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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 20-F

 

(Mark One)

 

 

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

 

Commission file number: 001-33910

 

ATA Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

1/F East Gate, Building No. 2, Jian Wai Soho, No. 39 Dong San Huan Zhong Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100022, China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Amy Tung Chief Financial Officer ATA Inc. 1/F East Gate, Building No. 2, Jian Wai Soho, No. 39 Dong San Huan Zhong Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100022, China Telephone: 8610-6518-1133 Facsimile: 8610-5869-8106

(Name, Telephone E-mail and/or Facsimile Number and Address of Company Contact Person)

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

47,592,384 common shares

 

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

o Yes   x 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.

o Yes   x No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

x Yes   o No

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

x Yes   o 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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

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

 

†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 which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

 

 

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

o Item 17   o 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.

o Yes   x No

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

	Page
Introduction	1
Forward-looking Statements	1
Part I.	2
Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers	2
Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable	2
Item 3. Key Information	2
Item 4. Information on the Company	27
Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments	46
Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects	46
Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees	63
Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions	71
Item 8. Financial Information	73
Item 9. The Offer and Listing	74
Item 10. Additional Information	74
Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	80
Item 12. Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities	81
Part II.	83
Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies	83
Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds	83
Item 15. Controls and Procedures	83
Item 16. Reserved	84
Item 16A. Audit Committee Financial Expert	84
Item 16B. Code of Ethics	84
Item 16C. Principal Accountant Fee and Services	84
Item 16D. Exemptions From the Listing Standards for Audit Committees	85
Item 16E. Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers	85
Item 16F. Change in Registrant’S Certifying Accountant	86
Item 16G. Corporate Governance	86
Item 16H. Mine Safety Disclosure	86
Part III.	87
Item 17. Financial Statements	87
Item 18. Financial Statements	87
Item 19. Exhibits	87
Signature	90

 

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INTRODUCTION

 

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report only:

 

·             we changed our fiscal year end from March 31 to December 31 in June 2017 and filed a transition report on Form 20-F covering the nine-month period from April 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 (the “Transition Period”). Prior to such transition report on Form 20-F, we filed an annual report on Form 20-F covering the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. Unless otherwise noted, all references to years are to the calendar year from January 1 to December 31 and references to our fiscal year or years are to the fiscal year or years which, prior to the Transition Period, ended March 31, and from and after the Transition Period, ended December 31;

 

·             “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our,” the “Company” and “ATA” refer to ATA Inc., its subsidiaries and its consolidated variable interest entity as the context requires. On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of ATA Online (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd., or ATA Online, and its subsidiaries as well as its direct shareholding companies of ATA Learning (Beijing) Inc., or ATA Learning and Zhongxiao Zhixing Education Technology (Beijing) Limited, or Zhongxiao Zhixing, which were former subsidiaries of ATA incorporated under the laws of the PRC (collectively referred to as “ATA Online Business”). After the completion of such sale of the ATA Online Business, ATA’s subsidiaries no longer include ATA Online and its subsidiaries, ATA Learning and Zhongxiao Zhixing;

 

·             “China,” “Chinese” and “PRC” refer to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for purposes of this annual report only, Taiwan and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau;

 

·             all references to “Renminbi” or “RMB” are to the legal currency of China, and all references to “U.S. dollars,” “dollars,” “$” or “US$” are to the legal currency of the United States;

 

·             “U.S. GAAP” refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States; and

 

·             “PRC GAAP” refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the People’s Republic of China.

 

This annual report on Form 20-F includes (i) our audited consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, (ii) our unaudited financial data of comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, and (iii) our audited consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2017 and 2018. Each of our ADSs represents two common shares. Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “ATAI”.

 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. All statements other than statements of historical facts in this annual report are forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words and phrases such as “may,” “should,” “intend,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “believe,” “is /are likely to” or the negative form of these words and phrases or other comparable expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this annual report relate to, among others:

 

·             our goals and strategies;

 

·             our future prospects and market acceptance of our technologies, products and services;

 

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·             our future business development and results of operations;

 

·             our plans for mergers and acquisitions;

 

·             impact of the sale of ATA Online Business;

 

·             projected revenues, profits, earnings and other estimated financial information;

 

·             our plans to expand and enhance our products and services;

 

·             competition in the markets of our products and services;

 

·             our future development plans of our project-based learning (“PBL”) education services and other services;

 

·             Chinese laws, regulations and policies, including those applicable to the education industry, internet content providers, internet content and foreign exchange; and

 

·             the possibility of our ADSs being delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market.

 

These forward-looking statements involve various risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may turn out 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.D. of this annual report, “Key information — Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report.

 

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. All forward-looking statements included herein attributable to us or other parties or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Except to the extent required by applicable laws and regulations, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

PART I.

 

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. Selected Financial Data

 

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 

We changed our fiscal year end from March 31 to December 31 in June 2017. The following selected consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss) data (other than ADS data) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, and the selected consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2017 and 2018 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report and should be read in conjunction with such consolidated financial statements and related notes. The unaudited financial data for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 are presented solely for the purpose of providing meaningful comparisons with the nine-month period ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, respectively. Our selected consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2017 are based on the financial data derived from our consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report and adjusted to the presentation format with discontinued operations for comparative purpose to reflect the transaction stated below.

 

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On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of ATA Online Business which historically operated our computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services. Consequently, our computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services were accounted for as discontinued operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP in our consolidated financial statements. As required by U.S. GAAP, we have reclassified the comparative operating results of the discontinued operations for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 as presented below. We have not included the selected financial data for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2015 and 2016, as providing such information reflecting our discontinued operations, which is consistent with the consolidated financial information presented for the periods ended March 31, 2017, December 31, 2017 and 2018, would take a significant amount of time and cause us to incur unreasonable effort or expense.

 

The following information should also be read in conjunction with Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

		For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31,		For the Nine Months Ended December 31,				For the Twelve Months Ended December 31,		For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31,
		2017		2016		2017		2017		2018
		RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		US$
		(Unaudited)						(Unaudited)
		(In thousands, except for share and ADS data)
Selected Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) Data:
Net revenues		8,831		6,628		5,186		7,389		1,339		195
Gross profit (loss)		4,424		3,392		1,400		2,432		(2,912	)	(424	)
Total operating expenses		61,228		47,212		60,088		74,104		68,672		9,988
Other operating income, net		—		—		—		—		3,793		552
Loss from continuing operations		(56,804	)	(43,820	)	(58,688	)	(71,672	)	(67,791	)	(9,860	)
Share of losses of equity method investments		(2,838	)	(2,274	)	(1,395	)	(1,959	)	—		—
Impairment loss of long-term investments		—		—		(15,217	)	(15,217	)	(6,381	)	(928	)
Change in fair value of long-term investment		—		—		—		—		2,750		400
Income tax expense (benefit)		1,518		—		(2,109	)	(591	)	—		—
Loss from continuing operations, net of income taxes		(59,741	)	(45,036	)	(72,804	)	(87,509	)	(68,053	)	(9,898	)
Discontinued operations:
Income (loss) from operations of discontinued operations, net of income taxes		49,772		88,980		100,641		61,433		(18,951	)	(2,756	)
Gain from disposal of discontinued operations, net of income taxes		—		—		—		—		937,606		136,369
Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		49,772		88,980		100,641		61,433		918,655		133,613
Net income (loss)		(9,969	)	43,944		27,837		(26,076	)	850,602		123,715
Net loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests from continuing operations		—		—		(1,445	)	(1,445	)	(3,181	)	(463	)
Net loss attributable to non-redeemable non-controlling interests from continuing operations		—		—		—		—		(1,132	)	(164	)
Net loss attributable to non-redeemable non-controlling interests from discontinued operations		(253	)	(34	)	(352	)	(571	)	(11	)	(2	)
Net income (loss) attributable to ATA Inc.		(9,716	)	43,978		29,634		(24,060	)	854,926		124,344
Net loss from continuing operations attributable to ATA Inc.		(59,741	)	(45,036	)	(71,359	)	(86,064	)	(63,740	)	(9,271	)
Net income from discontinued operations attributable to ATA Inc.		50,025		89,014		100,993		62,004		918,666		133,615
Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share attributable to ATA Inc.		(0.21	)	0.96		0.48		(0.69	)	18.25		2.65
Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per ADS(1) attributable to ATA Inc.		(0.42	)	1.92		0.96		(1.38	)	36.50		5.30
Basic and diluted loss from continuing operations per common share attributable to ATA Inc.		(1.31	)	(0.98	)	(1.72	)	(2.04	)	(1.81	)	(0.26	)
Basic and diluted earnings from discontinued operations per common share attributable to ATA Inc.		1.10		1.94		2.20		1.35		20.06		2.91
Basic and diluted loss from continuing operations per ADS(1) attributable to ATA Inc.		(2.62	)	(1.96	)	(3.44	)	(4.08	)	(3.62	)	(0.52	)
Basic and diluted earnings (loss) from discontinued operations per ADS(1) attributable to ATA Inc.		2.20		3.88		4.40		2.70		40.12		5.82
Dividends declared per common share		—		—		1.334		1.334		20.384		3.000
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic		45,772,916		45,769,707		45,793,127		45,790,562		45,796,886
Diluted		45,772,916		45,769,707		45,793,127		45,790,562		45,796,886

 

(1)                                 Each ADS represents two common shares.

 

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		As of March 31,		As of December 31,
		2017		2017		2018
		RMB		RMB		RMB		US$
		(In thousands)
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets Data:
Cash and cash equivalents		37,196		53,478		190,586		27,720
Current assets of discontinued operations		245,103		310,014		—		—
Total current assets		295,945		366,816		213,395		31,037
Long-term investments		81,051		70,022		66,391		9,656
Intangible assets, net		3,968		5,746		17,123		2,490
Other assets		34,443		4,004		800		116
Non-current assets of discontinued operations		59,771		79,551		—		—
Total assets		519,840		568,442		335,139		48,744
Accrued expenses and other payables		50,681		28,019		18,112		2,634
Current liabilities of discontinued operations		47,482		111,721		—		—
Total current liabilities		103,030		141,766		19,746		2,872
Non-current liabilities of discontinued operations		1,732		25,299		—		—
Total liabilities		127,383		167,065		19,746		2,872
Mezzanine equity-redeemable non-controlling interests		—		36,304		39,209		5,703
Common shares		3,534		3,535		3,535		514
Retained earnings (accumulated deficits)		38,019		25,885		(71,889	)	(10,456	)
Total shareholders’ equity attributable to ATA Inc.		391,377		364,730		275,817		40,116
Total shareholders’ equity		392,457		365,073		276,184		40,169

 

Exchange Rate Information

 

We conduct our business primarily in China and a majority of our revenues and expenses are denominated in Renminbi. The conversion of Renminbi into U.S. dollars in this annual report is based on the noon buying rate in the City of New York for cable transfers of Renminbi per U.S. dollar certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as set forth in the H.10 weekly statistical release of Federal Reserve Board. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB 6.8755 to US$1.00, which was the noon buying rate in effect as of December 31, 2018. The noon buying rate on April 12, 2019 was RMB 6.7039 to US$1.00. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The Chinese government restricts or prohibits the conversion of Renminbi into foreign currency and foreign currency into Renminbi for certain types of transactions.

 

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B.                      Capitalization and Indebtedness

 

Not applicable.

 

C.                      Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

 

Not applicable.

 

D.                      Risk Factors

 

Risks Relating to Our Business

 

We may fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements for Nasdaq Global Market. If we are unable to satisfy such continued listing requirements, our ADSs may be delisted from that market.

 

Our reporting obligations as a SEC registrant have not been affected as a result of completing the sale of ATA Online Business. For as long as we remain as such, we have an obligation to continue to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which includes the filing with the SEC of periodic reports and other documents relating to our business, financial condition and other matters, even though compliance with such reporting requirements is economically burdensome. In addition, in order to continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, we must meet the continued listing requirements as set forth in Rule 5450(a) and at least one of the equity, market value and total assets/total revenue standards in Rule 5450(b) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. Additionally, our ADSs may be subject to delisting by the Nasdaq under Rule 5810 of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, which provides that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department may, based on its discretionary authority, determine to limit or prohibit continued listing of a company as a result of the company’s failure to comply with the continued listing requirements. We have limited revenue generating businesses after our sale of ATA Online Business and are still exploring potential merger and acquisition targets in the international education sector. We cannot assure you, however, that our businesses are adequate for us to meet the foregoing continued listing requirements. Any delisting of our ADSs from the Nasdaq Global Market could adversely affect our ability to attract new investors, decrease the liquidity of our outstanding ADSs, reduce our flexibility to raise additional capital, reduce the trading price of our ADSs, and increase the transaction costs inherent in trading such shares with overall negative effects for our shareholders. In addition, delisting of our ADSs could deter broker-dealers from making a market in or otherwise seeking or generating interest in our ADSs, and might deter certain institutions and persons from investing in our securities at all. For these reasons and others, the delisting could adversely affect the price of our ADSs and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Historically, we were dependent on revenues from ATA Online Business; after the completion of the sale of ATA Online Business, we may not be able to generate sufficient or any revenues from our current business operations.

 

ATA Online Business historically represented the principal source of revenues for the Company. On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of ATA Online Business which was consequently reclassified as discontinued operations. As of the date of this annual report, our business operations include PBL education services and other related services. Given that our PBL education services have only a short operating history, we have not generated significant revenues from these businesses as of the date of this annual report. The revenue generated from our remaining businesses have been and are expected to continue to be immaterial. We expect to use the sale proceeds from the sale of ATA Online Business and additional equity and/or borrowed capital to continue to sustain our operations and acquire complementary businesses. However, we cannot estimate at this time if or when we will be able to generate sufficient or any revenue from our current business operations to be able to sustain our operations.

 

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We have a limited operating history in providing our PBL education services. As a result, it is difficult for us to predict our results of operations and you should not rely on our historical results of operations as an indication of our future financial performance.

 

After the completion of the sale of ATA Online Business, we shifted our focus from computer-based testing services to PBL education services. Although we have been leveraging ATA’s expertise in learning technologies and industry relationships, as well as the synergies between our operational capabilities, resources and competencies to pursue the development and expansion of our new businesses, given our limited operating history of our PBL education services, we may not be able to respond quickly to such major business changes, compete successfully in the new markets, build our brand in the new areas and generate net income from our new services. As a result, it is difficult for us to predict our results of operations with respect to our new business operations in the future. As our PBL education services are still in a developing phase and did not generate any revenue in fiscal year 2018, there are no comparable historical results of operations on which you can base your evaluation of the future financial performance of our new business operations.

 

Failure to develop or market our new businesses could impact our competitive position and have an adverse effect on our financial results.

 

Our operating results in the future will depend on our ability to develop our PBL education services and other services and bring those services to the market. This ability could be adversely affected by difficulties or delays in product development and marketing such as greater costs than anticipated development costs, technical difficulties, regulatory obstacles, competition, lack of demand, insufficient intellectual property protection, or lack of market acceptance of new products and services. There can be no assurance that any of the services we are currently developing or marketing, or could begin to develop or market in the future, will achieve substantial commercial success. If we fail to develop or market our PBL education services and other services in the way or on the timeline as we expect, or at all, our growth and operations will be impacted.

 

The market for our PBL education services in China is still emerging and evolving rapidly. If market acceptance of our PBL education services declines or fails to grow, our revenue growth may slow or we may experience a decrease in revenues.

 

Currently, we are focused on providing PBL education services to college students and professionals. As the market for PBL education services in China is still emerging and evolving, our success will depend to a large extent on our ability to convince our clients that our services are valuable as an educational experience complementary to classroom-based learning for college students and professionals. A decline in the demand for PBL education services by Chinese college students and professionals could negatively affect the demand for our services. Even if the demand for our PBL education services continues to grow, this demand may not grow as quickly as we anticipate. If market acceptance of our PBL education services declines or fails to grow, our revenue growth may slow or we may experience a decrease in revenues.

 

Our PBL education services in cooperation with a limited number of business partners are expected to account for a high percentage of our revenues with respect to PBL education services. If such business partners terminate their cooperation with us or cooperate with our competitors, our revenues could be significantly reduced and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

We plan to cooperate with high-tech enterprises and other institutions for the development of our PBL education services, where they authorize us to develop our vocational courses related to their technologies and businesses and provide us certain course materials for the development of relevant teaching plans and materials. Our PBL education services in cooperation with a limited number of high-tech enterprises and other institutions are expected to account for a high percentage of our revenues. Due to our dependence on a limited number of business partners, any one of the following events, among others, could cause material fluctuations or declines in our revenues and have a material adverse effect on our financial conditions or results of operations:

 

·             cancellation or termination of cooperation from one or more of our major business partners;

 

·             a decision by one or more of our major business partners to cooperate with our competitors; and

 

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·             a decision by one or more of our major business partners to significantly increase the price for their authorizations to us.

 

Any of these events could occur due to causes outside of our control, such as macro-economic conditions, changes in a business partner’s management or the personnel with whom we interact, the actions of our competitors, and policies and changes in a business partner’s budgeting or financial prospects.

 

We provided loans of US$2.0 million to Beijing Biztour in connection with the aborted acquisition of Beijing Biztour. If Beijing Biztour and its affiliates fail to repay such loans, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

On March 26, 2018, we entered into a framework agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Beijing Biztour International Travel Service Co., Ltd. and its affiliates, or Beijing Biztour, a provider of international educational study tour and travel services for students in China. Under the framework agreement, we provided US$2.0 million in loans, valid for one year at an annual interest rate of 8%, to Beijing Biztour in support of growing its operations. If ATA does not move forward with the acquisition, the principal of US$2.0 million plus interest accrued thereon upon maturity shall be returned to ATA. On March 6, 2019, we terminated the acquisition of Beijing Biztour because Beijing Biztour and its shareholders did not satisfy certain closing conditions for such acquisition. Beijing Biztour agreed to repay the loans and interest accrued thereon to us and the de facto controller of Beijng Biztour provided a full joint liability guarantee and mortgage of real estate properties owned by him for the repayment. Such loans have matured as of the date of this annual report and Beijing Biztour is working on extending such loans for a certain period of time at an annual interest rate of 8% with us. If such loans are extended, we cannot assure you that Beijing Biztour is able to repay such loans and interest when they become due after extension. If such loans are not extended, Beijing Biztour may not be able to repay such loans and interest. The personal guarantee and property mortgage made by the de facto controller of Beijing Biztour may not be sufficient for a full repayment of such loans and interest either. If Beijing Biztour fails to repay the loans and interest in full or at all to us, we may incur substantial costs and spend additional time and efforts to enforce such repayments, and may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, which we cannot assure to guarantee a full repayment.

