UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

OR

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report __________

Commission file number 001-36885

TANTECH HOLDINGS LTD

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)

British Virgin Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

c/o Zhejiang Tantech Bamboo TechnologyHoldings (Lishui) Co., Ltd.

No. 10 Cen Shan Road, Shuige Industrial Zone, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province 323000, People’s
Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Mr. Qingsong DongJing Jin

c/o Zhejiang Tantech Bamboo TechnologyHoldings (Lishui) Co., Ltd .

Ltd., No. 10 Cen Shan Road, Shuige Industrial Zone, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province 323000, People’s Republic of China

Tel: +86-578-226-2305

Fax: +86-578-226-2360

Email: tantech@tantech.cn

(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:

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

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 was:

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).                   Not ApplicableYes x    No ¨

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

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

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this annual report other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our business strategy and plans, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this annual report may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. We are under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this annual report or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

PART I

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

In the table below, we provide you with historical selected financial data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20152018, 2017, and 2014.2016. This information is derived from our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period. When you read this historical selected financial data, it is important that you read it along with the historical financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this annual report. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP.

(All amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)

Statement of operations data:

Balance sheet data:

exchange rate information

Our financial information is presented in U.S. dollars. Our functional currency is Renminbi (“RMB”), the currency of the PRC. Transactions denominated in currencies other than RMB are translated into RMB at the exchange rate quoted by the People’s Bank of China at the dates of the transactions. Exchange gains and losses resulting from transactions denominated in a currency other than the RMB are included in statements of operations as foreign currency transaction gains or losses. Our financial statements have been translated into U.S. dollars in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (“SFAS”) No. 52, “Foreign Currency Translation”, which was subsequently codified within ASC 830, “Foreign Currency Matters”. The financial information is first prepared in RMB and then is translated into U.S. dollars at period-end exchange rates as to assets and liabilities and average exchange rates as to revenue and expenses. Capital accounts are translated at their historical exchange rates when the capital transactions occurred. The effects of foreign currency translation adjustments are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in shareholders’ equity. The relevant exchange rates are listed below:

We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. We do not currently engage in currency hedging transactions.

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated (www.oanda.com ).).

Over the past several years, the Renminbi has moved from a period of strengthening against the dollar to a period of recent weakening against the dollar. Our primary sales outside China occur in Japan, South Korea,Taiwan, the Middle East and Europe, but all such sales outside China are made in U.S. dollars. Following is a chart showing recent changes in the exchange rates between the Renminbi and U.S. dollar.

Currency Exchange Rate – USD:RMB

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

A weakening of the Chinese economy (and in particular consumer spending) could hurt demand for our Charcoal Doctor and EDLC carbon products.

Our Charcoal Doctor products are generally considered “household use and decorative items,” meaning that these products are used for beautification and decoration purposes in addition to purification purposes. For example, consumers tend to purchase charcoal products for their value in absorbing odors and tend to purchase some of our bamboo charcoal products for these purposes and also for the perceived attractiveness of our products. We seek to design bamboo charcoal products that our customers want to display throughout their homes.

As such, we have relied on consumer spending to drive sales in this product line. In the past, sales have been increased as Chinese consumers have had more disposable income. Over the last five years,Since 2010, China’s GDP growth rate has slowed from more than 11%10% to less than 7%. If China’s economy continues to slow, or if customer spending for household items decreases, demand for our products may be reduced, which would negatively affect sales of our Charcoal Doctor products. Similarly, a reduction in spending on automobiles or public transportation could affect the demand for the sort of supercapacitors that are likely to use our EDLC carbon, reducing the demand for products like ours.

If we are unable to develop products that meet the demands of our customers, sales of our products could decrease.

As a company that focuses primarily on consumer products in our Charcoal Doctor line of products, and to a lesser extent electric vehicles and mining, we rely on our ability to predict the needs and desires of customers several months before fulfilling orders for stores. If we are unable to accurately forecast our customers’ preferences, we may lose market share to our competitors.

Our two largest competitors are significantly larger than our company.

