create synergies with AMTD SpiderNet’s stakeholders.

Investment Approach

We source investment opportunities through the AMTD SpiderNet and focus on investing in a small number of select companies that we believe will complement and bring value to our ecosystem, including companies within and outside the digital finance sector.

Leveraging “AMTD SpiderNet.”

We leverage resources in the AMTD SpiderNet throughout the investment process to source investments, evaluate opportunities, and provide value added solutions to our portfolio companies after our investment.

Value Investment.

We focus on how the investments can contribute to the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, rather than looking for investment returns. Our investments allow us to access the management teams of our portfolio companies and provide us with greater insights and connections in various industries.

Synergy with Portfolio Companies.

We have an experienced team for post-investment value creation. We proactively seek opportunities to engage our portfolio companies into our SpiderNet ecosystem.

Equity Swap.

We may make investments in the future using cash investment combined with an equity swap (i.e. issuance of our ordinary shares in exchange for the equity interests of the investees). Through our equity swap arrangements, we ensure business interests of our portfolio companies are aligned with ours.

Investment Process

Our investment professionals assess the suitability and prospects of potential target companies with a number of factors including the track record of the target’s management team, the target’s operating market, macroeconomic conditions, market cycle and industry background, business model, and other quantitative financial analyses. And most importantly, we also consider the targets’ potential synergies with other business partners in AMTD SpiderNet.

Table of Contents

We make strategic investment decisions through our investment committee, which consists of key management team members covering finance, investments, and legal and compliance. All investment proposals will be presented to our investment committee following the satisfactory completion of assessment and due diligence investigation. Our investment committee also assesses, reviews and modifies our investment strategies from time to time based on accumulated deal execution experience and the latest developments in the financial market, of the economic conditions, and regarding government policies.

We closely monitor our portfolio companies in accordance with the guidelines set by the investment committee. Specifically, we track business and technology development, competition landscape, latest technological trends, our holding positions, unrealized profit or loss, and our risk exposure of each portfolio company. We will escalate any significant incidents in our portfolio companies to the investment committee and, for material incidents, to our board of directors.

AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund

AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund is a solidarity fund established in April 2020 by us in partnership with AFIN with an initial capital of S$50 million to invest and anchor eligible FinTech companies in ASEAN countries. AFIN is a

non-profit

entity formed by the MAS, International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the ASEAN Bankers Association, with the objectives of supporting financial innovation and inclusion around the world. Through AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund, we invest into eligible FinTech companies in ASEAN countries with leading positions in their respective specialization. In addition to financial support, the solidarity fund offers the FinTech companies full access to the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, which opens opportunities for them to collaborate with each other across ASEAN countries, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Through the AMTD ASEAN Solidarity Fund, we have invested in five FinTech companies.

MAS-SFA-AMTD

FinTech Solidarity Grant

MAS-SFA-AMTD

FinTech Solidarity Grant was jointly established in May 2020 by the MAS, SFA, and AMTD Charity Foundation with an amount of S$6 million to support FinTech companies in generating new businesses and pursuing growth strategies. As of the date of this annual report, approximately 190 FinTech companies have benefited from our

MAS-SFA-AMTD

FinTech Solidarity Grant, which have formed a solid enhancement to our AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem.

Technology

We integrate multiple innovative technologies to provide comprehensive FinTech solutions on our digital financial platform.

AFIN

AFIN was jointly established by the MAS, the ASEAN Bankers Association, and International Finance Corporation to foster FinTech development in ASEAN countries. AMTD Charity Foundation is AFIN’s first corporate founding member.

AFIN launched the API Exchange (APIX) platform in 2018, the world’s first cross-border, open architecture platform for collaboration between FinTech and financing institutions in which participants can integrate and test solutions with each other via a cloud-based architecture. We will leverage the APIX platform launched by AFIN to deploy innovative digital solutions. APIX is built to facilitate collaboration between FinTech companies and financial institutions to design fintech solutions. APIX facilitates financial institutions and FinTech companies to design and build prototypes collaboratively on its platform and experiment in different scenarios through APIs in a short period of time. This allows financial institutions to deploy innovative digital solutions quickly to underserved markets in ASEAN and other parts of the world.

Table of Contents

AFIN / APIX will serve as the technology experimental partner of the company.

We will leverage synthetic data on APIX to test new prototypes designed by FinTech companies and financial institutions. With access to APIX’s platform, we have a competitive advantage to continuously develop and integrate innovative digital solutions in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Airstar Bank

AMTD Group leverages its partnership with Xiaomi to provide innovative technology skills in supporting Airstar Bank’s digital banking platform. Airstar Bank’s digital banking platform is built on Xiaomi’s

in-house

technologies including credit assessment, fraud detection, and personal loan approval with big data analytics, AI and machine learning algorithms. Xiaomi has also provided other

in-house

technologies, such as document repository, CRM system, system monitoring tool, development system, and key center to ensure the stability, security, efficiency and scalability of Airstar Bank’s digital banking platform. Xiaomi’s experience in API integration will support our strategy in embracing open API initiatives in the future.