 

We are currently in the process of evaluating the acquisition of Beijing Huanqiuyimeng Education Consultation Corp, or ACG, of which the completion remains uncertain. If the acquisition of ACG is completed, our business may be different following such acquisition. If the acquisition of ACG is not completed, we may lose an aggregate deposit of RMB 20.0 million in connection with such acquisition and our financial results may be adversely impacted.

 

From February to April 2019, we have entered into non-binding framework agreements and certain related conditional share purchase agreement and deposit agreement with ACG and certain of its shareholders for a proposed acquisition of ACG, a leading provider of educational services for students in China who are interested in applying for overseas art study.

 

Under the terms of the above agreements, ACG and its major shareholders, including its founder, will negotiate exclusively with us until June 30, 2019 for an acquisition of 100% of the share capital of ACG. In connection with such acquisition, we will be paying an aggregate deposit of RMB 20.0 million to certain of ACG’s major shareholders. If the acquisition is not completed by June 30, 2019 due to reasons contributable to us, then such major shareholders shall be entitled to retain the related deposit as damages. If the acquisition is not completed by June 30, 2019 due to reasons contributable to ACG and/or such major shareholders, then the deposit shall be returned to us and we are entitled to damages in equivalent amount. There is no assurance that all conditions precedent to the completion of such acquisition will be satisfied or waived. If the acquisition is not completed due to reasons contributable to us, we may lose the aggregate deposit of RMB 20.0 million, and as a result, our financial results may be adversely impacted. If this acquisition is completed, we will begin to provide overseas art education services as one of our main businesses. As a result, our businesses may be different following the acquisition of ACG. As such, our results of operation for any particular historical period may not be indicative of our future operating results. In addition, there is no assurance that the acquisition of ACG will produce the intended benefits or synergies, and our revenues and results of operations may be negatively affected if we fail to operate overseas art education business successfully as intended, if at all.

 

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We may face challenges and risks in connection with our strategic investments and acquisitions as well as forming joint ventures, including producing the intended benefits or synergies, identifying suitable opportunities and integrating acquired or new businesses and assets with our existing operations, which could interrupt our business operations or adversely affect our results of operations.

 

As part of our business strategy, we previously made strategic investments in complementary businesses. In November 2013, we completed the acquisition of Xing Wei Institute (Hong Kong) Limited, or Xing Wei, a private education technology company that provides training solutions as well as online and mobile training platforms for corporations in China. In December 2014, we made a strategic investment in Master Mind Education Company, or Master Mind, which focuses on providing K-12 education services in China. In January 2015, we made a strategic investment in Beijing Satech Internet Educational Technology Ltd., or Satech, a company providing SAT exam-related training services, and subsequently increased our investment in Satech in April 2016. In September 2015, we made another strategic investment in Brilent Inc., or Brilent, a data science tech company developing software to help recruiters automatically identify the right candidates. In April 2016, we made a strategic investment in Beijing Empower Education Online, Co., Ltd., or EEO, an online education company that operates web-based virtual classroom platforms in China. In June 2016, we made a strategic investment in ApplySquare Education & Technology Co., Ltd., or ApplySquare, a company that provides college and graduate school application assistance services. In July 2016, we made a strategic investment in Beijing GlobalWisdom Information Technology Co., Ltd., or GlobalWisdom, a company that focuses on China’s online language education services. In February 2017, we entered into a partnership with Nantong MOOC-CN Investment Center (Limited Partnership), or MOOC-CN Investment, a company that focuses on the development of K-12 education assessment tools and content. In April 2017, we made an additional investment of RMB 5.5 million in EEO, while our equity interest in EEO remained unchanged. In December 2018, we made a strategic investment in Beijing Xiaozhi Education Technology Co., Ltd. or Xiaozhi, which focuses on delivering online and offline training services for teachers and instructors in various industries and areas. We cannot assure you that any particular acquisition or investment will produce the intended benefits or synergies. For example, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded an impairment loss of RMB 6.4 million ($0.9 million) related to the investments in GlobalWisdom as GlobalWisdom failed to meet the expected milestones and operation forecasts and encountered shortage of working capital resulted from continuous negative operating cash flows.

 

Currently, we are still exploring potential merger and acquisition targets in the international education sector. In addition, we may also seek to broaden our service offerings in other business sectors, obtain additional clients and strengthen our service quality by acquiring other companies or businesses or making strategic investments. However, our ability to implement our acquisition or investment strategy will depend on a number of factors, including the availability of suitable acquisition candidates at an acceptable cost or at all, our ability to compete effectively to attract and reach agreements with acquisition or investment candidates or joint venture partners on commercially reasonable terms, and the availability of financing to complete acquisitions or investment or joint ventures as well as our ability to obtain any required government approvals or licenses. As such, the identification of suitable acquisition or investment targets or joint venture candidates and the consummation of proposed acquisition or investment or joint venture transactions could be difficult, time consuming and costly, and we may not be able to successfully capitalize on identified opportunities. In addition, we may not be successful in integrating acquisitions with our existing operations and personnel. Moreover, the acquisitions or investment we pursue may require us to expend significant management and other resources, which may result in interruption to our business operations.

 

There are other risks associated with acquisitions, including:

 

·             unforeseen or hidden liabilities, including exposure to legal proceedings, associated with the acquired companies;

 

·             failure to generate sufficient revenues to offset the costs and expenses of acquisitions;

 

·             integration of the management of the acquired business into our own;

 

·             potential impairment losses or amortization expenses relating to goodwill and intangible assets arising from any of such acquisitions, which may materially reduce our net income or result in a net loss;

 

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·             potential conflicts with our existing employees as a result of our integration of newly acquired companies;

 

·             possible contravention of Chinese regulations applicable to such acquisitions; and

 

·             possible disputes associated with terminated and failed acquisitions.

 

Furthermore, raising capital to finance acquisitions or investments could cause earnings or ownership dilution to your shareholding interests, which in turn could result in losses to you. Any one or a combination of the above risks could interrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

Because there is limited business insurance coverage in China, any business disruption or litigation we experience might result in our incurring substantial costs and diverting significant resources to handle such disruption or litigation.

 

The insurance industry in China is not fully developed. Insurance companies in China offer limited business insurance products. While business disruption insurance may be available to a limited extent in China, we have determined that the risks of disruption and the difficulties and costs associated with acquiring such insurance render it commercially impractical for us to have such insurance. As a result, we do not have any business liability, disruption or litigation insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business disruption or litigation might result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources.

 

Failure to comply with the regulations relating to information security and privacy protection, such as breaches or perceived breaches of our security measures relating to our service offerings, unauthorized disclosure or misuse of personal data through breach of our computer systems or otherwise, could result in negative publicity and clients loss, expose us to protracted and costly litigation, and harm our business and results of operations.

 

Our business is facing significant challenges regarding information security and privacy protection, particularly with regard to the collection, storage, transmission and sharing of confidential information, among others. As part of our service offerings, we collect, process, transmit and store personal information of customers and students. We are required under PRC law to maintain the security and confidentiality of such information. In December 2012, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress promulgated the Decision on Strengthening Network Information Protection, or the Network Information Protection Decision, to enhance the legal protection of information security and privacy on the internet. The Network Information Protection Decision specifically requires internet operators to take security measures to ensure confidentiality of information of users. We have adopted various security measures pertaining to the collection, processing, transmission or storage of user information. However, any breach or perceived breach in our security measures as a result of third-party action, employee error, and malfeasance or otherwise could result in liability claims and have a negative impact on our reputation.

 

The PRC regulatory and enforcement regime with regard to data security and data protection has also been evolving rapidly in recent years. On July 1, 2015, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee promulgated the National Security Law, or the New National Security Law, which took effect on the same date and replaced the former National Security Law promulgated in 1993. Under the New National Security Law, we are obligated to safeguard national security by, for example, providing evidence related to activities endangering national security, providing convenience and assistance for national security work, and providing necessary support and assistance for national security institutions, public security institutions as well as military institutions. As such, we may have to provide data to the PRC government authorities and military institutions to ensure compliance with the New National Security Law. Complying with such regulations could cause us to incur substantial costs, require us to change our data practices in a manner adverse to our business, or even subject us to negative publicity which could harm our reputation with users and negatively affect our business operations and the trading price of our ADSs. In addition, in November 2016, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee promulgated the Cyber Security Law, which took effect on June 1, 2017, to protect cyberspace security and order. The Cyber Security Law tightens control of cyber security and sets forth various security protection obligations for network operators. According to the Cyber Security Law, network operators shall, among others, take security measures to protect the network from unauthorized interference, damage and unauthorized access and prevent data from being divulged, stolen or tampered with. We are continuously vigilant about protecting and improving our cyber security and have not experienced any material cyber attacks on our cyber systems. We cannot assure you, however, that our current security measures will be adequate or sufficient to prevent any theft, misuse, or unauthorized interference, damage, or unauthorized or inappropriate disclosure of personal data of our customers.  In case of any misuses of information collected from our clients or students or any unauthorized interference, damage, or unauthorized or inappropriate disclosure of such information due to our failure to protect it, we could be subject to negative publicity, liability claims or regulatory penalties. Any such negative publicity, liability claims or regulatory penalties could cause us to lose clients, expose us to costly litigation and have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

 

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If we fail to build and maintain a strong brand, our business may not grow and our financial results may be adversely impacted.

 

We believe that maintaining and enhancing the value of the “ATA” brand is important to attracting clients. Our success in maintaining brand awareness will depend on our ability to consistently provide high quality, value-adding and cost-efficient products and services. As we reorient our business to PBL education services, we are increasing our efforts to establish recognition of the “ATA” brand in the new markets. To establish such recognition of our “ATA” brand, we may need to spend significant resources on advertising. As we have limited experience with advertising and other activities required to establish a widely recognized brand, we cannot assure you that we will effectively allocate our resources for these activities or succeed in establishing and maintaining our brand recognition and appeal. If we fail to establish and maintain a strong brand, our business may not grow and our financial results may be adversely impacted.

 

We depend on our key personnel and our business may be severely disrupted if we lose their services and are unable to replace them.

 

Our future success is dependent upon the continued services of our key executives, as we rely on their industry experience and expertise in our business operations. In particular, we rely heavily on Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, our chairman and chief executive officer for his business vision, management skills, technical expertise, experience in education industries and working relationships with many of our clients, shareholders and other participants in education industries. If Mr. Ma is unable or unwilling to continue in his present positions, or if he joined a competitor or formed a competing company in violation of his employment agreement, we may not be able to replace him easily and our business may be severely disrupted.

 

We may face increasing competition from our competitors. If we fail to successfully compete, our revenues and market share may decrease, and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

As our PBL education services continue to develop, we will face increasing competition, including competition from both established brands and new entrants, who will try to gain market share from us. Competitors may introduce new products and services that have better performance, offer lower prices and gain broader acceptance than our products and services. Such new products may reduce the overall market for our products and services.

 

In the PBL education services market, we compete primarily on the basis of service quality, price, research and development competence, sales and brand. Our competitors include educational or training institutions engaging in vocational courses development services and also joint major vocational education services.  Although we believe that our PBL education services in emerging high-tech technology areas are still new in the market, and hence the competition we currently face is not significant and we can compete effectively with our competitors, in the future, as more companies enter these markets, we believe pricing may become increasingly competitive as well. Increased competition could cause us to lose clients or make it necessary for us to reduce our prices in order to retain our clients, which may negatively affect our revenues and results of operations.

 

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We may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees we need to support our planned growth.

 

Due to intense market competition for highly skilled workers, we have faced difficulties locating experienced and skilled personnel in certain areas, such as sales, marketing, product development, technology development, finance and accounting. In particular, we have had difficulty finding personnel with experience in the PBL education services market. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain the key personnel that we will need to achieve our business objectives. Even if we can identify qualified candidates, they may be subject to non-competition agreements with their prior employers that prevent us from hiring them. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our current skilled personnel. According to our contracts with our employees, all of our employees are prohibited from engaging in any activities that compete with our business during the period of their employment and for two years after termination of their employment with us. Furthermore, all employees are prohibited, for a period of two years following termination, from soliciting other employees to leave us and, for a period of five years following termination, from soliciting our existing clients. However, we may have difficulty enforcing these non-competition and non-solicitation provisions in China because the Chinese legal system, especially with respect to the enforcement of such provisions, is still developing.

 

Unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties, including infringement of our “ATA” brand, and the expenses incurred in protecting our intellectual property rights, may adversely affect our business.

 

Our copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and other intellectual property are important to our success. Unauthorized use of any of our intellectual property may adversely affect our business and reputation. We rely on trademark, patent, and copyright law, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, clients, business partners and others to protect our intellectual property rights. Nevertheless, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and use our intellectual property without authorization. The unauthorized use of intellectual property is common and widespread in China and enforcement of intellectual property rights by Chinese regulatory agencies is inconsistent. Moreover, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights. Future litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our management’s attention and resources, and could disrupt our business, as well as have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Given the relative unpredictability of China’s legal system and potential difficulties enforcing a court judgment in China, there is no guarantee that we would be able to halt the unauthorized use of our intellectual property through litigation.

 

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us, may materially disrupt our business.

 

We cannot assure you that our business operations, in particular, our trademarks, software, know-how and other technologies do not or will not infringe upon trademarks, valid copyrights, patents or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may become subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our business. For example, we have been unable to register our “ATA” trademark with the China Trademark Office due to similarity with other trademarks. Although we have not received notice of trademark infringement claims since we began using the mark in 1999 and believe that the risk of litigation is remote, we may be subject to such claims in the future. If we were found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be enjoined from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives. In addition, we may incur substantial expenses, and may be forced to divert management and other resources from our business operations, to defend against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merits. Successful infringement or licensing claims against us may result in substantial monetary liabilities or may materially disrupt the conduct of our business by restricting or prohibiting our use of the intellectual property in question.

 

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We may need additional capital and any failure by us to raise additional capital on terms favorable to us, or at all, could limit our ability to grow our business and develop or enhance our product and service offerings to respond to market demands or competitive challenges.

 

Capital requirements are difficult to plan in the rapidly changing industries in which we operate. We believe that our current cash and expected future cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital and capital expenditures for the next 12 months and the foreseeable future beyond that point. We may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If our sources of liquidity are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. Our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:

 

·             investors’ perception of, and demand for, securities of international education companies;

 

·             conditions of the U.S., PRC and other capital markets in which we may seek to raise funds;

 

·             our future results of operations and financial condition;

 

·             Chinese government regulations of foreign investment in China;

 

·             economic, political and other conditions in China; and

 

·             Chinese government policies relating to the borrowing and remittance of foreign currency outside China.

 

We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any failure by us to raise additional funds on terms favorable to us, or at all, could limit our ability to grow our business and develop or enhance our product and service offerings to respond to market demand or competitive challenges.

 

We may be unable to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, and as a result we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

 

We are subject to provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual reports on Form 20-F. Our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as of December 31, 2018. However, if we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, our management and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level. Our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our reporting processes, which could materially and adversely affect the trading price of our ADSs.

 

Our reporting obligations as a public company will continue to place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. Our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial reporting processes, which in turn could harm our business and negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit documentation related to their audit reports included in this annual report may include audit documentation located in China. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board currently cannot inspect audit documentation located in China and, as such, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our annual reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. However, audit documentations located in China are not currently inspected by the PCAOB because the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities.

 

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Inspections conducted by the PCAOB outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating audit documentation located in China and its related quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

 

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to audits outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm may be temporarily suspended from practicing before the SEC if unable to continue to satisfy the SEC investigation requests in the future. If a delay in completion of our audit process occurs as a result, we could be unable to timely file certain reports with the SEC, which may lead to the delisting of our stock.

 

On January 22, 2014, Judge Cameron Elliot, an SEC administrative law judge, issued an initial decision suspending the Chinese member firms of the “Big Four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, from practicing before the SEC for six months. In February 2014, the initial decision was appealed. While under appeal and in February 2015, the Chinese member firms of the “Big Four” accounting firms reached a settlement with the SEC. As part of the settlement, each of the Chinese member firms of “Big Four” accounting firms agreed to settlement terms that include a censure, undertakings to make a payment to the SEC, procedures and undertakings as to future requests for documents by the SEC, and possible additional proceedings and remedies should those undertakings not be adhered to.

 

If the settlement terms are not adhered to, our independent registered public accounting firm may be suspended from practicing before the SEC, which could in turn delay the timely filing of our financial statements with the SEC. In addition, it could be difficult for us to timely identify and engage another qualified independent registered public accounting firm to replace our current one. A delinquency in our filings with the SEC may result in NASDAQ initiating investigation procedures, which could adversely harm our reputation and have other material adverse effects on our overall growth and prospects.

 

We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders of our ADSs or common shares.