Although our company is one of the largest providers of bamboo charcoal-based products of their kind, we compete with companies that make products that have equivalent function but that are not bamboo charcoal-based, and some of these competitors are much larger than we are. Charcoal Doctor’s two largest such competitors are Guangzhou Blue Moon Industry Co., Ltd, which makes Blue Moon branded products (“Blue Moon”), and Shanghai SC Johnson Wax Co., Ltd, which makes Mr. Muscle branded products (“Mr. Muscle”). Blue Moon and Mr. Muscle are substantially larger than Charcoal Doctor. We believe that they have a much greater customer recognition level than Charcoal Doctor. Charcoal Doctor has not historically spent substantial resources on television or print advertising. As a result, we expect that such competitors are likely to continue efforts to improve their brand recognition, while we may be unable to do so without changing our business plan to increase spending on such advertisements.

As a charcoal-based provider of household products, we are subject to supply risks that some of our competitors do not face.

Some of our largest competitors in the provision of household products such as our bamboo vinegar products rely on chemical solutions, rather than charcoal and derivatives of charcoal, to create their products. As a result, we do not believe they are subject to business risk in the event bamboo or wood charcoal supplies are compromised. On the other hand, if we were unable to procure bamboo or wood charcoal products or unable to procure them on attractive terms, our product line could become substantially more expensive or our growth rate could be limited, resulting in us becoming less competitive than others in our industry.

In summer 2012, we faced a supply shortage based on local government initiatives to reduce the risk of fire caused by charcoal. As a result, the local government in Daxing Anlin, where one of our main suppliers of wood-based OEM BBQ charcoal is located, restricted the production of charcoal during June, July and August 2012. At that time, our stock of OEM BBQ charcoal was insufficient to avoid demand pressures. As a result, our revenues declined during this period. If local governments similarly reduce production of charcoal in the future, we could be negatively impacted by the lack of supply, either as to our ability to obtain suitable product or by our ability to obtain such product at a reasonable price.

We lack product and business diversification. Accordingly, our future revenues and earnings are more susceptible to fluctuations than a more diversified company.

Our primary business activities focus on bamboo-related products. Because our focus is limited in this way, any risk affecting the bamboo industry or consumers’ desire for bamboo- and bamboo charcoal-related products could disproportionately affect our business. OurThough we are broadening our business focus to electric vehicles and an investment in marble mining, our lack of product and business diversification at this time could inhibit the opportunities for growth of our business, revenues and profits.

Our suppliers’ bamboo is subject to risks related to fire, flooding, disease and pests.

While bamboo is considered a relatively hardy plant, it remains a plant that can be burned in fires or damaged by prolonged flooding or exposure to diseases, fungus and pests. If our suppliers’ bamboo resources were affected by such natural risks, it could be more difficult or expensive to source the bamboo charcoal for our products.

Increases in bamboo charcoal costs may negatively affect our operating results.

While bamboo is a renewable resource (and thus bamboo products like bamboo charcoal may be considered renewable), the price of raw materials may be inelastic when we wish to purchase supplies. While we have attempted to mitigate this risk by taking advantage of decreases in other expenses (due to better transportation infrastructure reducing the cost of bringing materials to our company and from our company to our customers) and improving efficiency, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to control our material expenses. In addition, as we are competing based upon low price, we will risk losing customers by increasing our selling prices. To the extent our expenses increase beyond the price we can charge our customers, our operating results could be harmed.

We may be unable to meet quality requirements for our EDLC carbon products.

We produce our EDLC carbon to our customers’ specifications. Each order requires us to produce EDLC to different tolerances than another order might. Prior to delivering the final product to the customer, we prepare a sample for them to test. As a relatively new producer of EDLC carbon, we had initial challenges in preparing EDLC carbon that met our customers’ demands. While our production process has improved, we cannot guarantee that our product will always meet the requirements of our customers. To the extent our EDLC carbon fails to pass inspection for such customers, they may refuse delivery. In addition, if our final shipment failed inspection after delivery of the initial sample, we could be subject to more substantial loss on such order. Any failures of our products to pass inspection could cause our customers to use different suppliers in the future.

Our EDLC products are not well known.