PolicyPal

PolicyPal employs advanced technological capabilities to operate its digital insurance technology platform. PolicyPal utilizes predictive modeling and algorithmic rules to provide risk analysis and design customized solutions for users and clients. PolicyPal is building towards using open APIs to access clients’ assets and liabilities in order to analyze client situation and needs and provide solutions and products curated to each client. The open APIs ingest data, assign pricing algorithms and drives with

re-engagement

targeting and dynamic discounts. In short, with targeted data-driven calculations toward the optimal amount of coverage each consumer should rightfully have, PolicyPal will raise the benchmark of insurance knowledge for the users in Singapore and help highlight to consumers the areas in which there is a coverage shortfall. PolicyPal empowers consumers to understand more about the importance of insurance coverage and increases the accessibility to insurance protection through the digital platform.

Data Security and Protection

We are committed to protecting our clients’ personal information and privacy. We have established and implemented policy on data collection, processing and usage and disclosure. We collect personal information and other data that is related to the services we provide and use the collected data for our operations, all with our clients’ consent.

To ensure the confidentiality and integrity of our data, we maintain a comprehensive and rigorous data security program. We anonymize and encrypt confidential personal information and take other technological measures to ensure the secure processing, transmission and usage of data. We have also established stringent internal protocols under which we grant classified access to confidential personal data only to limited employees with strictly defined and layered access authority.

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—We may be subject to legal or regulatory liability if we are unable to protect the personal and sensitive data and confidential information of our clients” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in Mainland China and Hong Kong—Failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy, data protection, or any other laws and regulations related to data may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.”

Intellectual Property

We regard our trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names,

know-how,

proprietary technologies, and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, copyright and patent law and

Table of Contents

confidentiality, invention assignment and

non-compete

agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. As of the date of this annual report, our Controlling Shareholder had five registered trademarks in Hong Kong, including the name and logo “AMTD”, and granted a license to us to use such name and logo. No other person or entity can register or use the name and logo of AMTD as a prefix for any trademark without the written consent of our Controlling Shareholder. As of the date of this annual, we had one trademark registered in Hong Kong and two trademarks registered in Singapore. We maintain four registered domain names, including amtddigital.com, amtdigital.net, amtddigital.net, and policypal.com.

Competition

Our business model is relatively unique, and few companies can compare with us in terms of the breadth of our business sectors spanning from digital financial services, SpiderNet ecosystem solutions, digital media, content, and marketing to digital investments. However, we face competition in various business verticals. For example, with respect to digital banking services, our primary competitors include FinTech companies, traditional financial institutions and consumer technology platforms in Hong Kong and Singapore. For our insurance solutions business, we compete with other corporate-focused insurance providers in Hong Kong and other insurance solutions platforms in Hong Kong and Singapore.

For additional information concerning the competitive risks that we face, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—Our digital financial services business is subject to intense competition, and we may fail to compete successfully against existing or new competitors, which may reduce demand for our services, reduce operating margins, and further result in loss of market share, departures of qualified employees and increased capital expenditures” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry—Our digital financial services business is subject to intense competition, and we may fail to compete successfully against existing or new competitors, which may reduce demand for our services, reduce operating margins, and further result in loss of market share, departures of qualified employees, and increased capital expenditures.”

Regulations in Singapore

Part of our business operations are conducted in Singapore. This section summarizes the most significant rules and regulations that affect our business activities in Singapore. These regulations require us to possess various licenses or approvals in order to carry out our business and operations.

Introduction

The Insurance Act (Cap. 142) of Singapore, or the IA, including its subsidiary legislation as well as notices and guidelines published by the MAS, is the principal statute regulating insurance business in Singapore. The latter is divided into life business and general business. Division 2, Part IIB of the IA deals with the registration of insurance brokers. Division 2, Part II of the IA deals with the licensing of direct insurers.

The Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) of Singapore, or the SFA, including its subsidiary legislation as well as notices and guidelines published by the MAS, is the principal statute regulating the capital markets industry in Singapore. Part IV of the SFA deals with holders of a capital markets services license and their representatives.

The Financial Advisers Act (Cap. 110) of Singapore, or the FAA, including its subsidiary legislation as well as notices and guidelines published by the MAS, is the principal statute regulating the financial advisory services industry in Singapore. The FAA also regulates registered insurance brokers, licensed direct life insurers, and holders of a capital markets services license as exempt financial advisors where they have duly notified the MAS.