 

We believe that we were not a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the fiscal ended December 31, 2018. However, PFIC status is tested each year and depends on the composition of our assets and income and the value of our assets from time to time. Since we currently hold, and expect to continue to hold, a substantial amount of cash and other passive assets and, since the value of our assets is to be determined in large part by reference to the market prices of our ADSs and common shares, which is likely to fluctuate over time, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for any future taxable year. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. investor held our ADSs or common shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences would apply to any U.S. investor. See Item 10.E. “Additional Information — Taxation — United States Federal Income Taxation — Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

 

If we are deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it would adversely affect the price of our ADSs and ordinary shares and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

As part of our business strategy, we previously made strategic investments in complementary businesses and are still exploring potential investment targets in order to expand our service offerings into new markets. See Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business — We may face challenges and risks in connection with our strategic investments and acquisitions as well as forming joint ventures, including producing the intended benefits or synergies, identifying suitable opportunities and integrating acquired or new businesses and assets with our existing operations, which could interrupt our business operations or adversely affect our results of operations.” These investments may be deemed to be “investment securities” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. We may be deemed to be an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act based on the value of the investment securities we hold and on other factors relevant to the definition of an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

 

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As an issuer not organized under the laws of the United States, we would not be eligible to register under the Investment Company Act without an order from the Securities and Exchange Commission permitting such registration.  Accordingly, if we are deemed to be an investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act, we would either have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC, modify our contractual rights or dispose of investments in order to fall outside the definition of an investment company. We may also be required to forego potential future acquisitions of interests in companies that may be deemed to be investment securities within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Further, we may rely on one or more exemptions from the Investment Company Act’s definition of investment company. Failure to avoid being deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act coupled with our inability as a foreign private issuer to register under the Investment Company 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 Nasdaq Global Market, which would have a material adverse effect on the liquidity and value of our ADSs and common shares. 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 have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business

 

If the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, or another PRC regulatory agency determines that CSRC approval was required in connection with our initial public offering, we may become subject to penalties.

 

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, promulgated the Provisions Regarding Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was revised in June 22, 2009. The M&A Rule, among other things, requires that an offshore company controlled by PRC companies or individuals that has acquired a PRC domestic company for the purpose of listing the PRC domestic company’s equity interest on an overseas stock exchange must obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such offshore company’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC, pursuant to the M&A Rule, published on its official website procedures specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by offshore companies seeking CSRC approval of their overseas listings.

 

Our PRC counsel, Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm, advised us that CSRC approval was not required for our initial public offering in February 2008 because the CSRC approval required under the M&A Rule only applies to an offshore company that has acquired a domestic PRC company for the purpose of listing the domestic PRC company’s equity interest on an overseas stock exchange, while (i) we obtained our equity interest in each of our PRC subsidiaries by means of direct investment other than by acquisition of the equity or assets of a PRC domestic company in 2008, (ii) our former contractual arrangements with ATA Online (see “Item 7.B. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Related Party Transactions.” for more details) do not constitute the acquisition of ATA Online, (iii) the M&A Rule does not apply to the acquisition by ATA Learning, a wholly foreign owned enterprise, and (iv) although Article 11 of the M&A Rule prohibits the circumvention of the M&A Rule through establishing foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, ATA Learning was established in 2003 before the M&A Rule was promulgated, which makes this acquisition not a circumvention of the M&A Rule. However, if it is determined that CSRC approval was required, we may face regulatory actions or other sanctions from the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. These regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our operating privileges in China, or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.

 

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Because we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our current and future Chinese subsidiaries for our cash requirements, restrictions under Chinese law on their ability to make such payments could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our businesses.

 

We have adopted a holding company structure, and our holding companies may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our current and future Chinese subsidiaries for their cash requirements, including the funds necessary to service any debt we may incur or financing we may need for operations other than through our Chinese subsidiaries. Chinese legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our Chinese subsidiaries only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC GAAP. Our Chinese subsidiaries are also required under Chinese laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of their after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC GAAP to statutory reserves until such reserves reach 50% of the company’s registered capital. Allocations to these statutory reserves and funds can only be used for specific purposes and are not transferable to us in the form of loans, advances or cash dividends. As of December 31, 2018, our Chinese subsidiaries allocated RMB 25.6 million ($3.7 million) to the general reserve fund, which is restricted for distribution to the Company. We are in full compliance with PRC laws and regulations relating to such allocations. Any limitations on the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to transfer funds to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments currently enjoyed by our subsidiaries in the PRC could materially increase our tax obligations.

 

Effective from January 1, 2008 and amended on February 24, 2017 and December 29, 2018, the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, imposes a tax rate of 25% on all enterprises, including foreign-invested enterprises, and terminates many of the tax exemptions, reductions and preferential treatments available under previous tax laws. However, enterprises that were established before March 16, 2007 and already enjoyed preferential tax treatments may continue to enjoy them (i) in the case of certain preferential tax rates that are specified by tax legislations for a transition period of five years from January 1, 2008, or (ii) in the case of tax exemption or reduction for a specified term, until the expiration of such term.

 

Under the EIT Law, qualified “high-and-new technology enterprises eligible for key support from the State” (“HNTE”) are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15%, subject to an annual self-assessment review during the valid period of their HNTE certificates. If an HNTE enterprise does not satisfy the related requirements stipulated by the State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) to enjoy the preferential income tax rate of 15% during the annual self-assessment review, it will not be able to implement the preferential income tax rate for the tax year being assessed. In December 2008, ATA Education Technology (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Education (formerly known as ATA Testing Authority (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Testing) obtained an HNTE certificate with a valid period of three years retrospectively starting from January 1, 2008 and renewed the certificate in 2011, 2014, and 2017 for another three years, respectively. As a result, ATA Education was and will be entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% for calendar years 2008 through 2019. In December 2009, Muhua Shangce Learning Data & Technology (Beijing) Limited (“Muhua Shangce”, formerly known as ATA Learning Data & Technology (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Data and Beijing Jindixin Software Technology Limited, or Beijing JDX) obtained an HNTE certificate with a valid period of three years retrospectively starting from January 1, 2009 and renewed the certificate in 2012, 2015, and 2018 for another three years, respectively. As a result, Muhua Shangce was and will be entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% for calendar years 2009 through 2020. In the event ATA Education or Muhua Shangce is unable to meet all of the requirements stipulated by the SAT to enjoy the preferential income tax rate of 15% during the annual self-assessment review when holding the HNTE certificate or fail to renew its HNTE certificate, it will be subject to the standard statutory enterprise income tax rate of 25%. We cannot assure you that ATA Education and Muhua Shangce will continue to qualify as an HNTE after the expiration of their HNTE certificates, or that the local tax authorities will not, in the future, change their position and revoke any of our past preferential tax treatments.

 

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The discontinuation of any of our preferential tax treatments could materially increase our tax obligations and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Under the EIT Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and U.S. holders of our ADSs or common shares.

 

Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with its “de facto management body” in China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated the same as a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. In addition, a tax circular issued by the SAT, on April 22, 2009 regarding the standards used to classify certain Chinese controlled enterprises established outside of China as “resident enterprises,” or Circular 82, clarified that dividends and other income paid by such “resident enterprises” will be considered to be PRC source income, subject to PRC withholding tax currently at a rate of 10%, when paid to non-PRC enterprise shareholders. Circular 82 also subjects such “resident enterprises” to various reporting requirements with the PRC tax authorities. Under the Implementation Rules to the EIT Law, a “de facto management body” is defined as a body that exercises “substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise.” In addition, Circular 82 details that certain Chinese-controlled enterprises will be classified as “resident enterprises” if the following are located or resident in China: senior management personnel and departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management; financial and personnel decision making bodies; key properties, accounting books, company seal, and minutes of board meetings and shareholders’ meetings; and half or more of the senior management or directors having voting rights.

 

Currently, a substantial majority of the members of our management team as well as the management team of some of our offshore holding companies are located in China. However, Circular 82 only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreign entities like us. In the absence of detailed implementing regulations or other guidance determining that offshore companies controlled by PRC individuals or foreign entities like us are PRC resident enterprises, we do not currently consider our company or any of our overseas subsidiaries to be a PRC resident enterprise.

 

However, the SAT may take the view that the determining criteria set forth in Circular 82 reflects the general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. Or additional implementing regulations or guidance may be issued determining that our Cayman Islands holding company is a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we will be subject to enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. This would mean that income such as interest on offering proceeds and other non-China source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax rate at 25%, in comparison to no taxation in the Cayman Islands. Second, although under the EIT Law and its implementing rules dividends paid to us by our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income”, we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Finally, a 10% withholding tax will be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC enterprise shareholders, and future guidance may extend the withholding tax to dividends we pay to our non-PRC individual shareholders and gains derived by our non-PRC shareholders from transferring our ADSs or common shares. Similar results would follow if our BVI holding company is considered a PRC “resident enterprise”. In addition to the uncertainty in how the new “resident enterprise” classification could apply, it is also possible that the rules may change in the future, possibly with retroactive effect. We are closely monitoring the development of this area of rules and are evaluating appropriate arrangements of our management activity to avoid being classified as a PRC “resident enterprise”.

 

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China’s regulations of loans and direct investments by offshore holding companies to their Chinese subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity may restrict our ability to execute our business strategy.

 

In order to execute our business strategy, we must invest the funds in our Chinese subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity through loans or capital contributions. Under applicable Chinese laws, any loan made by us to ATA Education, a foreign-invested enterprise, cannot exceed statutory limits tied to each company’s registered capital and total investment as approved by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart, and all such loans must be registered with China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, or its local counterpart. According to a notice issued by the People’s Bank of China regarding foreign debt on January 11, 2017, the maximum amount of foreign debt that each of our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated variable interest entity or other PRC domestic entities is allowed to borrow is two times of their respective net assets. Pursuant to this notice and other PRC laws and regulations regarding foreign debt, within a one-year grace period starting from January 11, 2017, the statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debt of a foreign-invested company, which is subject to its own election, is either the difference between the amount of total investment and the amount of registered capital as approved by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart, or two times of their respective net assets. With respect to our consolidated variable interest entity or other domestic PRC entities, the limit for the total amount of foreign debt is twice of their respective net assets pursuant to the notice.

 

We may also decide to finance ATA Education by increasing its registered capital through capital contributions. Any capital contributions to ATA Education must be filed with the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart. SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, on March 30, 2015. According to SAFE Circular 19, a foreign-invested enterprise will be able to convert foreign exchange in its capital account into RMB at any time. In order to use the converted RMB, the foreign-invested enterprise still needs to provide supporting documents and go through the review process with the banks. A failure by us to obtain the necessary government approvals or complete any required registrations or other procedures for a capital contribution, an increase in approved total investment or a loan on a timely basis, may restrict our ability to execute our business strategy.

 

In June 2016, SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Administrative Provisions on Capital Account Foreign Exchange Settlement, or SAFE Circular No. 16, which removed certain restrictions previously provided under several SAFE circulars, including the Notice of the General Affairs Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the Relevant Operating Issues concerning the Improvement of the Administration of Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular No. 142, in respect of conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into RMB and use of such RMB capital. However, SAFE Circular No. 16 continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using RMB fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, and providing loans to non-affiliated enterprises except as permitted in the business scope.

 

A failure by our shareholders who are Chinese citizens or residents in China to comply with regulations issued by SAFE could restrict our ability to distribute profits, restrict our overseas and cross-border investment activities or subject us to liabilities under Chinese laws, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

 

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle”. SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. In the event that a PRC shareholder holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to fulfill the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

 

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Our significant shareholder, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, has previously completed his registration with SAFE and has submitted relevant materials to update his registration, and we have urged our other Chinese resident shareholders to register under SAFE Circular 37 and they are currently in the application process. However, we cannot assure you that their applications will be accepted by SAFE. Failure by such shareholders to comply with SAFE Circular 37 could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects. See Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business — Because we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our current and future Chinese subsidiaries for our cash requirements, restrictions under Chinese law on their ability to make such payments could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our businesses.”

 

Furthermore, as there is uncertainty concerning the reconciliation of these SAFE regulations with other approval requirements, it is unclear how these regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. We cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

 

We may be subject to fines and legal sanctions imposed by SAFE or other Chinese government authorities if we or our Chinese employees fail to comply with Chinese regulations relating to employee share options granted by offshore listed companies to Chinese citizens.

 

Under applicable PRC regulations, Chinese citizens who are granted share options by an offshore listed company are required, through a Chinese agent, which can be a Chinese branch or representative of the offshore listed company, a Chinese institution which has controlling relationship or actual control relationship with the offshore listed company or a Chinese institution qualified for asset custody business, to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures, including applications for foreign exchange payment quotas and opening special bank accounts. We and our Chinese employees who have been granted share options are subject to such PRC regulations. If we or our Chinese employees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our Chinese employees may be subject to fines and legal sanctions imposed by SAFE or other Chinese government authorities, which may prevent us from further granting options under our share incentive plans to our employees. Such events could adversely affect our business operations. See Item 4.B. “Information on the Company — Business overview — Regulation — SAFE Regulations on Employee Share Options.”

 

Risks Relating to Doing Business in the People’s Republic of China

 

China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could adversely affect the overall economy in China or the prospects of the industries in which we operate, which in turn could reduce our net revenues.

 

Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and social developments in China.

 

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The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy since the late 1970s, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling the incurrence and payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and regulations could adversely affect the overall economy in China or the prospects of the industries in which we operate, which could harm our business.

 

China’s social and political conditions are also not as stable as those of the United States and other developed countries. Any sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of widespread social unrest could have negative effects on our business and results of operations. In addition, China has contentious relations with some of its neighbors. A significant further deterioration in such relations could have negative effects on the Chinese economy and lead to changes in governmental policies that would be adverse to our business interests.

 

The Chinese legal system has inherent uncertainties that could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

 

Unlike common law systems, the Chinese legal system is based on written statutes and decided legal cases have little precedential value. Since 1979, the Chinese government has promulgated a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation since then has been to significantly enhance the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investment in China. Our Chinese operating subsidiary, ATA Education, is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, which is an enterprise incorporated in China and wholly-owned by foreign investors, and is subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China in general and laws and regulations applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises in particular. Relevant Chinese laws, regulations and legal requirements may change frequently, and their interpretation and enforcement involve uncertainties. In addition, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce the legal protection that we enjoy either by law or contract. However, since Chinese administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Such uncertainties, including the inability to enforce our contracts and intellectual property rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and operations. Accordingly, we cannot predict the effect of future developments in the Chinese legal system, particularly with regard to the PBL education services sectors, 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. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to us and other foreign investors, including you.

 

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to obtain financing.

 

Majority of our revenues and operating expenses are denominated in Renminbi. Restrictions on currency exchange imposed by the Chinese government may limit our ability to utilize revenues generated in Renminbi to fund our business activities outside China, if any, or expenditures denominated in foreign currencies. Under current Chinese regulations, Renminbi may be freely converted into foreign currency for payments relating to “current account transactions,” which include, among other things, dividend payments and payments for the import of goods and services, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Revenues generated in the PRC can be converted into foreign currency to pay salaries of employees located outside of the PRC upon the employee completing registration procedures. Revenues generated in the PRC can also be used to pay off debt generated outside of the PRC, provided that the Company completes relevant foreign debt registration or approval requirements. Although the Renminbi has been fully convertible for current account transactions since 1996, we cannot assure you that the relevant Chinese government authorities will not limit or eliminate our ability to purchase and retain foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future.

 

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Conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies and of foreign currencies into Renminbi for payments relating to “capital account transactions,” which include, among other things, investments, loans and acquisitions of land and other fixed assets overseas, generally requires the approval of SAFE and other relevant Chinese governmental authorities. Restrictions on convertibility of Renminbi for capital account transactions could affect the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to make investments overseas or to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing, including by means of loans or capital contributions from us.

 

Fluctuations in exchange rates could result in foreign currency exchange losses.

 

Because substantially all of our revenues and expenditures are denominated in Renminbi, fluctuations in the exchange rate between U.S. dollar and Renminbi will affect our balance sheet and earnings per share in U.S. dollars. In addition, appreciation or depreciation in value of the Renminbi relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars and earnings from and the value of any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.

 

The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by, among other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions and China’s foreign exchange policies. It is difficult to predict how economic conditions, or PRC or U.S. government policy, in particular, the outbreak of trade war between PRC and U.S. and the imposition of additional tariffs on goods to each other in 2018, may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future. The People’s Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to limit fluctuations in Renminbi exchange rates and achieve policy goals. Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedging transactions may be limited and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by Chinese exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency.

 

Any future outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome or avian flu in China, or similar adverse public health developments, may disrupt our business and operations.

 

Our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or other similar adverse public health developments. In recent years, there have been reports on the occurrences of avian influenza in various parts of China and neighboring countries, including confirmed human cases. Any prolonged adverse public health development may result in health or other government authorities requiring the closure of our offices or the offices of our clients, or the cancellation of study projects to avoid the spread of disease. Such occurrences would disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. We have not adopted any written preventive measures or contingency plans to combat any future outbreak of avian flu, SARS or any other epidemic.

 

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

 

If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our variable interest entity do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

 

We are a Cayman Islands company and our PRC subsidiaries are considered as foreign-invested enterprises. Accordingly, they are not eligible to provide certain restricted services related to our businesses. As a result, we conduct or will conduct such business activities through ATA Intelligent Learning (Beijing) Technology Limited, or ATA Intelligent Learning.

 

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ATA Intelligent Learning is 90% owned by Mr. Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, our chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and 10% owned by Mr. Haichang Xiong, our general counsel. Mr. Ma and Mr. Xiong are PRC citizens. We entered into a series of contractual arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning and its shareholders, which enable us to:

 

·             exercise effective control over ATA Intelligent Learning;

 

·             receive substantially all of the economic benefits of ATA Intelligent Learning; and

 

·             have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in ATA Intelligent Learning when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

 

Because of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of ATA Intelligent Learning and hence consolidate its financial results as ATA Intelligent Learning. For a detailed discussion of these contractual arrangements, see Item 4.A. “Information on the Company— History and Development of the Company— Contractual Arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning”.