We have only recently entered into the EDLC carbon industry. At present, our product visibility is low. Although we plan to participate in industry events to improve recognition and drive revenues, we have no guarantee that we will be able to materially increase the market recognition of our EDLC carbon products. To the extent we are unable to increase our product visibility, we may face challenges in increasing revenues or the profit margin for such products.

If we misjudge the viability of the EDLC market or if technological developments in the industry are not forthcoming at the rate we expect, we may find that we have overextended our growth.

We are seeking to increase our capacity to produce EDLC carbon. Our desire to increase capacity is based on our assumption and belief that demand for EDLC carbon will grow, based on current and anticipate future needs. To the extent demand for EDLCs does not grow as we expect, whether because current demand does not grow or because technology in the industry does not further increase demand for EDLCs, we may find that we have capacity beyond our actual needs. While having excess capacity would allow us to more quickly increase production in the event future EDLC demand increased, it would also result in increased fixed costs (as a percentage of revenues) to our company for such facilities, reducing our profitability and tying up assets that could otherwise be used for more productive purposes.

We face competition from EDLC competitors that seek to increase their products on the supply chain.

To date, carbon for EDLC applications have sold at a premium compared to carbon for other purposes. Our competitors in the bamboo carbon industry may seek to enter the EDLC industry to take advantage of these premiums, and our competitors in the EDLC industry may seek to enter the carbon industry both to reduce their expenses and to capture profits from EDLC carbon. Either action, if successful, could reduce our revenues and profit margin for our EDLC carbon products.

We face competition from smaller competitors that may be able to provide similar charcoal briquette products at lower prices.

Our charcoal briquette products are valued primarily for their ability to burn and create heat. As result, our competitors in this line of business do not require the same high technology as our competitors for our EDLC or Charcoal Doctor products. For this reason, our charcoal briquette business is subject to competition from a variety of small producers, which may be able to provide similar product for a much lower price. To the extent our customers discriminate based on price, we may find that we lose market share to such producers. Moreover, we may be required to reduce our price in order to maintain or slow loss of market share for such products. As charcoal briquette products make up a substantial percentage of revenues, even at a lower profit margin, the reduction of sales of such products could hurt our company.

Our future growth of our electronic vehicle (EV) segment is dependent upon consumers’ willingness to adopt EVs.

Our growth is highly dependent upon the adoption by consumers of, and we are subject to a risk of any reduced demand for, alternative fuel vehicles in general and electronic vehicles (EVs) in particular. The market for alternative fuel vehicles (including EVs) is relatively new and rapidly evolving, characterized by rapidly changing technologies, price competition, evolving government regulation and industry standards both domestically and abroad, frequent new vehicle announcements and changing consumer demands and behaviors. If the market for EVs in China does not develop as we expect or develops more slowly than we expect, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be harmed.

Our high concentration of EVs sales to relatively few customers may result in significant impact on our liquidity, business, results of operations and financial condition.

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, major customers (above 10% of the total revenue), in the aggregate, accounted for 100%, 88% and 98%, respectively, of EV sales for Shangchi Automobile, formerly known as Suzhou E-Motors. Due to the concentration of sales to relatively few customers, loss of one or more of these customers will have relatively high impact on our operational results. We expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. In the event there is an unfavorable change in our business relationship with our significant customers, it could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

Our specialty-used EVs Models are highly dependent on the approvals from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic China (MIIT). A failure to obtain approval quickly or at all might cause significant delays in production and sales, results of operations and financial conditions.

Each year, we submit certain EV models’ application to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic China (MITT). The MIIT’s approval of our application is the key for us to produce and sell any related EV products. Any delays or rejections in our applications will have significant negative impact on our Shangchi Automobile’s operations and financial conditions.

Our EVs make use of lithium-ion battery cells, which have the potential to catch fire or vent smoke and flame. This may lead to additional concerns about batteries used in automotive applications.