Table of Contents

The Banking Act (Cap. 19) of Singapore, or the BA, including its subsidiary legislation as well as notices and guidelines published by the MAS, is the principal statute regulating the banking industry in Singapore. Part III of the BA deals with the licensing of banks.

The IA, SFA, FAA and BA are all administered by the MAS, which is the integrated financial regulatory and supervisory authority that governs the insurance, capital markets, financial advisory and banking sectors in Singapore. The MAS is also the central bank and its powers are set out in the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186) or MAS Act.

The MAS

The MAS is the statutory body that is responsible for regulating the insurance, capital markets, financial advisory and banking sectors, amongst other financial sectors, in Singapore. As an integrated financial regulatory and supervisory authority, MAS’ mission is to promote sustained

non-inflationary

economic growth, and a sound and progressive financial center. To fulfil their mission, the MAS has set the following objectives of MAS’ financial sector oversight:

•

a stable financial system;

•

safe and sound financial intermediaries;

•

safe and efficient financial infrastructure;

•

fair, efficient and transparent organized markets;

•

transparent and fair-dealing intermediaries and offerors; and

•

well-informed and empowered consumers.

The MAS has four operational groups, being Economic Policy, Markets and Development, Financial Supervision and Corporate Development. The Financial Supervision Group, in particular, comprises the Banking and Insurance Group, which regulates,

inter alia

, banks through the Banking Departments, and insurers through the Insurance Department, the Capital Markets Group, which regulates,

inter alia

, capital markets intermediaries (such as securities and derivatives brokers), insurance brokers and financial advisors.

Regulatory Regime Under the IA for Insurance Brokers and Insurers

The functions of the MAS, as regulatory and supervisory authority for individuals and corporations seeking licensing, authorization, approval or registration with respect to insurance business in Singapore, include the following:

•

grant licenses, authorization, approvals or registrations to those who meet the relevant criteria to be licensed, authorized, approved or registered, as the case may be, under the IA, and can demonstrate fitness and propriety;

•

monitor the ongoing compliance of regulated entities, and their officers and shareholders (where applicable), with business conduct and other requirements;

•

maintain online a public register of insurance entities (the MAS Financial Institutions Directory); and

•

develop regulatory policies.

Registration Regime for Insurance Brokers

Under the IA, a person may not carry on business as any type of insurance broker in Singapore unless the person is registered by the MAS as that type of insurance broker or the person is an exempt insurance broker (as referred to in section 35ZN of the IA). Further, a person may not hold himself out to be a registered insurance broker unless he is a registered insurance broker.

Table of Contents

In addition to licensing requirements for corporations, any individual appointed as broking staff of a registered insurance broker must comply with the minimum standards and examination requirements for broking staff set out in MAS 502 Minimum Standards and Continuing Professional Development for Insurance Brokers and Their Broking Staff, or Notice 502.

As of the date of this annual report, BaoXianBaoBao Pte. Ltd is a registered insurance broker with respect to direct insurance. In addition to its status as a registered insurance broker, BaoXianBaoBao Pte. Ltd. is also an exempt financial advisor in relation to advising on investment products that are life policies and arranging of life policies, other than for reinsurance (and has notified the MAS of the same).

Registered Insurance Broker

An applicant for registration as a registered insurance broker must be a Singapore-incorporated company with the prescribed minimum

paid-up

share capital and have a professional indemnity insurance policy, the cover of which is consistent with the prescribed limit and deductible requirements.

In addition, in assessing an application for registration, the MAS will take into account factors such as:

•

the applicant’s track record (which should be at least 3 years in respect of the type of insurance broking business it intends to carry on in Singapore), financial soundness and reputation;

•

whether the applicant has well-developed business plans that reflect the risk profile of the business; and

•

the fitness and propriety of the applicant, its directors and chief executive officer, and all its substantial shareholders and broking staff, or the relevant persons.

The key requirements and expectations of the MAS in respect of applications as well as ongoing obligations applicable to registered insurance brokers are contained in the following documents published by the MAS:

•

the IA, and its subsidiary legislation, including the Insurance (Intermediaries) Regulations, or the IIR;

•

Notice 501 Quarterly Statement on Ageing of Premiums Owing to Insurers;

•

Notice 502 Minimum Standards and Continuing Professional Development for Insurance Brokers and Their Broking Staff;

•

Notice 504 Reporting of Misconduct of Broking Staff by Insurance Brokers;

•

Notice 505 Reporting of Suspicious Activities and Incidents of Fraud;

•

Notice 506 Notice on Technology Risk Management;

•

Notice 507 Cyber Hygiene;

•

Notice 117 Training and Competency Requirement: Health Insurance;

•

Notice 120 Disclosure and Advisory Process Requirements For Accident and Health Insurance Products;

•

AMTD Digital Inc. [HKD] Filings
20-F	[2022-08-30]
F-1	[2021-05-20]