 

In the opinion of Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm, our PRC legal counsel, the above contractual arrangements are legally binding and enforceable and do not violate current PRC laws and regulations. However, there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of existing and future PRC laws and regulations. The Company cannot assure that the PRC regulatory authorities will not ultimately take a contrary view to its opinion. If the current ownership structure of the Company and the contractual arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws and regulations, the PRC government could:

 

·             revoke the Company’s business and operating licenses;

 

·             levy fines on the Company;

 

·             confiscate any of the Company’s income that they deem to be obtained through illegal operations;

 

·             shut down a portion or all of the Company’s servers or block a portion or all of the Company’s website;

 

·             discontinue or restrict the Company’s operations in PRC;

 

·             impose conditions or requirements with which the Company may not be able to comply;

 

·             require the Company to restructure its corporate and contractual structure;

 

·             take other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to the Company’s business.

 

We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning and its shareholders to explore opportunities and operate businesses in the international education business sector, which include but are not limited to, training courseware, trainings, study tours, online trainings and platforms. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see Item 4.A. “Information on the Company— History and Development of the Company— Contractual Arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over ATA Intelligent Learning.

 

If we had direct ownership of ATA Intelligent Learning, we would be able to exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in its board of directors, which in turn could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management level. However, under the current contractual arrangements, we rely on the performance by ATA Intelligent Learning and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to exercise control over ATA Intelligent Learning. However, the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate our business through the contractual arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning. We may replace the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning at any time pursuant to our contractual arrangements with them and its shareholders. However, if any dispute relating to these contracts remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under these contracts through the operations of PRC law and courts and therefore will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. See Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Any failure by ATA Intelligent Learning or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.” Therefore, our contractual arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership would be.

 

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Any failure by ATA Intelligent Learning or its shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.

 

If ATA Intelligent Learning or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure to be effective. For example, if the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in ATA Intelligent Learning to us or our designee when we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

 

All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. See Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Doing Business in the People’s Republic of China—The Chinese legal system has inherent uncertainties that could limit the legal protections available to you and us.” Meanwhile, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law, and as a result it may be difficult to predict how an arbitration panel would view such contractual arrangements. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Additionally, under PRC law, rulings by arbitrators are final, parties cannot appeal the arbitration results in courts, and if the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay.

 

In the event we are unable to enforce our contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over ATA Intelligent Learning, and our ability to conduct relevant businesses may be negatively affected.

 

The shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our businesses and financial conditions.

 

Mr. Kevin Xiaofeng Ma and Mr. Haichang Xiong are the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning. Mr. Kevin Xiaofeng Ma is our chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Haichang Xiong is our general counsel. The shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning may have potential conflicts of interest with us. These shareholders may breach, or cause ATA Intelligent Learning to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and we would have a material and adverse effect to effectively control ATA Intelligent Learning, and hence substantially all the economic benefits received by ATA Intelligent Learning. For example, the shareholders may cause our agreements with ATA Intelligent Learning to perform in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due to us under the contractual arrangements on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

 

Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company. Mr. Kevin Xiaofeng Ma is also the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the Company. We rely on Mr. Ma to abide by the laws of the Cayman Islands and China, where directors owe fiduciary duties to the company that requires them to act in good faith and in what they believe to be the best interests of the company and not to use their positions for personal gains. If we cannot resolve any conflicts of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

 

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Contractual arrangements in relation to ATA Intelligent Learning may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and they may determine that we or our PRC variable interest entity owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.

 

Under applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements between ATA Education and ATA Intelligent Learning in China, and its shareholders were not entered into on an arm’s length basis and in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and to adjust ATA Intelligent Learning’s income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by ATA Intelligent Learning for PRC tax purposes, which could in turn increase the tax liabilities. In addition to transfer pricing adjustment, the PRC tax authorities may also enquire about the substance of the consulting fee to be paid to ATA Education pursuant to applicable PRC laws. If the consulting fees do not have business substance or are not authentic, they may not be deductible and may result in additional tax liability to ATA Intelligent Learning.

 

Moreover, the PRC tax authorities may impose punitive interest on ATA Intelligent Learning for the adjusted but unpaid taxes at the rate of 5% over the basic RMB lending rate published by the People’s Bank of China to be applied for a period according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if ATA Intelligent Learning’s tax liabilities increase or if they are required to pay punitive interest.

 

We may be affected by the Cayman Economic Substance Law 2018

 

We are a holding company incorporated in Cayman Islands. During 2017, the European Union Economic and Financial Affairs Council released a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. The stated aim of this list, and accompanying report, was to promote good governance worldwide in order to maximize efforts to prevent tax fraud and tax evasion. Cayman Islands was not on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions; however, Cayman Islands did feature in the report as having committed to address concerns relating to economic substance by December 31, 2018.

 

In accordance with such commitment, Cayman Islands enacted the the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Law, 2018 (the “ES Law”) in December 2018. Under the ES Law, if a Cayman Islands company is carrying on as a business one or more “relevant activity” (including: banking, distribution and service center, financing and leasing, fund management, headquarters, holding company, insurance, intellectual property or shipping) it will be required to maintain a substantial economic presence in Cayman Islands and to comply with the economic substance requirements set forth in the ES Law. Companies subject to the economic substance requirements will be required to file a declaration with the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority stating whether or not they are carrying out relevant activities on an annual basis.

 

At present, the impact of the ES Law is unclear and it is impossible to predict the nature and effect of these requirements on us. We are currently evaluating the potential effect that the ES Law will have on us.

 

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Risks Relating to Our ADSs

 

Our ADS price and the ADS or stock prices of other technology companies with business operations primarily in China, have fluctuated widely in recent years, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

 

The trading prices of our ADSs are volatile, and this volatility may continue. For instance, between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018, our ADS price as reported on Nasdaq ranged between a low of $0.8201 and a high of $6.87. Numerous factors that are beyond our control may cause the market price of our ADSs to fluctuate significantly. In particular, the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other technology companies with business operations mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States may affect the volatility in the price of and trading volumes for our ADSs. The trading performances of these Chinese companies’ securities at the time of or after their offerings may affect the overall investor sentiment towards Chinese companies listed in the United States and consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs. These broad market and industry factors may significantly affect the market price and volatility of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance.

 

In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our ADSs may be highly volatile for specific business reasons. Factors such as variations in our revenues, earnings and cash flow, announcements of new investments, cooperation arrangements or acquisitions, and fluctuations in market prices for our services could cause the market price of our ADSs to change substantially. Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade. We cannot give any assurance that these factors will not occur in the future.

 

Although publicly traded, the trading market in our ADSs has been substantially less liquid than the ADSs or stock of many companies quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market, and this low trading volume may adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

 

Although our ADSs are traded on the Nasdaq Global Market, the trading volume of our ADSs has generally been very low. Reported average daily trading volume of our ADSs for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019 was approximately 81,289 ADSs. Limited trading volume will subject our ADSs to greater price volatility and may make it difficult for our shareholders to sell their ADSs at a price that is attractive to them, if at all.

 

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

 

Sales of substantial amounts of our ADSs in the public market or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs and could materially impair our future ability to raise capital through offerings of our ADSs.

 

As of April 12, 2019, there were 48,646,094 common shares outstanding. In addition, there were outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 1,035,650 common shares, including options to purchase an aggregate of 16,666 common shares immediately exercisable as of April 12, 2019. All of the ADSs sold in our initial public offering are freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, unless held by our “affiliates” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Subject to applicable restrictions and limitations under Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, all of our shares outstanding as of the date of this annual report are eligible for sale in the public market. In addition, the common shares subject to options for the purchase of our common shares will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements, and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act of 1933. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold in the public market, the trading price of our common shares could decline.

 

A significant percentage of our outstanding common shares are held by a small number of our existing shareholders, and these shareholders may have significantly greater influence on us and our corporate actions by nature of the size of their shareholdings relative to our public shareholders.

 

One of our existing shareholders, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, beneficially owns over 50.0% of our outstanding common shares as of April 12, 2019. Accordingly, Mr. Ma has had, and may continue to have, significant influence in determining the outcome of any corporate transaction or other matter submitted to the shareholders for approval, including mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. In addition, without the consent of Mr. Ma, we could be prevented from entering into transactions that could be beneficial to us.

 

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In addition, as of the date of this annual report, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma owns substantial equity interest in ATA Online. In addition, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma also acts as the chairman of the board of directors of ATA Online. A potential conflict of interest may exist as the businesses of ATA Online may divert more time and attention of Kevin Xiaofeng Ma. In particular, if we are not able to effectively acquire new business or expand our operations subsequent to the sale of ATA Online, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma’s interest in ATA Online may overweigh his interest in us and, as a result, his interest may not be best aligned with the interest of our shareholders.

 

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents may discourage our acquisition by a third party, which could limit your opportunity to sell your shares at a premium.

 

Our third amended and restated memorandum and articles of association include provisions that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of us, modify our structure or cause us to engage in change of control transactions, including, among other things, the following:

 

·                       provisions that provide for a staggered board which operates to prevent a third party from obtaining control of our board in a relatively short period of time because at least two annual shareholders’ meetings, instead of one, would generally be required to effect a change in majority of the board.

 

·                       provisions that restrict the ability of our shareholders to call meetings and to propose special matters for consideration at shareholder meetings; and

 

·                       provisions that authorize our board of directors, without action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares and to issue additional common shares, including common shares represented by ADSs.

 

These provisions could have the effect of depriving you of an opportunity to sell your ADSs at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to acquire control of us in a tender offer or similar transactions.

 

The voting rights of holders of ADSs must be exercised in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement, the ADRs, and the procedures established by the depositary. The process of voting through the depositary may involve delays that limit the time available to you to consider proposed shareholders’ actions and also may restrict your ability to subsequently revise your voting instructions.

 

A holder of ADSs may exercise its voting rights with respect to the underlying common shares only in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement and the ADRs. We do not recognize holders of ADSs representing our common shares as our shareholders, and instead we recognize the ADS depositary as our shareholder.

 

When the depositary receives from us notice of any shareholders meeting, it will distribute the information in the meeting notice and any proxy solicitation materials to you. The depositary will determine the record date for distributing these materials, and only ADS holders registered with the depositary on that record date will, subject to applicable laws, be entitled to instruct the depositary to vote the underlying common shares. The depositary will also determine and inform you of the manner for you to give your voting instructions, including instructions to give discretionary proxies to a person designated by us. Upon receipt of voting instructions of a holder of ADSs, the depositary will endeavor to vote the underlying common shares in accordance with these instructions. You may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting for you to withdraw your common shares and cast your vote with respect to any proposed resolution, as a holder of our common shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents may not be able to send materials relating to the meeting and voting instruction forms to you, or to carry out your voting instructions, in a timely manner. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your shares. The additional time required for the depositary to receive from us and distribute to you meeting notices and materials, and for you to give voting instructions to the depositary with respect to the underlying common shares, will result in your having less time to consider meeting notices and materials than holders of common shares who receive such notices and materials directly from us and who vote their common shares directly. If you have given your voting instructions to the depositary and subsequently decide to change those instructions, you may not be able to do so in time for the depositary to vote in accordance with your revised instructions. The depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote.

 

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

 

Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our common shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders’ meetings if you do not vote, unless we notify the depositary that:

 

·                we do not wish to receive a discretionary proxy;

 

·                we think there is substantial shareholder opposition to the particular question; or

 

·                we think the subject of the particular question would have a material adverse impact on our shareholders.

 

The effect of this discretionary proxy is that, absent the situations described above, you cannot prevent our common shares underlying your ADSs from being voted and it may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence the management of our company. Holders of our common shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

 

You may not receive distributions on our common shares or any value for them if such distribution is illegal or if any required government approval cannot be obtained in order to make such distribution available to you.

 

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian for our ADSs receives on our common shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of our common shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs if it decides that it is unlawful to make such distribution. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consisted of securities that required registration under the Securities Act but that were not properly registered or distributed pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary is not responsible for making a distribution available to any holders of ADSs if any government approval or registration required for such distribution cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts made by the depositary. We have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of our ADSs, common shares, rights or anything else to holders of our ADSs. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our common shares or any value for them if it is unlawful or unreasonable from a regulatory perspective for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.

 

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

 

Your ADSs represented by ADRs 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 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 events such as a rights offering, during which time the depositary needs to maintain an exact number of ADS holders on its books for a specified period. The depositary may also close its books in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of our ADSs generally when 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 laws or any government or government body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

 

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We are a Cayman Islands company and, because judicial precedent regarding the rights of shareholders is more limited under Cayman Islands law than under U.S. federal or state laws, you may have less protection of your shareholder rights than you would under U.S. federal or state laws.

 

Our corporate affairs are governed by our third amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Cayman Islands Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. In addition, some jurisdictions, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. 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 management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.

 

Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

 

We are a Cayman Islands company and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Nearly all of our current operations are conducted in China. In addition, most of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. court judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors, none of whom is resident in the United States and the substantial majority of whose assets is located outside of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or China would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether such Cayman Islands or Chinese courts would be competent to hear original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or China against us or such persons predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state.

 

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 the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. 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. Moreover, we may not be able to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in your holdings.

 

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

 

A. History and Development of the Company

 

Our predecessor company, American Testing Authority, Inc., a New York company, began operations in 1999, and in the same year established ATA Testing Authority (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Testing, as a wholly-owned subsidiary in China. In November 2001, our founders established ATA Testing Authority (Holdings) Limited, or ATA BVI, in the British Virgin Islands. In the following year, American Testing Authority, Inc. merged into ATA BVI and ATA BVI became our holding company.

 

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In June 2003, we established a Chinese joint venture company, ATA Learning (Beijing) Inc., or ATA Learning, with Yinchuan Economic and Technological Development Zone Investment Holding Co. Ltd., or Yinchuan Holding. Initially, we held a 40% equity interest in ATA Learning. In May 2005, we acquired Yinchuan Holding’s 60% equity interest and converted ATA Learning into a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATA BVI.

 

We incorporated ATA Inc. in the Cayman Islands in September 2006 as our listing vehicle. ATA Inc. became our ultimate holding company in November 2006 when it issued shares to the existing shareholders of ATA BVI in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of ATA BVI.

 

In February 2009, we completed the acquisition of the entire equity of Beijing JDX, and JDX Holdings Limited, or JDX BVI, which are related companies incorporated in China and the British Virgin Islands, respectively, engaged in the development and marketing of software for computer-based tests. JDX BVI was dissolved in October 2009.

 

In November 2013, we completed the acquisition of the entire equity interest of Xing Wei Institute (Hong Kong) Limited, or Xing Wei, a private education technology company that provides training solutions as well as online and mobile training platforms for corporations in China.

 

In connection with the listing of our testing service business on the New Third Board, we acquired the entire equity interest of ATA Online through ATA Learning and Zhongxiao Zhixing Education Technology (Beijing) Limited, or Zhongxiao Zhixing, in May 2015, with ATA Learning owning 90% and Zhongxiao Zhixing owning 10% of ATA Online’s share equity.

 

In May 2016, ATA Testing acquired from ATA Inc. the entire equity interest of Beijing JDX, which changed its company name to ATA Learning Data & Technology (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Data, in August 2016. In June 2017, MOOC-CN Investment and an individual shareholder acquired a total of 20% equity interest in ATA Data. Such investment aimed to help us expand into the K-12 education assessment market, with particular focus on the development of K-12 education assessment tools and content. ATA Data changed its company name to Muhua Shangce Learning Data & Technology (Beijing) Limited, or Muhua Shangce, in connection with such investment. After the investment, ATA Testing, MOOC-CN Investment and the individual shareholder each holds 56%, 18% and 2% equity interests in Muhua Shangce respectively, with the remaining 24% equity interests being transferred to a limited partnership named Ningbo Meishan Bonded Port Area Zunming Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership) in December, 2018.

 

On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of 100% equity interests of ATA Online held by us through ATA Learning and Zhongxiao Zhixing for a total consideration of US$200.0 million in cash to a group of buyers, among which, 17.5% of the equity interest of ATA Online was transferred to two entities affiliated with funds managed by CDH Investments, a major Chinese alternative asset management firm based in Beijing, or the CDH Entities, for a consideration of US$35.0 million, 16.5% of the equity interest of ATA Online was transferred to three holding entities controlled by certain management members of ATA Online, or the Management Entities, for a consideration of US$33.0 million, 15% of the equity interest of ATA Online was transferred to Zhuhai Lihonghuaying Equity Investment Partnership (LP), a China-based entity principally engaged in private equity investments, or the LHHY Entity, for a consideration of US$30.0 million, and 51% of the equity interest of ATA Online was transferred to New Beauty Holdings, a company controlled by Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, for a consideration of US$102.0 million. See Form 6-Ks filed by us on February 6, 2018 and August 16, 2018 for details of the sale of ATA Online. As a result of the sale of ATA Online, we no longer hold, directly or indirectly, any interest in ATA Online and its subsidiaries, ATA Learning and Zhongxiao Zhixing.

 

On February 18, 2019, ATA Testing changed its company name to ATA Education Technology (Beijing) Limited, or ATA Education, in connection with our strategic change from computer-based testing business to focusing on providing PBL education services and other related services.

 

On August 16, 2018, we entered into an acquisition agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Beijing Biztour International Travel Service Co., Ltd. and its affiliates, or Beijing Biztour, a provider of international study tour and travel services for students in China who are interested in international study tours primarily in the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia. On March 6, 2019, we terminated the acquisition of Beijing Biztour because Beijing Biztour and the shareholders of Beijing Biztour did not satisfy certain closing conditions for such acquisition. Beijing Biztour had agreed that ATA shall not be restricted to conduct any international study tour business and that ATA may subsequently employ many of the employees of Beijing Biztour. See Form 6-Ks filed by us on August 16, 2018 and March 6, 2019 for details of the proposed acquisition and its termination.

 

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From February to April 2019, we have entered into non-binding framework agreements and certain related conditional share purchase agreement and deposit agreement with ACG and certain of its shareholders for a proposed acquisition of 100% of the shares of ACG, a leading provider of educational services for students in China who are interested in applying for overseas art study. Under the terms of the above agreements, ACG and its major shareholders, including its founder, will negotiate exclusively with us until June 30, 2019 for an acquisition of 100% of the share capital of ACG.  There is no assurance that all conditions precedent to the completion of such acquisition will be satisfied or waived.