The battery packs in our EV products make use of lithium-ion cells. On rare occasions, lithium-ion cells can rapidly release the energy they contain by venting smoke and flames in a manner that can ignite nearby materials as well as other lithium-ion cells. Extremely rare incidents of laptop computers, cell phones and EV battery packs catching fire have focused consumer attention on the safety of these lithium-ion cells. These events have raised concerns about batteries used in automotive applications. To address these questions and concerns, a number of battery cell manufacturers are pursuing alternative lithium-ion battery cell chemistries to improve safety. We may have to recall our vehicles or participate in a recall of a vehicle that contains our battery packs, or redesign our battery packs, which would be time consuming and expensive. Also, negative public perceptions regarding the suitability of lithium-ion cells for automotive applications or any future incident involving lithium-ion cells such as a vehicle or other fire, even if such incident does not involve us, could seriously harm our business.

Compliance with environmental regulations can be expensive, and noncompliance with these regulations may result in adverse publicity and potentially significant monetary damages and fines.

Our various business operations generate noise, waste water, gaseous byproduct and other industrial waste. We are required to comply with all national and local regulations regarding the protection of the environment. We are in compliance with current environmental protection requirements and have all necessary environmental permits to conduct our business. However, if more stringent regulations are adopted in the future, the costs of compliance with these new regulations could be substantial. Additionally, if we fail to comply with present or future environmental regulations, we may be required to pay substantial fines, suspend production or cease operations. Any failure by us to control the use of, or to adequately restrict the unauthorized discharge of, hazardous substances could subject us to potentially significant monetary damages and fines or suspensions to our business operations. Certain laws, ordinances and regulations could limit our ability to develop, use, or sell our products.

Developments in alternative technologies or improvements in the internal combustion engine may materially adversely affect the demand for our EV Products.

Significant developments in alternative technologies, such as advanced diesel, ethanol, fuel cells or compressed natural gas, or improvements in the fuel economy of the internal combustion engine, may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects in ways we do not currently anticipate. Any failure by us to develop new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay our development and introduction of new and enhanced EV products, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our vehicles, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors.

If we are unable to keep up with advances in electric vehicle technology, we may suffer a decline in our competitive position.

We may be unable to keep up with changes in EV technology, and we may suffer a resulting decline in our competitive position. Any failure to keep up with advances in EV technology would result in a decline in our competitive position which would materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Our research and development efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to changes in EV technology. As technologies change, we plan to upgrade or adapt the vehicles and introduce new models in order to continue to provide vehicles with the latest technology, in particular battery cell technology. However, our vehicles may not compete effectively with alternative vehicles if we are not able to source and integrate the latest technology into our vehicles. For example, we do not manufacture battery cells, which makes us dependent upon other suppliers of battery cell technology for our battery packs.

Changes to the Chinese government’s subsidy support policies and further delays in subsidy payments may have negative impacts on our EV operations.

The Chinese central government subsidy support policies, effective as of January 1, 2017, call for a 20% of reduction in central government subsidies per electric car in 2017 from its 2016 level and the total local government subsidy match to be not more than 50% of the total central government subsidies per electric car. The reduction of subsidies from both the central government and local governments will inevitably increase the costs to the consumers to purchase our EVs, which may cause temporary pressure for us to expand our EV sales. The change in subsidy payment methods in 2017 from paid-in-advance to paid post-sale and any further delay in releasing subsidy payments for the EVs manufactured and sold in the prior years might also cause the potential delay in collection of the accounts receivable from our business partners, which will temporarily increase the pressure on our working capital for continuing operations. The unavailability, reduction or elimination of government and economic incentives could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.

We do not own 100% of our electric vehicle subsidiary, and we are a minority investor in Libo Haokun, our recent mining investment.

We only own 70% of Shangchi Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Shangchi Automobile”). Zhang Jia Gang Shi Jinke Chuangye Touzi Co. Ltd. (“Jinke Touzi”) holds the remaining 30% equity interest in Shangchi Automobile and has significant influence on its operation. The potential for differences between us and Jinke Touzi may result in ineffective operation of Shangchi Automobile and our operating results would be materially negatively affected.

Further, we own an indirect 18% interest in Libo Haokun Stone Co., Ltd. (“Libo Haokun”), a marble mining operating company. As such, we have an inability to control or significantly influence Libo Haokun’s management and operations. If we believe that Libo Haokun is being managed or operated ineffectively, we have limited options.

Outstanding bank loans may reduce our available funds.