 

The following diagram illustrates our current corporate structure including our principal subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entity. Except for ATA BVI and Xing Wei, which are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC, respectively, all of our subsidiaries and variable interest entity are incorporated in Mainland China.

 

 

 

Our principal executive offices are located at 1/F East Gate, Building No. 2, Jian Wai Soho, No. 39 Dong San Huan Zhong Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing, China, and our telephone number is (86-10) 6518-1133. Our website address is http://www.atai.net.cn. The information on our website does not form a part of this annual report. On February 1, 2008, we completed our initial public offering, which involved the sale by us of 4,874,012 of our ADSs, representing 9,748,024 of our common shares. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation System, located at 111 Eight Avenue, New York, New York 10011. The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains electronic reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding us.

 

Our Consolidated Variable Interest Entity

 

To preserve flexibility for operating, investing in or holding business that is restricted for foreign investment, ATA Intelligent Learning was established in March 2018. We obtained control over ATA Intelligent Learning in March 2018 by entering into a series of contractual arrangements among ATA Education (formally known as ATA Testing), ATA Intelligent Learning and the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning, which we refer to as the ATA Intelligent Learning Agreements. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we became the primary beneficiary of ATA Intelligent Learning in March 2018. We treat ATA Intelligent Learning as our variable interest entity and have consolidated its financial results in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The establishment of ATA Intelligent Learning will have no impact on our consolidated financial statements for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2017 and for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017.

 

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ATA Intelligent Learning Agreements allow us to:

 

·                      exercise effective control over ATA Intelligent Learning;

 

·                      receive substantially all of the economic benefits of ATA Intelligent Learning; and

 

·                      have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in ATA Intelligent Learning when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

 

In the opinion of Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm, our PRC legal counsel:

 

·                      the ownership structures of ATA Intelligent Learning and our wholly owned subsidiaries in PRC are in compliance with existing published PRC laws and regulations;

 

·                      our contractual arrangements among our wholly owned subsidiaries in PRC and ATA Intelligent Learning and its shareholders, are valid and binding, will not result in any material violation of published PRC laws or regulations currently in effect, and are enforceable in accordance with their terms and conditions; and

 

·                      the business operations of our company, all of our Chinese subsidiaries and ATA Online, as described in this annual report, are in compliance with existing published Chinese laws and regulations in all material aspects.

 

However, there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations, including the laws and regulations governing the enforcement and performance of our contractual arrangements in the event of imposition of statutory liens, bankruptcy and criminal proceedings. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that the PRC regulatory authorities will not ultimately take a contrary view. If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure of our operations in PRC do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in our industry, we could be subject to severe penalties.

 

Contractual Arrangements with ATA Intelligent Learning

 

The following is a summary of the currently effective ATA Intelligent Learning Agreements.

 

Agreements that Provide Us with Effective Control over ATA Intelligent Learning

 

Equity Interest Pledge Agreements.  On March 15, 2018, ATA Education and ATA Intelligent Learning and each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning entered into an equity interest pledge agreement. Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreements, each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning has pledged all of his equity interest in ATA Intelligent Learning to guarantee his and ATA Intelligent Learning’s performance of his obligations under, where applicable, the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement and the call option and cooperation agreement. If ATA Intelligent Learning or the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning breach their contractual obligations under these agreements, ATA Education, as pledgee, will have the right to dispose the pledged equity interests. The shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning agree that, during the term of the equity interest pledge agreements, they will not dispose the pledged equity interests or create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests, and they also agree that ATA Education’s rights relating to the equity pledge should not be suspended or hampered by the shareholders, their successors or their designates. During the term of the equity interest pledge agreements, ATA Education has the right to receive all of the dividends and profits distributed on the pledged equity. The term of the equity interest pledge agreements shall commence on the date on March 15, 2018 and shall expire on the earlier of (a) the date on which all outstanding secured obligations are paid in full or otherwise satisfied (as applicable); (b) ATA Education enforces the equity interest pledge agreements pursuant to the terms and conditions, to satisfy its rights under the secured obligations and pledged collateral in full, or (c) the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning complete their transfer of the equity interest to another party (individual or legal entity) pursuant to the “Call Option and Cooperation Agreement” and no longer holds any equity interest in ATA Intelligent Learning. ATA Intelligent Learning has registered these equity interest pledge agreements with the competent Administration for Industry and Commerce on April 27, 2018. The registration of the equity pledge enables ATA Testing to enforce the equity pledge against third parties who acquire the equity interests of ATA Intelligent Learning in good faith.

 

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Powers of Attorney.  On March 15, 2018, each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning granted an irrevocable power of attorney. Pursuant to the irrevocable powers of attorney, each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning appointed ATA Education or any eligible person designated by ATA Education as his attorney-in-fact to exercise all voting rights and other shareholder rights of ATA Intelligent Learning, including but not limited to appointing or electing their directors and executive officers. The person designated by ATA Education is entitled to sign the transfer documents necessary for the fulfillment of the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement and the call option and cooperation agreement, and to join the liquidation group and participate in the liquidation of ATA Intelligent Learning. The term of the powers of attorney shall be consistent with the term of the equity interest pledge agreements and call option and cooperation agreement and shall be extended along with the equity interest pledge agreements and call option and cooperation agreement.

 

Agreements that Allow Us to Receive Economic Benefits from ATA Intelligent Learning

 

Exclusive Technical Consulting and Services Agreement. On March 15, 2018, ATA Education and ATA Intelligent Learning entered into an exclusive technical consulting and services agreement. Pursuant to the exclusive technical consulting and services agreement, ATA Education has the sole and exclusive right to provide specified technology consulting and services to ATA Intelligent Learning. The Parties agree that the intellectual property rights created by ATA Education in the course of performing this agreement, including without limitation any copyrights, trademarks or logos registered or not, patents and proprietary technology, shall belong to ATA Education. The consulting fee payable by ATA Intelligent Learning to ATA Education shall be confirmed by ATA Education in writing and be calculated based on the actual time spent by ATA Education in providing services to ATA Intelligent Learning on a quarterly basis. The consulting fee shall be settled on a quarterly basis, and at the end of each year, ATA Education shall confirm the total consulting and other fees incurred for the year in writing and ATA Intelligent Learning shall settle any outstanding on a timely basis. This agreement shall continue for a period of 30 years from March 15, 2018 and shall be automatically extended for another 10 years unless ATA Education gives its written notice terminating this agreement 3 months before the expiration of this agreement.

 

Agreements that Provide Us with the Option to Purchase the Equity Interest in ATA Intelligent Learning

 

Call Option and Cooperation Agreement. On March 15, 2018, ATA Education, ATA Intelligent Learning and the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning entered into a call option and cooperation agreement. Pursuant to the call option and cooperation agreement, when permitted by applicable laws, ATA Education (or any eligible party designated by ATA Education) shall have the right to acquire, at any time, all of ATA Intelligent Learning’s assets or its share equity owned by the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning, at a price equal to the sum of the principles of the loans (RMB 10.0 million) from ATA Education to the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning. If ATA Education elects to purchase a portion of ATA Intelligent Learning’s share equity or assets, the exercise price for such purpose shall be adjusted accordingly based on the percentage of such share equity or assets to be purchased over the total share equity or assets. Without the prior written consent of ATA Education, ATA Intelligent Learning may not sell or otherwise dispose of its assets or beneficial interest, create or allow any encumbrance on its assets or other beneficial interests, enter into any material contracts (except those contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business), or distribute dividends to the shareholders. The call option and cooperation agreement shall be effective upon the execution date and shall remain effective thereafter.

 

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Loan Agreements.  On March 15, 2018, ATA Education and each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning entered into a loan agreement. Pursuant to the loan agreements, ATA Education made loans in an aggregate amount of RMB 10.0 million to the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning solely for the capitalization of ATA Intelligent Learning. The shareholders can only repay the loans by transferring all their equity interest in ATA Intelligent Learning to ATA Education or its designated persons. In the event that shareholders transfer their equity interests to ATA Education or its designated person with a price equivalent to or less than the amount of the principal, the loans will be interest free. If the price is higher than the amount of the principal, the excess amount will be paid to ATA Education as loan interest. The maturity date of the loans is on the tenth anniversary of the execution date of the loan agreement. The term of the loans can be extended under written consent of ATA Education and ATA Intelligent Learning. On March 19, 2019, ATA Education, ATA Intelligent Learning and each of the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning entered into a supplementary agreement to the ATA Intelligent Learning Agreements, pursuant to which the aggregate amount of loans made by ATA Education to the shareholders of ATA Intelligent Learning for the capitalization of ATA Intelligent Learning increased from RMB 10.0 million to RMB 30.0 million with all other terms and conditions under the ATA Intelligent Learning Agreements remain unchanged.

 

B. Business Overview

 

Overview

 

We are a company dedicating to providing students with quality educational experiences and services in China and abroad. Historically, we focused on providing computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services in China. On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of ATA Online Business, which previously operated our computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services. See Form 6-Ks filed by us on August 30, 2017, February 6, 2018 and August 16, 2018 for details of our sale of ATA Online Business.

 

Leveraging the resources, know-how, experience and cooperative relationship accumulated during our delivery of certification examination tests, we currently focus on providing college students and professionals in China with project-based educational experience complementary to classroom-based learning by offering short-term learning experiences in a specific subject through comprehensive learning methods, including in-class and out-of-class methods, and online and offline modes. We refer such service offering as “Project-Based Learning”, or PBL business. We believe we can leverage our competence of developing and integrating education content, as well as our previous experience in delivering project-based tests to quickly expand our PBL education services.

 

Over the years, we have noted in the traditional vocational education service industry a market need for the service that provides college students and professionals the opportunity to procure professional skills they actually need at workplaces, particularly for emerging high-tech industries, such as big data, artificial intelligence, e-sports, drone or other subjects, to better prepare them for jobs hunting. Our PBL education services are designed to fulfill such market needs. The main ideas of our PBL education services are “experience, discovery, learning and achievement”. We believe that these ideas are key elements for college students’ extracurricular learning and skills enhancement, among which, learning is the most important element. Based on these ideas and sharing the resources from our product department and subject matter experts in the industry, we integrate and develop China and overseas education resources and provide college students and professionals the vocational skill enhancement PBL programs, or “Vocational PBL Education Services”, riding on vocational courses and certain other supporting services.

 

Our department of education resources integration and development, or DERID, focuses on developing and tailoring education solutions for college students and professionals, such as designation of teaching plans, compilation of courseware, integration of digital learning resources, and construction of laboratories. DERID makes learning the most important and prominent element in our Vocational PBL Education Services and distinguishes us from other PBL service providers.

 

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Based on the development of our Vocational PBL Education Services and leveraging our resources in the field, including business partners, project developing team and external experts, we can expand our PBL education services and product offerings into sectors such as study tour services for K-12 and college students in future.

 

In line with our business strategy of transforming our company into a leading international education service provider, we are currently in the process of evaluating the acquisition of ACG, a leading provider of educational services for students in China who are interested in applying for overseas art study. If this acquisition is completed, we will begin to provide overseas art education services. There is no assurance, however, that such acquisition will be completed.

 

Our Service Offerings

 

Vocational PBL Education Services

 

We offer Vocational PBL Education Services to college students and professionals in China who aim to enhance professional skills. Our Vocational PBL Education Services include providing practical skills training to college students and professionals with courses in emerging high-tech industries, such as big data, artificial intelligence, e-sports and drone.

 

We cooperate with leading enterprises and institutions for vocational certification authorization, design and develop our vocational course content in accordance with the professional requirements and industry standards for such vocational certifications, and provide vocational courses and supporting services to college students and professionals through our partner schools. We also provide teachers training services and equip them with the essential knowledge to teach our courses. The term for our courses is typically two or three semesters. Such courses prepare, college students and professionals to take tests organized by related certifying enterprises and institutions, and obtain relevant vocational certifications should they pass the tests, therehence equip them with competing advantages for job exploration.

 

Our Vocational PBL Education Services are designed to fill the gap between knowledge that college students and professionals grasped in schools and professional skills they actually need at workplaces. Our products and services include trainings and tailored education solutions addressing specific needs of our partner schools. Our training services include (a) vocational certification training for college students and professionals, such as courses in connection with big data analysis and application technology; (b) training of teachers from our partner schools; and (c) practical training of case studies for college students with emerging engineering majors. Our tailored education solutions include the design and development of training plans, teaching plans, courses, question banks and digital resources.

 

We are in the process of developing courses relating to big data analysis and plan to expand our Vocational PBL Education Services to intelligent manufacturing, drone technology application and other areas.

 

Other Service Offerings

 

We also provide other services including K-12 education assessment services, Nanjing University Shuang Chuang Project, and the research project with Research Institute of Future Education and Assessment of Tsinghua University.

 

K-12 Education Assessment Services. We offer comprehensive diagnostic assessment services throughout the entire learning process for primary schools, secondary schools and education bureaus at all levels who aim to improve students’ competencies and teaching qualities. We develop our own tests for K-12 students and collect and analyze their test results to evaluate the current learning competencies of students and teaching qualities of schools, and provide advice to help schools and local education bureaus to enhance education developments. We provide evaluation services for various schools and organizations in China and analyze data for more than hundred thousand of students every year.

 

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Nanjing University Project Shuang Chuang. Nanjing University Project Shuang Chuang is a pilot project aiming to build a learning-oriented assessment platform associated with database models for capturing, analyzing and improving the innovative and entrepreneurial qualities of students among colleges and higher education institutions. Through data generated along the learning process, students will be assessed on their innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities, for which we will provide tailor-made solutions, identifying routes and methodologies for improving their weak areas. We have launched the platform in around 10 colleges in China, and are expanding into more colleges.

 

Research Project with the Research Institute of Future Education and Assessment of Tsinghua University. Our research project with the Research Institute of Future Education and Assessment of Tsinghua University focuses on the assessments of Chinese skills and competencies of non-native Chinese learners. We currently are developing new content and measures for assessments of Chinese skills and competences together with the Research Institute of Future Education and Assessment of Tsinghua University and plan to carry out commercialization activities relating to this research project in the coming years.

 

Department of Education Resources Integration and Development

 

Our department of education resources integration and development, or DERID, is comprised of two main functions, vocational PBL education content development and training implementation. Vocational PBL education content development focuses on vocational PBL course content development, expert team building and policy research. Training implementation focuses on the planning, marketing, management and delivery of vocational certificate training, teacher training, forum and conference organization.

 

Through DERID, we have established a product and course development team to design and develop our PBL products. DERID works closely with external education experts to select PBL education subjects and form corresponding learning models, integrating the selected themes with tailored learning courses, where we design training plans, teaching plans, courses, question banks, and prepare digital resources.

 

Our Business Partners

 

To better develop and integrate our PBL education services, we have formed a network of external experts from prestigious colleges and institutions in various subjects, including emerging high-tech themes such as big data, artificial intelligence, e-sports and drone. We leverage expertise of these external experts to polish the courseware and teaching materials.

 

We have also accumulated a network of business partners from our previous examination delivery business. These business partners authorize and/or cooperate with us to design and compile teaching plans and materials related to their technologies and businesses. Most of these business partners are enterprises and institutions engaging in emerging high-tech industries. Our relationships with these partners provide us opportunities to develop PBL programs related to certification examinations.

 

Marketing, Sales and Business Development

 

Our clients for PBL education services are colleges, which normally will purchase courseware or other relevant materials related to practical skills training. We primarily cooperate with sales channels and network of educational associations and institutions, which is more cost-effective for sales and market penetration.

 

We engage in a variety of marketing activities to generate demand and market awareness on our PBL education services, and at the same time, build and promote wider recognition of our “ATA” brand in education services. We attend various education conferences, exhibitions, trade shows and promotional activities held by educational associations and schools to demonstrate and promote our PBL education services. We also make presentations on topics including big data, artificial intelligence, e-sports, drone and other emerging technologies, to promote our products and service offerings.

 

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Competition

 

In the PBL education services market, we compete primarily on the basis of service quality, price, research and development competence, sales and brand. Our competitors include educational or training institutions engaging in vocational courses development services or joint major vocational education services. We believe that our Vocational PBL Education Services in emerging high-tech areas are still new in the market, and hence the competition we currently face is not significant. We believe we can compete effectively with our competitors based on our consistent and competitive product quality, cost level, course content, research and development competence, marketing and sales capability, and our established relationships with schools, educational institutions and government agencies.

 

Seasonality

 

We have experienced seasonality in net revenues related to our K-12 education assessment services, with the quarters ending September 30 and March 31 typically having higher net revenues compared with the other quarters. This is primarily because schools tend to implement education assessments prior to summer and winter breaks, which are normally in the quarters ending September 30 and March 31. For our Vocational PBL Education Services, quarters ending March 31 are expected to have lower net revenues compared with other quarters, mainly because it coincides with the Chinese New Year holidays when few people will attend vocational trainings. Seasonality in other services is less apparent.

 

Intellectual Property

 

Intellectual property protections, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets are important to our success. We rely on copyright, trademark and patent law, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, clients, business partners and others to protect our intellectual property rights. All of our senior management and engineering employees are required to sign agreements acknowledging that all inventions, trade secrets, works of authorship, innovations and other processes generated by them that relate to our business are our property, and to assign to us any ownership rights in those works. Despite our efforts, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and use our intellectual property without authorization.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we have registered 9 trademarks for our products and services with the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in China.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we have registered 59 software copyrights relevant to our product and service offerings with the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China, or NCA, including 11 software copyrights which were newly registered in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we have also registered 53 domain names relating to our websites, including www.atai.net.cn, the primary URL for our website, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the China Internet Network Information Center, a domain name registration service provider in China.

 

Regulation

 

This section sets forth a summary of the most significant laws, regulations, policies and requirements that affect our business activities in China, the industries in which we operate, and our shareholders’ right to receive dividends and other distributions from us.

 

Regulation of the Software Industry

 

In China, holders of computer software copyrights enjoy protection under the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Copyright Law. Under the Copyright Law, China’s State Council and the State Copyright Administration have also promulgated various regulations relating to the protection of software copyrights in China. Under these regulations, computer software that is independently developed and exists in a physical form will be protected, and software copyright owners may license or transfer their software copyrights to others. Registration of software copyrights and exclusive licensing and transfer contracts with the Copyright Protection Center of China (previously, the State Copyright Administration) or its local branches are encouraged. Such registration is not mandatory under Chinese laws, but can enhance the protections available to the registering parties. For example, the registration certificate serves an evidentiary function enabling the registering parties to prove they have protectable rights. We have registered 59 software copyrights with the NCA as of December 31, 2018.

 

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China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (and its predecessors), or MIIT, has promulgated regulations to regulate the production, sale, import or export of software products in China. Under these regulations, all domestically produced software products to be operated or sold in China must be duly registered and filed with the provincial branches of MIIT. We have complied with the registration and filing requirements necessary to sell our software products in China. These registrations generally remain in effect for five years and are subject to renewal.

 

Regulation on the Wholesale, Retail and Rental of Book and Audio-Video Products

 

According to the Administrative Regulations on Publication, or the Publication Regulations, promulgated by the State Council, which was published on December 25, 2001, and further revised on March 19, 2011, July 18, 2013, July 29, 2014 and February 6, 2016, respectively, publications are defined as “newspapers, periodicals, books, audio-video products, electronic publications, and others.”

 

Under the Administrative Measures for the Publication Market, or Administrative Measures, which was jointly promulgated by the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Commerce People’s Republic of China, or MOFCOM, and became effective on March 25, 2011, any enterprise or individual wishing to engage in publication distributing activities must obtain permission from the press and publication agency at relevant levels. “Publications” and “distributing” are defined, respectively, in the Administrative Measures, as “books, newspapers, periodicals, audio-video products, and electronic publications” and “general distribution, wholesale, retail, rental, exhibition and other activities.” Any enterprise or individual who engages in publication wholesale shall obtain a publication business license issued by the press and publication agency at the provincial level. A publication wholesale enterprise can engage in retail distribution as well. Any enterprise or individual who engages in publication rental shall file a record to the press and publication agency at the county level.

 

On May 31, 2016, the MOFCOM issued Administrative Provisions on the Publications Market, or the New Administrative Provisions, which became effective on June 1, 2016 and cancelled the Administrative Measures. Pursuant to the New Administrative Provisions, where an enterprise or individual that has obtained a publication business license is engaged in the publications distribution via the Internet or other information networks within the approved business scope, it or he/she shall make the record-filing with the publication administrative department that granted such approval within 15 days after launching its online distribution business. If our services include the sale of textbooks, handouts or other publications, we may need to apply to the press and publication agency at the provincial level for a publication business license and make the record-filing with the press and publication agency that granted such approval within 15 days after launching our online distribution business.

 

Regulation on E-commerce

 

China’s e-commerce industry has developed quickly and a handful of PRC laws and regulations broadly regulate all goods and services provided through the Internet. In January 2005, the State Council adopted the Several Opinions on Promotion of the Development of E-commerce, which provides the guideline for the administration of e-commerce business in the PRC. To further implement this regulation, the Ministry of Commerce adopted in March 2007 the Guiding Opinions on Online Trading (for Tentative Implementation), which defines online trading as the trade of goods or services conducted between buyers and sellers via the Internet. All online trading participants must abide by the relevant PRC laws and are prohibited from carrying out illegal activities through online trading. In January 2014, SAIC adopted the Administrative Measures for Online Trading, which provides that online sellers must display their business licenses or the links to their business licenses on relevant web pages, take measures to ensure the safety of online transactions and issue purchase vouchers to consumers in accordance with relevant laws or business practices.

 

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On June 19, 2015, MIIT promulgated the Circular on Removing the Restrictions on Shareholding Ratio Held by Foreign Investors in Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing (Operating E-commerce) Business. The circular stipulates that the ceiling of foreign ownership ratio of online data processing and transaction processing (operating e-commerce) business may be up to 100 percent.

 

Regulation of Vocational Education

 

Chinese laws and regulations impose restrictions on foreign investment in educational institutions in China. However, Chinese laws and regulations do not impose restrictions on foreign investment in companies providing course content or related products and services to educational institutions. According to the Catalog of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment amended in 2017 and Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) effective as of July 28, 2018, foreign investment in non-academic vocational education institutions is encouraged and there is no limitation to the maximum percentage of foreign ownership in a company operating non-academic vocational education business.

 

In addition, the Chinese government has issued a series of circulars and regulations promoting the development of vocational education, including “The Decision to Enhance the Promotion of the Reform and Development of Vocational Education”, “The Decision to Enhance the Development of Vocational Education” and “The Decision to Enhance the Development of Modern Vocational Education” published by the State Council on September 24, 2002, October 28, 2005 and May 2, 2014, respectively. These circulars and regulations require all levels of governments in China to intensify their support for vocational education and to gradually increase the financial resources that local and provincial governments allocate to vocational education.

 

On April 20, 2018, the Ministry of Education, or the MOE issued for public comments the Draft Revision of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Law for Promoting Private Education of the PRC (the Draft for Comments), or the MOE Draft for Comments. As the consultation period for the MOE Draft for Comments ended in May 2018, on August 10, 2018, the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, or the MOJ published the committee draft of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Law on Promoting Private Education in PRC (Revised Draft), or the MOJ Draft for Approval, which further provides that private training institutions for language, art, sports, science and technology teaching and private training institutions for adults for cultural education or non-academic continuing education can directly apply for the registration with the local administrative departments for industry and commerce. Pursuant to the MOJ Draft for Approval, a privately-run school carrying out online training and education activities and occupational qualification training and occupational skills training activities by using Internet technology, or an Internet technology service platform providing services for the aforementioned online activities, shall obtain the corresponding Internet operating license, apply to the educational administrative department and human resources and social security department of the people’s government at the provincial level at the place where it is located for record-filing, and shall not carry out the education and teaching activities for which a permit for running schools shall be obtained. The MOJ has not provided the timeframe for the promulgation of the revised implementation rules on the Law for Promoting Private Education of the PRC, even though the public consultation on the MOJ Draft for Approval has ended on September 10, 2018. If the abovementioned MOJ Draft for Approval is enacted as proposed, certain service platform, such as our service platform, may be required to obtain a permit from education authorities. However, as the MOJ Draft for Approval is still in draft form, there can be no assurance that it will be enacted as proposed or at all.

 

Regulations regarding Internet Content Provider Licensure Requirements

 

If our services include online distribution of textbooks, handouts or other publications , which are subject to PRC regulations including but not limited to Telecommunications Regulations, the Administrative Rules on Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises, the Notice on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in Operating Value-added Telecom Business, the Administrative Measures for Telecommunications Business Operating Licenses (2017), the Internet Information Services Administrative Measures, and Certain Rules on Regulating the Order of Internet Information Service Market.

 

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In the opinion of Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm, our PRC legal counsel:

 

·                       the ownership structures of our wholly-owned subsidiaries in China are in compliance with existing published Chinese laws and regulations; and

 

·                       the business operations of our company, all of our Chinese subsidiaries, as described in this annual report, are in compliance with existing published Chinese laws and regulations in all material aspects.

 

Regulation of Online and Distance Education

 

Pursuant to the Administrative Regulations on Educational Websites and Online and Distance Education Schools issued by the MOE in 2000, educational websites and online education schools may provide education services in relation to higher education, elementary education, pre-school education, teaching education, occupational education, adult education, other education and public educational information services. “Educational websites” refers to organizations providing education or education-related information services to website visitors by means of a database or online education platform connected via the Internet or an educational television station through an Internet service provider, or ISP. “Online education schools” refer to education websites providing academic education services or training services with the issuance of various certificates.

 

Setting up educational websites and online education schools is subject to approval from relevant education authorities, depending on the specific types of education provided. Any educational website and online education school shall, upon receipt of approval, indicate on its website such approval information as well as the approval date and file number.

 

According to the Administrative License Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on August 27, 2003 and effective as of July 1, 2004, only laws promulgated by the National People’s Congress and regulations and decisions promulgated by the State Council may set down administrative license. On June 29, 2004, the State Council promulgated the Decision on Setting Down Administrative Licenses for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to be Retained, in which the administrative license for “online education schools” was retained, while the administrative license for “educational websites” was not retained. On January 28, 2014, the State Council promulgated the Decision to Cancel or to Delegate another Batch of Administrative Approval Items to Lower Level, in which the administrative license for “online education schools” was cancelled for higher education. On February 3, 2016, the State Council promulgated the Decision of State Council to Cancel the Second Batch of Administrative Approval Items (152 Items) that Delegated to Lower Level, in which the administrative license for “online education schools” and “educational websites” were cancelled.

 

Regulation of Broadcasting Audio-Visual Programs through the Internet or Other Information Network

 

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT, promulgated the Rules for Administration of Broadcasting of Audio-Video Programs through the Internet and Other Information Networks, or the Broadcasting Rules, in 2004, which became effective on October 11, 2004. The Broadcasting Rules apply to the activities of broadcasting, integration, transmission, downloading of audio-video programs with computers, televisions or mobile phones as the main terminals and through various types of information networks. Pursuant to the Broadcasting Rules, a Permit for Broadcasting Audio-video Programs via Information Network is required to engage in these Internet broadcasting activities. On April 13, 2005, the State Council announced a policy on private investments in businesses in China that relate to cultural matters, which prohibits private investments in businesses relating to the dissemination of audio-video programs through information networks. On April 25, 2016, the SARFT promulgated the Private Network and Directional Broadcasting Audio-Video Programs Regulations, which came into effect on June 1, 2016 and replaced the Broadcasting Rules. The Broadcasting Audio-Video Programs Regulations provide, among other things, that a Permit for Broadcasting Audio-Video Programs via Information Network is required for engaging in broadcasting services through private network and directional communication. According to such Regulations, the Broadcasting Services through Private Network and Directional Communication shall mean the services and activities provided to the public through the private transmission channels that include internet, LAN and VPN based on Internet and through the receiving terminals of televisions, and other handheld electronic equipment, and such services and activities include the activities of content supply, integrated broadcast control, transmission and distribution with IPTVs, private-network mobile televisions, internet televisions. According to such Regulations, only the entities wholly or substantially owned by the State could apply for such Permit.

 

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On September 2, 2016, the SARFT issued a Notice on Problems regarding Strengthening the Administration of Internet Audio-video Programs Live Broadcasting Services, which provides that (i) the provision of audio-video live broadcasting of important political, military, economic, social, cultural, sports and other activities and events and (ii) the provision of audio-video live broadcasting of cultural activities by general social organizations, sports events and activities alike require an audio-video program transmission license.

 

On November 4, 2016, the Cyberspace Administration of China promulgated the Provisions on the Administration of Online Live Broadcasting Services, which became effective as of December 1, 2016. On August 1, 2018, the Cyberspace Administration of China promulgated the Circular on Tightening the Administration of Online Live Services. Such Provisions provide that anyone who provides online live broadcasting services through online performances, internet video/audio programs and so forth, shall obtain relevant qualifications as required by laws and regulations.

 

In November 2016, the SARFT issued a Notice on Strengthening the Administration of Audio-video Programs Transmission on Weibo, WeChat and Other Internet Social Networking Platforms, which further clarifies that anyone who operates internet audio/video services through Weibo, WeChat and other internet social networking platforms must obtain an audio-video program transmission license and operate its business pursuant to the scope as provided in such license.

 

On December 20, 2007, SARFT and MIIT issued the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, which became effective on January 31, 2008 and was revised on August 28, 2015. Among other things, the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures stipulate that no entities or individuals may provide Internet audio-video program services without a license for disseminating audio-video programs through information network issued by SARFT or its local counterparts or completing the relevant registration with SARFT or its local counterparts and only entities wholly owned or controlled by the PRC government may engage in the production, editing, integration or consolidation, and transfer to the public through the Internet, of audio-video programs, and the provision of audio-video program uploading and transmission services. On February 3, 2008, SARFT and MIIT jointly held a press conference in response to inquiries related to the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures, during which SARFT and MIIT officials indicated that providers of audio-video program services established prior to the promulgation date of the Internet Audio-Video Program Measures that do not have any regulatory non-compliance records can re-register with the relevant government authorities to continue their current business operations. After the conference, the two authorities published a press release that confirms the above guidelines. On September 15, 2009, SARFT promulgated the Notice on Several Issues regarding the license for disseminating audio-video programs through information network. The Notice restates the necessity of applying for such license and sets forth the legal liabilities for those providing Internet audio-video program services without the license.

 

On March 16, 2018, the SARFT promulgated the Notice on Further Regulating the Transmission Order of Internet Audio-Visual Program Services, which provides that the classic literary works, radio, film and television programs, and original internet audio-visual programs shall not be re-edited, re-dubbed, re-subtitled or partly captured and consolidated as a new program without authorizations, and providers of internet audio-visual program services shall strictly manage and supervise such re-edited programs uploaded by the internet users and shall not provide any transmission channel for those internet audio-visual programs with political orientation issues, copyright issues or content issues.

 

Regulations Relating to Internet Content and Information Security

 

Internet content in the PRC is regulated and restricted by the PRC government. The Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, which was amended in 2011, specify that internet information services regarding news, publications, education, medical and health care, pharmacy and medical appliances, among other things, are to be examined, approved and regulated by the relevant authorities. Internet information providers are prohibited from providing services beyond those included in the scope of their ICP licenses or filings. Furthermore, these measures clearly specify a list of prohibited content. Internet information providers are prohibited from producing, copying, publishing or distributing information that is humiliating or defamatory to others or that infringes the lawful rights and interests of others. Internet information providers that violate the prohibition may face criminal charges or administrative sanctions by the PRC authorities. Internet information providers must monitor and control the information posted on their websites. If any prohibited content is found, they must remove the offending content immediately, keep a record of it and report to the relevant authorities.

 

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Internet information in the PRC is also regulated and restricted from a national security standpoint. In 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has enacted the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Preserving Computer Network Security, which may subject violators to criminal punishment for any effort to: (1) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (2) disseminate politically disruptive information; (3) leak state secrets; (4) spread false commercial information; or (5) infringe intellectual property rights.

 

In addition, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Cyber Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Cyber Security Law, which took effect on June 1, 2017, to protect cyberspace security and order. Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, any individual or organization using the network must comply with the constitution and the applicable laws, follow the public orders and respect social moralities, and must not endanger cyber security, or engage in activities by making use of the network that endanger the national security, honor and interests, or infringe on the fame, privacy, intellectual property and other legitimate rights and interests of others. The Cyber Security Law sets forth various security protection obligations for network operators, which are defined as “owners and administrators of networks and network service providers”, including, among others, complying with a series of requirements of tiered cyber protection systems; verifying users’ real identities; localizing the personal information and important data gathered and produced by key information infrastructure operators during operations within the PRC; and providing assistance and support to government authorities where necessary for protecting national security and investigating crimes.

 

Furthermore, on May 2, 2017, the Cyberspace Administration issued the Measures for Security Review of Cyber Products and Services (for Trial Implementation), or the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on June 1, 2017. Under the Cybersecurity Review Measures, the following cyber products and services are subject to cybersecurity review: (1) important cyber products and services purchased by networks, and information systems related to national security; and (2) purchases of cyber products and services by operators of critical information infrastructure in key industries and sectors, such as public communications and information services, energy, transportation, water resources, finance, public service, electronic administration, and other critical information infrastructure, that may affect national security. The Cyberspace Administration is responsible for organizing and implementing cybersecurity reviews, while the competent departments in key industries such as finance, telecommunications, energy, and transport are responsible for organizing and implementing security review of cyber products and services in their respective industries and sectors. There are still substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the Cybersecurity Review Measures.

 

Regulation of Domain Names and Website Names

 

PRC laws require owners of Internet domain names to register their domain names with qualified domain name registration agencies approved by MIIT and obtain a registration certificate from such registration agencies. A registered domain name owner has an exclusive usage right over its domain name. Unregistered domain names may not receive proper legal protections and may be misappropriated by unauthorized third parties. As of December 31, 2018, we have registered 53 domain names relating to our websites, including www.atai.net.cn, the primary URL for our website, with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the China Internet Network Information Center, a domain name registration service provider in China.

 

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PRC law requires entities operating commercial websites to register their website names with SAIC or its local offices and obtain a commercial website name registration certificate. If any entity operates a commercial website without obtaining such certificate, it may be charged a fine or suffer other penalties imposed by the SAIC or its local offices.

 

Regulation of Privacy Protection

 

PRC law does not prohibit Internet content providers from collecting and analyzing personal information from their users. PRC law prohibits Internet content providers from disclosing to third parties any information transmitted by users through their networks unless otherwise permitted by law. If an Internet content provider violates these regulations, MIIT or its local offices may impose penalties and the Internet content provider may be liable for damages caused to its users.

 

On July 16, 2013, the MIIT issued the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information. Most requirements under the order that are relevant to internet content provision operators are consistent with pre-existing requirements, but the new requirements are often more stringent and have a wider scope. If an internet content provision operator wishes to collect or use personal information, it may do so only if such collection is necessary for the services it provides. Further, it must disclose to its users the purpose, method and scope of any such collection or use, and must obtain consent from its users whose information is being collected or used. Internet content provision operators are also required to establish and publish their rules relating to personal information collection or use, keep any collected information strictly confidential, and take technological and other measures to maintain the security of such information. Internet content provision operators are required to cease any collection or use of the user personal information and de-register the relevant user account when a given user stops using the relevant internet service. Internet content provision operators are further prohibited from divulging, distorting or destroying any such personal information, or unlawfully selling or providing such information to other parties. In addition, if an internet content provision operator appoints an agent to undertake any marketing and technical services that involve the collection or use of personal information, the internet content provision operator is still required to supervise and manage the protection of such information. As for penalties, violators may face warnings, fines, and disclosure to the public and, in most severe cases, criminal liability under the order.