We have approximately $6.69$7.68 million in outstanding bank loans and bank acceptance notes payable as of December 31, 2016.2018. The loans and payables are held at multiple banks, and we used our land and property as the collateral for the debt. While our land and property isare worth more than the amount of the total loan amount and we also have approximately $5.9$7.75 million in cash and approximately $56.9$70.15 million of liquid assets available to pay the debt, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to pay all amounts when due or refinance the amounts on terms that are acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to make our payments when due or to refinance such amounts, our property could be foreclosed and our business could be negatively affected.

While we do not believe they will impact our liquidity, the terms of the debt agreements impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions could also have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations by significantly limiting or prohibiting us from engaging in certain transactions, including but not limited to: incurring or guaranteeing additional indebtedness; transferring or selling assets currently held by us; and transferring ownership interests in certain of our subsidiaries. The failure to comply with any of these covenants could cause a default under our other debt agreements. Any of these defaults, if not waived, could result in the acceleration of all of our debt, in which case the debt would become immediately due and payable. If this occurs, we may not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it on favorable terms, if any.

If the value of our property decreases, we may not be able to refinance our current debt.

All of our current debt is secured by mortgages on our real and other business property. If the value of our real property decreases, we may find that banks are unwilling to loan money to us secured by our business property. A drop in property value could also prevent us from being able to refinance that loan when it becomes due on acceptable terms or at all.

If our expansions into new businesses are not successful, our future results of operations and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We intend to enter into electric vehicles manufacturing industry. On January 27, 2016, we entered into a framework agreement to acquire Suzhou E MotorsE-Motors Co., Ltd. which as of January 2019 is now known as Shangchi Automobile (“Suzhou E Motors ”)Shangchi Automobile”), a specialty electric vehicles manufacturer. Pursuant to this Frameworkthe Purchase Agreement we plan to acquire 100% equity interest in Suzhou E Motors with a combination of cash and restricted shares of our common stock. Completion of the transaction is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a definitive agreement to be negotiated and executed between the Company and the shareholders of Suzhou E Motors.

Onon May 2, 2016, we entered intoSupplemental Agreement I signed on December 22, 2016 and Supplemental Agreement II signed on July 12, 2017, the Company acquired a Purchase Agreement with Henglong Chen (the “Seller”) and Suzhou E-Motors, pursuant to which we intends to acquire 100% of the70% equity interest in Suzhou E Motors. The total purchase price is aof Shangchi Automobile with total cash consideration of RMB159,000,000RMB 103,200,000 (approximately USD25.2$15.9 million) and a share consideration of 3,250,0002,500,000 restricted stocksshares of the Registrant.Company's common stock.

On December 22, 2016, we entered intoOur 70% equity interest in Shangchi Automobile comprises a Supplemental Agreement19% equity interest owned directly through Hangzhou Jixi Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Jixi”) and a 51% equity interest owned through a series of contractual agreements with Suzhou E Motors and the Seller to extend the dateowners of Hanzhou Wangbo Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Wangbo”). Jixi is 100% owned through Shanghai Jiamu Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Jiamu”), which is, in turn, wholly owned by Euroasia International Capital (“Euroasia”), a 100% owned subsidiary of the completionCompany. These agreements include a Technical Consultation and Services Agreement, a Business Cooperation Agreement, an Equity Pledge Agreement, a Share Disposal Agreement and a Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (collectively, the “VIE Agreements”). Pursuant to the VIE Agreements, Jiamu has the exclusive right to provide to Wangbo consulting services related to business operations including technical and management consulting services. All the above contractual agreements obligate Jiamu to absorb a majority of the acquisitionrisk of Suzhou E-Motorsloss from Wangbo’s activities and entitle Jiamu to March 31, 2017. We expectsreceive a majority of their residual returns. In essence, Jiamu has gained effective control over Wangbo. Therefore, the transaction toCompany believes that Wangbo should be consummated byconsidered as a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) under the endStatement of June 2017.Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810 “Consolidation.”

If we enter into this new business, weThe Company had originally negotiated to acquire 100% of Shangchi Automobile; however, following initial discussions, Shangchi Automobile’s minority shareholder, Zhangjiagang Jinke Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (Jinke Venture Capital), a local government-led venture capital fund, opted to retain its 30% interest.