 

Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August 2015, which became effective in November 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, shall be subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtains any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.

 

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the Cyber Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Cyber Security Law, which took effect on June 1, 2017. The Cyber Security Law requires providers of services over Internet networks to keep user information that they have collected in strict confidence and to establish improved systems for the protection of user information. Such service providers must provide notice of the purpose, methods and scope of their collection and use of user information, and obtain the consent of each person whose personal information will be collected. Providers of services over Internet networks may not collect any personal information that is not related to the services they provide, or disclose or tamper with personal information that they have collected, unless such information is encoded to prevent identification of individuals whose information is so disclosed or tampered with. Service providers who do not comply with the Cyber Security Law may be subject to fines, suspension of their businesses, shutdown of their websites, and revocation of their business licenses.

 

On May 8, 2017, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued the Interpretations on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringement of Citizens’ Personal Information which further clarified the meaning of certain terms of Article 253A of the Criminal Law, including but not limited to the terms of “personal information of a citizen”, “one providing citizen’s personal information” and “serious case”.

 

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Regulation of Foreign Investment

 

According to the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, foreign invested enterprises can be established in the form of a sino-foreign equity joint venture, a sino foreign cooperative joint venture or a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. Prior to its registration, the enterprise must be approved by the commerce authorities, upon which a certificate of approval for a foreign-invested enterprise will be issued.

 

The Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress on March 15, 2019, has been promulgated and shall come into effect as of January 1, 2020. When the Foreign Investment Law becomes effective, the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations, will be abolished.

 

After the formal implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, the organization form and institutional framework of a newly established foreign-funded enterprise may be subject to the relevant provisions of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China or the Partnership Enterprise Law of the People’s Republic of China. Foreign-funded enterprises established in accordance with the laws on the foregoing three types of foreign-funded enterprises before the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law may continue to retain their original organizational forms for five years after the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law. In other words, existing foreign-funded enterprises will have a transition period of five years to modify their existing organizational forms and organizational structure to meet and abide by the relevant provisions of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China or the Partnership Enterprise Law of the People’s Republic of China.

 

Regulation of Foreign Exchange

 

The PRC government imposes restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi and on the collection and use of foreign currency by PRC entities. Under current regulations, the Renminbi is convertible for current account transactions, which include dividend distributions, interest payments, and the import and export of goods and services. Conversion of Renminbi into foreign currency and foreign currency into Renminbi for capital account transactions, such as direct investment, portfolio investment and loans, however, is still generally subject to the prior approval of SAFE.

 

Under current PRC regulations, foreign-invested enterprises such as our PRC subsidiaries are required to apply to SAFE or its designated banks for Foreign Exchange Registration. With such a registration, a foreign-invested enterprise may open foreign exchange bank accounts at banks authorized to conduct foreign exchange business by SAFE and may buy, sell and remit foreign exchange through such banks, subject to documentation and approval requirements. Foreign-invested enterprises are required to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account transactions and current account transactions. In addition, there are restrictions on the amount of foreign currency that foreign-invested enterprises may retain in such accounts.

 

According to Article 22 of the Regulations on the Foreign Exchange System of the People’s Republic of China, if the Company’s PRC subsidiaries liquidate, the Renminbi distributable to its foreign shareholders after the liquidation and payment of relevant taxes can be freely converted into foreign currency and remitted abroad. Therefore, there are no legal impediments to remitting the proceeds from a liquidation of our PRC subsidiaries outside of China to investors who are not PRC nationals.

 

Further, SAFE promulgated a new circular (known as Circular 142) in August 2008 with respect to the administration of conversion of foreign exchange capital contributions of a foreign invested enterprise. The circular clarifies that Renminbi converted from foreign exchange capital contributions can only be used for the activities within the approved business scope of such foreign invested enterprise and cannot be used for domestic equity investments unless otherwise permitted.

 

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In addition, SAFE also strengthened its oversight over the flow and use of Renminbi converted from the foreign currency denominated capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such Renminbi may not be changed without approval from SAFE, and such Renminbi may not be used to repay Renminbi loans if the proceeds of such loans have not yet been used. Violations of Circular 142 may result in severe penalties, including substantial fines as set forth in the related foreign exchange administration rules. In addition, SAFE promulgated a circular on November 9, 2010, or Circular 59, which tightens the regulation over settlement of the fund which is raised from overseas offerings such as our initial public offering and follow-on public offering and is transferred back to the PRC and requires that the settlement of such fund must be consistent with the description in the prospectuses for the initial public offering and follow-on public offering. Furthermore, it has recently come to our attention that SAFE issued an internal guideline to its local counterparts, referred to as Circular 45, in November 2011. Circular 45 has never been formally announced by SAFE to the public or posted on SAFE’s website. Based on the version made publicly available by certain local governmental authorities on their websites, we understand that Circular 45 requires SAFE’s local counterparts to strengthen the control imposed by Circulars 142 and 59 over the conversion of a foreign-invested company’s capital contributed in foreign currency into RMB. Circular 45 stipulates that a foreign-invested company’s RMB funds, if converted from such company’s capital contributed in foreign currency, may not be used by such company to (i) extend loans (in the form of entrusted loans), (ii) repay borrowings between enterprises, or (iii) repay bank loans it has obtained and on-lent to third parties.

 

On May 10, 2013, SAFE released Circular 21, which came into effect on May 13, 2013. According to Circular 21, SAFE has simplified the foreign exchange administration procedures with respect to the registration, account openings and conversions, receipt and payment, settlements and sale of foreign exchange in relation to foreign direct investment.

 

SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, on March 30, 2015, which abolished Circular 142. According to SAFE Circular 19, up to all of the foreign exchange capital in the capital account of foreign-invested enterprises can be settled at the banks based on the actual operation needs of the foreign-invested enterprises. The capital in Renminbi obtained by foreign-invested enterprises from the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange capital shall be managed under the account pending foreign exchange settlement payment. The expenditure scope of such account includes: the expenditure within the scope of business, the payment of the capital of domestic equity investment and deposits in Renminbi, the repayment of the used loans in Renminbi, the purchase payment of foreign exchange or direct external repayment of foreign debts or other expenditure approved by the foreign exchange bureaus, but the capital of foreign-invested enterprises and capital in Renminbi obtained by them from foreign exchange settlement shall not be used for the following purposes: (1) directly or indirectly used for the payment beyond the business scope of the enterprises or the payment prohibited by national laws and regulations; (2) directly or indirectly used for investment in securities unless otherwise provided by laws and regulations; (3) directly or indirectly used for granting the entrust loans in Renminbi (unless permitted by the scope of business), repaying the inter-enterprise borrowings (including advances by the third party) or repaying the bank loans in Renminbi that have been sub-lent to the third party; and (4) paying the expenses related to the purchase of real estate not for self-use, except for the foreign-invested real estate enterprises.

 

On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Policies of Foreign Exchange Administration Applicable to Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 13, annual foreign exchange inspection of direct investment is not required anymore and the registration of existing equity is required. SAFE Circular 13 also grants the authority to banks to directly examine and process foreign exchange registration with respect to both domestic and overseas direct investment.

 

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Regulation of Foreign Exchange in Certain Onshore and Offshore Transactions

 

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle”. SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. In the event that a PRC shareholder holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to fulfill the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls.

 

Our significant shareholder, Kevin Xiaofeng Ma, has previously completed his registration with SAFE and has submitted relevant materials to update his registration, and we have urged our other Chinese resident shareholders to register under SAFE Circular 37 and they are preparing for such application. However, we cannot assure you that the application will be accepted by SAFE.

 

Failure by such shareholders to comply with SAFE Circular 37 could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects. Failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to our company. These risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Regulation of Overseas Listings

 

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, promulgated the Provisions Regarding Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprise by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, which became effective on September 8, 2006 without retroactive effect and was amended by the PRC Ministry of Commerce on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rule, among other things, requires that an offshore company controlled by PRC companies or individuals that has acquired a PRC domestic company for the purpose of listing the PRC domestic company’s equity interest on an overseas stock exchange must obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such offshore company’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC, pursuant to the M&A Rule, published on its official website procedures specifying documents and materials required to be submitted to it by offshore companies seeking CSRC approval of their overseas listings.

 

We believe CSRC approval was not required for our initial public offering in February 2008 because the CSRC approval required under the M&A Rule only applies to an offshore company that has acquired a domestic PRC company for the purpose of listing the domestic PRC company’s equity interest on an overseas stock exchange, while (i) we obtained our equity interest in each of our PRC subsidiaries by means of direct investment other than by acquisition of the equity or assets of a PRC domestic company in 2008, (ii) our former contractual arrangements with ATA Online do not constitute the acquisition of ATA Online, (iii) the M&A Rule does not apply to the acquisition by ATA Learning, a wholly foreign owned foreign enterprise, and (iv) although Article 11 of M&A Rule prohibits the circumvention of the M&A Rule through establishing FIEs, ATA Learning was established in 2003 before the M&A Rule was promulgated, which makes this acquisition not a circumvention of the M&A Rule. See Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business — If CSRC or another PRC regulatory agency determines that CSRC approval was required in connection with our initial public offering, we may become subject to penalties.”

 

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SAFE Regulations on Employee Share Options

 

On February 15, 2012, SAFE issued the Notice on Issues concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly-Listed Company, or the Stock Option Rules. According to the Stock Option Rules, PRC residents who participate in an employee share incentive plan of an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. These participates should retain a PRC agent, which can be a branch or representative office of the overseas listed company in China, a Chinese institution which has controlling relationship or actual control relationship with the offshore listed company, or a Chinese institution qualified for asset custody business, to handle various foreign exchange matters associated with their employee share incentive plan. The PRC agent should file on behalf of the PRC resident an application with SAFE to register such employee share incentive plan, apply annually for a quota for the payment of foreign currencies in connection with the exercise of the employee share options by the PRC resident and open a special foreign exchange account at a PRC domestic bank to hold the funds required in connection with the share incentive plan. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the employee share incentive plan, PRC agent or overseas entrusted institution.

 

In addition, the SAT has issued a few circulars concerning employee share options. Under these circulars, our employees working in China who exercise share options will be subject to PRC individual income tax. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents relating to employee share options with relevant tax authorities and withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their share options. If our employees fail to pay and we fail to withhold their income taxes, we may face sanctions imposed by tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.

 

Employment Laws

 

In accordance with the Labor Law, which became effective in January 1995, amended on December 29, 2018, and the Labor Contract Law, which was promulgated on June 29, 2007, amended on December 28, 2012 and became effective on July 1, 2013, employers must execute written labor contracts with full-time employees in order to establish an employment relationship. According to the Labor Contract Law, an employer is under an obligation to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years. Further, if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. The employer must also pay severance to an employee in nearly all instances where a labor contract, including a contract with an unlimited term, is terminated or expires. All employers must compensate their employees equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. All employers are required to establish a system for labor safety and sanitation, strictly abide by state rules and standards and provide employees with appropriate workplace safety training. In addition, the government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the Labor Contract Law. Among other things, new annual leave requirements mandate that annual leave ranging from 5 to 15 days is available to nearly all employees and further require that the employer compensate an employee for any annual leave days the employee is unable to take in the amount of three times his daily salary, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, companies operating in China are required to participate in social insurance and housing fund plans in which the employers must pay for the employees’ social welfare and housing fund based upon certain percentages of employees’ salaries.

 

C. Organizational Structure

 

For information on our organizational structure and a detailed description of the Company’s significant subsidiaries, see Item 4.A. “Information on the Company — History and Development of the Company.”

 

D. Property, Plant and Equipment

 

Our principal executive offices are located in approximately 845 square meters office space used by us at 1/F East Gate, Building No.2, Jian Wai Soho, No.39 Dong San Huan Zhong Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100022, China. We also own 2,124 square meters office space, 1,062 square meters for each of the two floors at Tower E, 6 Gongyuan West Street, Jian Guo Men Nei, Beijing 100005, China. As of the date of this annual report, one floor has been leased to a tenant and the other is not occupied. We believe our existing facilities are adequate for our current requirements and that additional space can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms to meet our future requirements.

 

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ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

 

A. Operating Results

 

Overview

 

Our Business

 

Historically, we generated revenues primarily from our computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services. On August 16, 2018, we completed the sale of ATA Online Business, which historically operated our computer based testing services, online education services and other related services. As a result, the operating results of ATA Online Business have been retrospectively reclassified under discontinued operations for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, nine months ended December 31, 2017, and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

 

After the completion of sale of ATA Online Business, we generated revenues primarily from our K-12 education assessment services that focuses on assessing the competencies of K-12 students and education quality of teachers and governing bureaus, which had been historically presented under the revenue of other services. In addition, as a result of the adoption of new revenue guidance ASC 606, effective January 1, 2018, rental income was reclassified into other operating income, net, and related costs were also reclassified from cost of revenues to other operating income, net. We expect to generate revenue from our PBL education services and other services in upcoming fiscal years.

 

Our net revenues were RMB 8.8 million, RMB 6.6 million, RMB 5.2 million, RMB 7.4 million and RMB 1.3 million ($0.2 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, respectively. We had net loss of RMB 10.0 million, net income of RMB 43.9 million, net income of RMB 27.8 million, net loss of RMB 26.1 million and net income of RMB 850.6 million ($123.7 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, respectively.

 

Discontinued Operations

 

According to ASC 205, the effect of discontinued operations of computer-based testing services, online education services and other related services for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 has been accounted for retroactively in the consolidated statement of operations for all the periods presented. Results from these discontinued operations, net of income tax, were income of RMB 49.8 million, income of RMB 89.0 million, income of RMB 100.6 million, income of RMB 61.4 million and loss of RMB 19.0 million ($2.8 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, respectively.

 

Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

 

The key factors affecting our results of operations presented in this annual report are:

 

·             overall economic growth and rising income levels in China contributing to the increasing spending on education and education assessment;

 

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·             potential changes in regulatory policies that may directly or indirectly impact the scope and credibility of services we could deliver;

 

·             initiatives of government and schools to improve education quality;

 

·             our capability to develop and create content that could accommodate needs of potential customers, mainly various levels of schools or education bureaus;

 

·             our ability to provide effective K-12 education assessment services and control sales and marketing expenses; and

 

·             recognition in marketplace for services we delivered and branding we established.

 

In addition, our results of operations have been, and may continue to be, significantly affected by the following factors:

 

·             the impacts of our sale of ATA Online Business;

 

·             share-based compensation;

 

·             the impacts of PRC tax policies, including certain preferential tax rates;

 

·             the impact of the termination of Beijing Biztour acquisition;

 

·             the relative proportion of our net revenues derived from higher- and lower-gross margin service offerings; and

 

·             the impacts of strategic investments and acquisitions.

 

Net Revenues

 

We derived revenues primarily from our K-12 education assessment services and other related services. Our net revenues are presented net of PRC business taxes and value added tax. The following table sets forth our net revenues from our continuing operations for the periods presented.

 

		For the fiscal year ended March 31,		For the nine months ended December 31,				For the twelve months ended December 31		For the fiscal year ended December 31,
		2017		2016		2017		2017		2018
		RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		RMB		US$
		(Unaudited)						(Unaudited)
		(in thousands)
Net Revenues		8,831		6,628		5,186		7,389		1,339		195

 

We derive K-12 education assessment services revenue primarily from fees charged to our clients, including schools, education bureaus, and various education institutions, in the form of delivering assessment reports for the test takers to our clients. Revenues from education assessment services are recognized when we deliver the reports to our clients.

 

We have experienced seasonality in net revenues related to our K-12 education assessment services, with the quarters ending September 30 and March 31 typically having higher net revenues compared with the other quarters. This is primarily because schools tend to implement education assessment prior to summer and winter breaks, which are normally in the quarters ending September 30 and March 31.

 

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Cost of Revenues

 

Our cost of revenues consists primarily of content development costs, amortization expenses of education assessment caseware, payroll compensation and other related costs, all of which are directly attributable to the rendering of various services, primarily our K-12 education assessment and other related services. The following table shows our cost of revenues and gross profit from our continuing operations for the periods presented:

 

		For the fiscal year ended March 31,				For the nine months ended December 31,								For the twelve months ended December 31,				For the fiscal year ended December 31,
		2017				2016				2017				2017				2018
		RMB		100%		RMB		100%		RMB		100%		RMB		100%		RMB		US$		100%
		(Unaudited)												(Unaudited)
		(in thousands, except for percentage)
Net Revenues		8,831		100.0	%	6,628		100.0	%	5,186		100.0	%	7,389		100.0	%	1,339		195		100.0	%
Cost of Revenues		4,407		49.9	%	3,236		48.8	%	3,786		73.0	%	4,957		67.1	%	4,251		619		317.5	%
Gross Profit (Loss)		4,424		50.1	%	3,392		51.2	%	1,400		27.0	%	2,432		32.9	%	(2,912	)	(424	)	(217.5	)%

 

Content Development Costs

 

Content development costs consist of costs for developing different assessment subject content paid to third-party experts.

 

Amortization Expenses of Education Assessment Caseware

 

Amortization expenses of education assessment caseware consist of amortization expenses of  test content purchased for our strategic K-12 education assessment services, which include three subjects of literature, mathematics and English over several grades of junior and senior high schools.

 

Payroll Compensation

 

Payroll compensation consists of base salaries, remunerations and related welfare benefits paid to staff in our services implementation and customer support departments.

 

Factors Affecting Gross Margin

 

Our gross margin is primarily affected by pricing and volume of our service offerings, costs components and man-powers incurred along the delivery of the revenues.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Our operating expenses consist of general and administrative expenses, sales and marketing expenses and research and development expenses.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits, travel, administration and share-based compensation expenses for our administrative, management and finance personnel, as well as other expenses including professional fees, office expenses and rental costs.

 

Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

Our sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits, traveling expenses, and share-based compensation expenses for our sales and marketing personnel, as well as other expenses including conference hosting expenses, advertising and promotional expenses, entertainment expenses and other sales and marketing expenses.