We may face competition from existing leading players in this business. If we cannot successfully address the new challenges and compete effectively against the existing leading players in the new businesses, we may not be able to develop a sufficiently large customer and user base, recover costs incurred for investing in, developing and marketing new businesses, and eventually achieve profitability from these businesses, and our future results of operations and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We face risks and uncertainties associated with our recent investment in marble mining and processing operations.

In January 2018, we made a purchase of an indirect 18% interest in Libo Haokun Stone Co., Ltd. (“Libo Haokun”), a marble mining operating company. Libo Haokun’s marble mining and processing operations are subject to a number of operating risks and hazards, some of which are beyond our control. These operating risks and hazards include: (i) unexpected maintenance or technical problems; (ii) periodic interruptions of its mining operations due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions and natural disasters; (iii) industrial accidents; (iv) power or fuel supply interruptions; (v) critical equipment failures; and (vi) unusual or unexpected variations in the quarry and geological or mining conditions, such as instability of the slopes and subsidence of the working areas. These risks and hazards may result in personal injury, damage to, or destruction of, properties or production facilities, environmental damages, business interruptions and damage to Libo Haokun’s business reputation. In addition, the breakdown of machinery and equipment, difficulties or delays in obtaining replacement machinery and equipment, natural disasters, industrial accidents or other events could temporarily disrupt its operations. Any disruption for a sustained period to the operations of Libo Haokun’s quarry or supporting infrastructure, or any change to the natural environment surrounding its quarry may have a material adverse effect on our investment in Libo Haokun.

We may experience increased costs or losses resulting from the hazards and uncertainties associated with mining operations.

The exploration for natural resources and the development and production of mining operations are activities that involve a high level of uncertainty. These can be difficult to predict and are often affected by risks and hazards outside of our control. These factors include, but are not limited to:

The occurrence of one or more of these events in connection with Libo Haokun’s exploration activities and development and production of mining operations may result in the death of, or personal injury to, its employees, other personnel or third parties, the loss of mining equipment, damage to or destruction of mineral properties or production facilities, monetary losses, deferral or unanticipated fluctuations in production, environmental damage and potential legal liabilities, all of which may adversely affect Libo Haokun’s and our reputation, business, prospects, results of operations and financial position.

Mining companies are increasingly required to consider and provide benefits to the communities and countries in which they operate, and are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.

As a result of public concern about the real or perceived detrimental effects of economic globalization and global climate impacts, businesses generally and corporations in natural resources industries, such as Libo Haokun, in particular, face increasing public scrutiny of their activities. These businesses are under pressure to demonstrate that, as they seek to generate satisfactory returns on investment to shareholders, other stakeholders, including employees, governments, communities surrounding operations and the countries in which they operate, benefit and will continue to benefit from their commercial activities. Such pressures tend to be particularly focused on companies whose activities are perceived to have a high impact on their social and physical environment. The potential consequences of these pressures include reputational damage, legal suits, increasing social investment obligations and pressure to increase taxes and royalties payable to governments and communities.

In addition, Libo Haokun’s ability to successfully obtain key permits and approvals to explore for, develop and operate mines and to successfully operate in communities in China will likely depend on its ability to develop, operate and close mines in a manner that is consistent with the creation of social and economic benefits in the surrounding communities, which may or may not be required by law. Libo Haokun’s ability to obtain permits and approvals and to successfully operate in particular communities may be adversely impacted by real or perceived detrimental events associated with its activities or those of other mining companies affecting the environment, human health and safety of communities in which we operate. Delays in obtaining or failure to obtain government permits and approvals may adversely affect Libo Haokun’s and our operations, including Libo Haokun’s ability to explore or develop properties, commence production or continue operations. Key permits and approvals may be revoked or suspended or may be varied in a manner that adversely affects Libo Haokun’s operations, including our ability to explore or develop properties, commence production or continue operations.

Libo Haokun’s exploration, development, mining and processing operations are subject to extensive laws and regulations governing worker health and safety and land use and the protection of the environment, which generally apply to air and water quality, protection of endangered, protected or other specified species, hazardous waste management and reclamation. Libo Haokun has made, and expects to make in the future, significant expenditures to comply with such laws and regulations. Compliance with these laws and regulations imposes substantial costs and burdens, and can cause delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain, government permits and approvals which may adversely impact Libo Haokun’s closure processes and operations.

Future changes in applicable laws, regulations, permits and approvals or changes in their enforcement or regulatory interpretation could substantially increase costs to achieve compliance, lead to the revocation of existing or future exploration or mining rights or otherwise have an adverse impact on Libo Haokun’s and our results of operations and financial position. Increased global attention or regulation on consumption of water by industrial activities, as well as water quality discharge, and on restricting or prohibiting the use of hazardous substances in processing activities could similarly have an adverse impact on Libo Haokun’s results of operations and financial position due to increased compliance and input costs.

Libo Haokun’s business requires substantial capital investment and it may be unable to raise additional funding on favorable terms.

The construction and operation of potential future mining projects and various exploration projects will require significant funding. Libo Haokun’s operating cash flow and other sources of funding may become insufficient to meet all of these requirements, depending on the timing and costs of development of these and other projects. As a result, new sources of capital may be needed to meet the funding requirements of these investments, fund its ongoing business activities and pay dividends. Libo Haokun’s ability to raise and service significant new sources of capital will be a function of macroeconomic conditions, future marble prices, its operational performance and its current cash flow and debt position, among other factors. In the event of lower marble prices, unanticipated operating or financial challenges, or a further dislocation in the financial markets as experienced in recent years, Libo Haokun’s ability to pursue new business opportunities, invest in existing and new projects, fund its ongoing operations, retire or service all of our outstanding debt and pay dividends could be significantly constrained, all of which could have an adverse effect on our minority investment.

Competition from other natural resource companies may harm Libo Haokun’s business.

Libo Haokun competes with other natural resource companies to attract and retain key executives, skilled labor, contractors and other employees. It also competes with other natural resource companies for specialized equipment, components and supplies necessary for exploration and development. It may be unable to continue to attract and retain skilled and experienced employees, or to obtain the services of skilled personnel and contractors or specialized equipment or supplies.

We may require additional financing in the future and our operations could be curtailed if we are unable to obtain required additional financing when needed.

We may need to obtain additional debt or equity financing to fund future capital expenditures. While we do not anticipate seeking additional financing in the immediate future, any additional equity may result in dilution to the holders of our outstanding shares of capital stock. Additional debt financing may include conditions that would restrict our freedom to operate our business, such as conditions that:

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain any additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.

The loss of any of our key customers could reduce our revenues and our profitability.

Our key customers are principally third party distributors and retail stores in the PRC. For the yearyears ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, two major customers accounted for approximately 67%, 47% and 27% of the Company’s total sales, to our seven largest customers amounted in the aggregate to approximately 55% of our total revenue. For the year ended December 31, 2015, sales to our seven largest customers amounted in the aggregate to approximately 54% of our total revenue.respectively. There can be no assurance that we will maintain or improve the relationships with these customers, or that we will be able to continue to supply these customers at current levels or at all. Any failure to pay by these customers could have a material negative effect on our company’s business. In addition, having a relatively small number of customers may cause our quarterly results to be inconsistent, depending upon when these customers pay for outstanding invoices.

During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, we had two customers that accounted for 10% or more of our revenues:

If we cannot maintain long-term relationships with these major customers, the loss of our sales to them could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on third-party distributors for a substantial portion of our sales, which could affect our ability to efficiently and profitably distribute and market our products, maintain our existing markets and expand our business into other geographic markets.

Sales of our products through distributors constituted approximately 78%92%, 76% and 65%78% of our total sales in the years ended2018, 2017 and 2016, and 2015, respectively. To the extent our distributors are distracted from selling our products or do not expend sufficient efforts in managing and selling our products, our sales will be adversely affected. Our ability to maintain our distribution network and attract additional distributors will depend on a number of factors. Some of these factors include: (i) the level of demand for our brand and products in a particular market; (ii) our ability to maintain current distribution relationships or establish and maintain successful relationships with distributors in new geographic areas. These factors are partially outside our control because consumers ultimately determine what they purchase and we cannot control the actions of our distributors. Our inability to achieve any of these factors in a geographic distribution area will have a material adverse effect on our relationships with our third party distributors in that particular geographic area, thus limiting our ability to maintain and expand our market, which will likely adversely affect our revenues and financial results.