 

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Research and Development Expenses

 

Our research and development expenses consist primarily of costs of equipment used in our research and development activities, salaries and benefits, travel and share-based compensation expenses for our research and development personnel, costs of outsourcing services and other costs relating to the design, development, testing and enhancement of our products, technologies and services.

 

Share of Losses of Equity Method Investments

 

We apply the equity method to account for our equity interests in investees over which we have significant influence but do not own majority equity interests or otherwise control. Under the equity method of accounting, our share of the investees’ results of operations is reported as share of income (losses) of equity method investments in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

 

Impairment Loss of Long-term Investments

 

For equity method investments, we recognize an impairment loss when there is a decline in value below the carrying value of the equity method investment that is considered to be other than temporary. The process of assessing and determining whether impairment on an investment is other than temporary requires a significant amount of judgment. To determine whether an impairment is other than temporary, management considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until recovery and whether evidence indicating the carrying value of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity and duration of the decline in value, any change in value subsequent to the period end, and forecasted performance of the investee.

 

For other equity investments without a readily determinable fair value, we make a qualitative assessment considering impairment indicators to evaluate whether an equity investment without a readily determinable fair value is impaired at each reporting period, and wrote down to its fair value if a qualitative assessment indicates that the investment is impaired and the fair value of the investment is less than its carrying value.

 

Other Operating Income, Net

 

We recognized revenues from operating lease on a straight-line basis over the lease term and reported under “net revenues” for the reporting periods prior to January 1, 2018. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, rental income net of rental cost was classified as “other operating income, net” as a result of the adoption of new revenue guidance ASC 606, effective January 1, 2018.

 

Taxation

 

Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands

 

Under the current laws of Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, the Company and ATA BVI are not subject to income tax. In addition, upon any payments of dividends by the Company or ATA BVI, no Cayman Islands or British Virgin Islands withholding tax is imposed.

 

Hong Kong

 

Xing Wei did not derive any income that is subject to Hong Kong profits tax for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. Accordingly, no provision for Hong Kong profits tax was required. PRC income tax arising from disposal of investment in a subsidiary, Zhongxiao Zhixing, which was previously operating in PRC during the taxable year ended December 31, 2018 was filed and fully paid to relevant PRC tax authorities in 2018. The payment of dividends by Hong Kong companies is not subject to any Hong Kong withholding tax.

 

People’s Republic of China

 

Our subsidiaries operating in the PRC are subject to PRC taxes as described below:

 

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Enterprise income tax. EIT Law imposes an income tax rate of 25% on all enterprises, including foreign-invested enterprises. Under the EIT Law, qualified HNTE are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% and subject to an annual self-assessment review during the valid period of their HNTE certificates. If an HNTE enterprise does not satisfy the related requirements stipulated by SAT to enjoy the preferential income tax rate of 15% during the annual self-assessment review, it will not be able to implement the preferential income tax rate for the tax year being assessed. In December 2008, ATA Education obtained an HNTE certificate with a valid period of three years retrospectively starting from January 1, 2008 and renewed the certificates in 2011, 2014, and 2017 for another three years, respectively. As a result, ATA Education was and will be entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% from 2008 through 2019. In December 2009, Muhua Shangce obtained an HNTE certificate with a valid period of three years retrospectively starting from January 1, 2009 and renewed the certificates in 2012, 2015, and 2018 for another three years, respectively. As a result, Muhua Shangce was and will be entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% from 2009 through 2020. In the event ATA Education or Muhua Shangce is unable to meet all of the requirements stipulated by the SAT to enjoy the preferential income tax rate of 15% during the annual self-assessment review when holding the HNTE certificate or fail to renew its HNTE certificate, they will be subject to the standard statutory enterprise income tax rate of 25%. See Item 3.D. “Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business—The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments currently enjoyed by our subsidiaries in the PRC could materially increase our tax obligations.”  ATA Intelligent Learning is subject to an income tax rate of 25%.

 

In addition, under the EIT Law, an enterprise established under the laws of a foreign country or region whose “de facto management body” is located within the PRC territory is considered a resident enterprise and will generally be subject to the enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on its global income. According to the Implementation Rules to the EIT Law, “de facto management body” refers to a managing body that exercises, in substance, overall management and control over the production and business, personnel, accounting and assets of an enterprise. We have determined that our overseas entities are not PRC resident enterprises for PRC income tax purposes. However, if we and our overseas entities were considered PRC resident enterprises, we would be subject to the enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on our global income. See Item 3.D. “Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business—Under the EIT Law, we may be classified as a ‘resident enterprise’ of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and U.S. holders of our ADSs or common shares,” and Item 10.E. “Additional Information — Taxation — People’s Republic of China Taxation.”

 

In addition, since January 1, 2008, the EIT Law has revoked the exemption of withholding tax on dividends paid by a PRC enterprise to its foreign investors under the old tax law and its Implementation Rules provide that a withholding tax of 10% (or other applicable withholding tax rates based on tax treaties between the PRC and other jurisdictions) will generally be applicable to dividends payable to foreign investors. To the extent we and our overseas entities are not considered as PRC resident enterprises, the dividends that our PRC subsidiaries pay to us will be subject to this withholding tax. See Item 3.D. “Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Regulations of Our Business—Under the EIT Law, we may be classified as a ‘resident enterprise’ of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and U.S. holders of our ADSs or common shares.” The undistributed earnings generated before January 1, 2008 shall be exempt from withholding tax when such earnings are distributed to foreign investors in the year 2008 or thereafter. As of December 31, 2017, we had accrued withholding tax of RMB 22,797,747 on undistributed earnings of RMB 227,977,473 generated by our PRC consolidated entities since January 1, 2008. As a result of the sale of ATA Online Business, the withholding tax of RMB 22.8 million accrued from the disposed entities in the PRC has been recorded under discontinued operations. As of December 31, 2018, we have not accrued withholding tax on undistributed earnings from our PRC subsidiaries under continuing operations as we plan to reinvest these earnings indefinitely in the PRC. We announced declaration of a cash dividend of US$0.205 per common share, or US$0.41 per ADS on June 1, 2017, and a special cash dividend of US$3.00 per common share, or US$6.00 per ADS on August 8, 2018. On December 21, 2017, the China Ministry of Finance (“MOF”), SAT, National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce jointly released Cai Shui [2017] No.88 (the “No. 88 Notice”). The No.88 Notice formally introduces a tax measure which allows foreign investors to enjoy withholding tax deferral treatment (“WHT deferral treatement”), on the direct re-investment of profits distributed from Chinese tax resident enterprises into China’s “encouraged projects”. If the foreign investor qualifies for the WHT deferral treatment, the Chinese subsidiary of the related foreign investor should submit the required documents to its tax authorities on behalf of the foreign investor.  Upon completion of the filing, the Chinese subsidiary could suspend withholding the profits distributed to the foreign investor. According to the No.88 Notice, the WHT deferral treatment is applicable retroactively to January 1, 2017, and withholding tax payments already made on eligible re-investments are eligible for refund within three years of the withholding tax payment. On October 29, 2018, the SAT released [2018] No.53 announcement, which expands the scope of foreign invested Chinese subsidiaries that are eligible to apply for WHT deferral treatment to potential all companies and specified the detailed application process and measures.

 

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ATA Education has submitted an application for WHT deferral treatment under the above rules in August 2018 and obtained the approval from relevant tax authority to re-invest approximately RMB 85.1 million from ATA Learning to ATA Education with the 10% withholding tax suspended for payment based on the board resolution of the common foreign parent company of ATA BVI.

 

Under applicable Chinese tax laws, foreign-invested enterprises and domestic Chinese companies may carry forward tax losses up to five years. On July 11, 2018, the MOF and SAT jointly released Cai Shui [2018] No.76, which enacts the rules that since January 1, 2018, HNTE or technology-based small-medium size enterprises are eligible to carry forward tax losses up to ten years instead of five years.

 

ATA Education and Muhua Shangce, as HNTEs in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, are eligible to apply for the above preferential tax rules and carry forward tax losses up to ten years.  In view of cumulated losses noted by certain of our PRC subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2018, we provided full valuation allowance for their deferred income tax assets after consideration of the future reversal of existing taxable temporary differences.

 

VAT pilot program and VAT exemption of offshore outsourcing services. ATA Education and Muhua Shangce are subject to VAT at a rate of 6% for net revenues (i.e. VAT excluded) generated from services and license fees under the VAT pilot program under which Business Tax was replaced by VAT since May 1, 2016.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of our assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities on the date of each set of consolidated financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during each financial reporting period. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on the most recently available information, our own historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates as a result of changes in our estimates or changes in the facts or circumstances underlying our estimates and assumptions.

 

An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time such estimate is made, if different accounting estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements. Some of our accounting policies require higher degrees of judgment than others in their application. We consider the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our consolidated financial statements as their application places the most significant demands on our management’s judgment. When reviewing our consolidated financial statements, you should take into account:

 

·             our critical accounting policies discussed below;

 

·             the related judgments made by us and other uncertainties affecting the application of these policies;

 

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·             the sensitivity of our reported results to changes in prevailing facts and circumstances and our related estimates and assumptions; and

 

·             the risks and uncertainties described under Item 3.D. “Key Information — Risk Factors.”

 

See Note (2) to our audited consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our significant accounting policies.

 

Income Taxes

 

We assess the likelihood that our net deferred income tax assets will be realized. To the extent that we believe that it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire amount of deferred income tax assets will not be realized, we establish a valuation allowance.

 

In assessing the realizability of deferred income tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred income tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible or tax loss carried forward are utilized. We consider the future reversal of taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment.

 

For each of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, we had no unrecognized tax benefits relating to uncertain tax positions. Also, we do not expect that the amount of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase within the next twelve months.

 

As of December 31, 2018, the valuation allowance of RMB 21.3 million ($3.1 million) was related to the deferred income tax assets of our PRC entities which were in loss position. As of December 31, 2018, we believe it is more likely than not that we will realize the deferred income tax assets, net of the valuation allowance.

 

According to the PRC Tax Administration and Collection Law, the statute of limitations is three years if the underpayment of taxes is due to computational errors made by taxpayers or withholding agents. The statute of limitations is extended to five years under special circumstances where the underpayment of taxes is more than RMB 100,000. In the case of transfer pricing issues, the statute of limitations is ten years. There is no statute of limitations in the case of tax evasion. The income tax return of each of our company’s PRC consolidated entities is subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities for the calendar tax years beginning in 2014.

 

Share-based payment

 

We measure the cost of employee share options or similar equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award and recognize that cost over the period during which an employee is required to provide services in exchange for the award, which generally is the vesting period. For the graded vesting share options and non-vested shares, we recognize the compensation cost over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award as if the award is, in substance, multiple awards. Awards granted to employees with performance conditions attached are measured at fair value on the grant date, when the employees know the specific performance target assuming all other conditions necessary for a grant have already been met, and are recognized as the compensation expenses in the period and thereafter when the performance goal becomes probable to achieve.

 

When no future services are required to be performed by an employee in exchange for an award of equity instruments, and if such award does not contain a performance or market condition, the cost of the award is expensed on the grant date. When there is a modification on the terms and conditions of an award of equity instruments, our company measures the pre-modification and post-modification fair value of the equity instruments as of the modification date and recognizes the incremental value as compensation cost over the remaining service period. For vested options, we recognize incremental compensation cost in the period the modification occurred. For unvested options, we recognize, over the remaining requisite service period, the sum of the incremental compensation cost and the remaining unrecognized compensation cost for the original award on the modification date. Cancellations in the vesting period are treated as an acceleration of vesting, and recognized immediately for the amount that would otherwise have been recognized for services over the vesting period.

 

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When there is a change in the grantee status from an employee to a non-employee, if the grantee retains the awards on a change in status and continues to provide substantive services to our company, the change in status results in a new measurement date for the unvested awards with compensation costs measured as if the awards were newly issued to the grantee on the date of the change in status. If the grantee retains the awards on a change in status and is not required to provide substantive services to the grantor subsequent to that change in status, the change in status is, in substance, an acceleration in vesting of the arrangement.

 

Long-term investments

 

Equity method investments. An investment in common stock or in-substance common stock of an entity where we can exercise significant influence, but not control, is accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment is initially recorded at cost and adjusted for our share of undistributed earnings or losses of the investees. Investment losses are recognized until the investment is fully written down as we do not guarantee the investee’s obligations nor are we committed to provide additional funding. When our carrying value in an equity method investment is reduced to zero, no further losses are recorded in our consolidated financial statements unless we guarantee obligations of an affiliated company or have committed additional funding. When the equity method accounted investees subsequently reports income, we will not record our share of such income until it exceeds the amount of our share of losses not previously recognized.

 

Other equity investments. Prior to January 1, 2018, we accounted for other equity investments without a readily determinable fair value using the cost method. In connection with the adoption of the ASC 321 Investment- Equity Security as of January 1, 2018, we have elected to measure such investments at cost, adjusted for changes resulting from impairments and observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar securities of the same issuer. We consider information in periodic financial statements and other documentation provided by the investees to determine whether observable price changes have occurred.

 

Available-for-sale investment. Available-for-sale investment is an investment in convertible notes measured at fair value with unrealized gains and losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income.

 

We regularly evaluate the impairment of the long-term investments based on performance and financial position of the investees, as well as other evidence of market value. Such evaluation includes, but is not limited to, reviewing the investees’ cash position, recent financings, projected and historical financial performance, cash flow forecasts and financing needs. For equity method investments and available-for-sale investment, an impairment charge is recorded when carrying amount of the investment exceeds its fair value and such condition is determined to be other than temporary. For other equity investments, an impairment charge is recorded if a qualitative assessment indicates that the investment is impaired and the fair value of the investment is less than its carrying value.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth a summary, for the periods presented, of our consolidated results of operations and with each item expressed as a percentage of our total net revenues. Our historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

 

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		For the fiscal year ended March 31,				For the nine months ended December 31,								For the twelve months ended December 31				For the fiscal year ended December 31
		2017				2016				2017				2017				2018
		RMB		% of net revenues		RMB		% of net revenues		RMB		% of net revenues		RMB		% of net revenues		RMB		US$		% of net revenues
						(Unaudited)								(Unaudited)
		(In thousands, except for percentages)
Net revenues		8,831		100.0	%	6,628		100.0	%	5,186		100.0	%	7,389		100.0	%	1,339		195		100.0	%
Cost of revenues		4,407		49.9	%	3,236		48.8	%	3,786		73.0	%	4,957		67.1	%	4,251		619		317.5	%
Gross profit (loss)		4,424		50.1	%	3,392		51.2	%	1,400		27.0	%	2,432		32.9	%	(2,912	)	(424	)	(217.5	)%
Operating expenses:
Research and development		19,924		225.6	%	15,627		235.8	%	15,416		297.3	%	19,713		266.8	%	19,594		2,850		1,463.3	%
Sales and marketing		5,236		59.3	%	4,143		62.5	%	4,539		87.5	%	5,633		76.2	%	5,570		810		416.0	%
General and administrative		36,068		408.4	%	27,442		414.0	%	40,133		773.9	%	48,758		659.9	%	43,508		6,328		3,249.3	%
Total operating expenses		61,228		693.3	%	47,212		712.3	%	60,088		1,158.7	%	74,104		1,002.9	%	68,672		9,988		5,128.6	%
Other operating income, net		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		3,793		552		283.3	%
Loss from continuing operations		(56,804	)	(643.2	)%	(43,820	)	(661.1	)%	(58,688	)	(1,131.7	)%	(71,672	)	(970.0	)%	(67,791	)	(9,860	)	(5,062.8	)%
Share of losses of equity method investments		(2,838	)	(32.1	)%	(2,274	)	(34.3	)%	(1,395	)	(26.9	)%	(1,959	)	(26.5	)%	—		—		—
Impairment loss of long-term investments		—		—		—		—		(15,217	)	(293.4	)%	(15,217	)	(205.9	)%	(6,381	)	(928	)	(476.5	)%
Change in fair value of long-term investment		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		2,750		400		205.4	%
Interest income, net of interest expenses		1,497		17.0	%	1,136		17.1	%	609		11.7	%	970		13.1	%	2,409		350		179.9	%
Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net		(78	)	(0.9	)%	(78	)	(1.2	)%	(222	)	(4.3	)%	(222	)	(3.0	)%	960		140		71.7	%
Loss from continuing operations before income taxes		(58,223	)	(659.3	)%	(45,036	)	(679.5	)%	(74,913	)	(1,444.5	)%	(88,100	)	(1,192.3	)%	(68,053	)	(9,898	)	(5,082.4	)%
Income tax expense (benefit)		1,518		17.2	%	—		—		(2,109	)	(40.7	)%	(591	)	(8.0	)%	—		—		—
Loss from continuing operations, net of income taxes		(59,741	)	(676.5	)%	(45,036	)	(679.5	)%	(72,804	)	(1,403.9	)%	(87,509	)	(1,184.3	)%	(68,053	)	(9,898	)	(5,082.4	)%
Income (loss) from operations of discontinued operations, net of income taxes		49,772		563.6	%	88,980		1,342.5	%	100,641		1,940.6	%	61,433		831.4	%	(18,951	)	(2,756	)	(1,415.3	)%
Gain from disposal of discontinued operations, net of income taxes		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		—		937,606		136,369		70,022.9	%
Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		49,772		563.6	%	88,980		1,342.5	%	100,641		1,940.6	%	61,433		831.4	%	918,655		133,613		68,607.5	%
Net income (loss)		(9,969	)	(112.9	)%	43,944		663.0	%	27,837		536.8	%	(26,076	)	(352.9	)%	850,602		123,715		63,525.2	%
Net income (loss) attributable to ATA Inc.		(9,716	)	(110.0	)%	43,978		663.5	%	29,634		571.4	%	(24,060	)	(325.6	)%	854,926		124,344		63,848.1	%

 

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