We buy our supplies from a relatively limited number of suppliers, and disruption in supply may increase our production cost.

In 2016,For the environmental policies in certain localities has been tightened in Daxinganling Region. Charcoal kilns are graduallybeing shut down by the government. From then, we are no longer able to purchase from our 2015 second largest supplier Tahe Xingzhongda Carbon Co. During the yearyears ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, three major suppliers accounted for approximately 60%, three major suppliers accounted for approximately 61%, and four largestmajor suppliers accounted for approximately 88% of ourthe Company’s total purchases. During the year ended December 31, 2015, four largest suppliers accounted for approximately 70.2% of our total purchases. During years ended December 31, 2016, we had four suppliers that accounted for 10% or more of our purchases, respectively:respectively.

In 2016, we have lost one major supplier. The loss of one of the main suppliers could force us to look for alternative suppliers at higher costs and thus increase our production costs in the coming years.

The loss of any such suppliers could result in increased expenses for our company and result in adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our bank accounts are not insured or protected against loss.

We maintain our cash with various banks and trust companies located in the PRC. Our cash accounts are not insured or otherwise protected. Should any bank or trust company holding our cash deposits become insolvent, or if we are otherwise unable to withdraw funds, we would lose the cash on deposit with that particular bank or trust company.

We are subject to risks relating to the banking facilities we use to overcome cash flow issues.

We generate a large proportion of our sales revenue through wholesale channels and distribution networks (supermarkets and chain stores) requiring us to extend net-90 day payment terms in most cases. These payment terms are difficult to negotiate given the significant bargaining power of the counterparties to the agreements. For this reason, we rely on banking facilities to overcome cash flow shortfalls between delivery and payment collection. Although we engage third-party debt collection agencies when required to manage counterparty risk, we cannot guarantee that we will receive payment in a timely fashion from our customers. To the extent we fail to receive payment in time to service our banking facilities, our business to be materially impacted.

We are substantially dependent upon our senior management and key research and development personnel.

We are highly dependent on our senior management to manage our business and operations and our key research and development personnel for the development of new products and the enhancement of our existing products and technologies. In particular, we rely substantially on our chief executive officer, Mr. Zhengyu Wang to manage our operations. Mr. Wang has been involved in the bamboo charcoal industry for more than ten years. Due to his experience in the industry in general and our company in particular for such a long period of time, he would be difficult to replace. We also depend on our chief technical officer, Dr. Zaihua Chen, for the development of new technology and products. Dr. Chen is an expert in charcoal in general and, in particular bamboo charcoal and the use of charcoal for EDLC carbon. He would be difficult to replace in a city with the size of Lishui.

While we provide the legally required personal insurance for the benefit of our employees, we do not maintain key man life insurance on any of our senior management or key personnel. The loss of any one of them would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. Competition for senior management and our other key personnel (particularly for those who work with our EDLC products) is intense, and the pool of suitable candidates is limited. We may be unable to quickly locate a suitable replacement for any senior management or key personnel that we lose. In addition, if any member of our senior management or key personnel joins a competitor or forms a competing company, they may compete with us for customers, business partners and other key professionals and staff members of our company. Although each of our senior management and key personnel has signed a confidentiality and non-competition agreement in connection with his employment with us, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully enforce these provisions in the event of a dispute between us and any member of our senior management or key personnel.

We compete for qualified personnel with other technology companies and research institutions. Intense competition for these personnel could cause our compensation costs to increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Our future success and ability to grow our business will depend in part on the continued service of these individuals and our ability to identify, hire and retain additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, we may be unable to meet our business and financial goals.

We are heavily dependent upon the services of experienced personnel who possess skills that are valuable in our industry, and we may have to actively compete for their services.

We are heavily dependent upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate skilled personnel (particularly those who work with our EDLC products) to serve our customers. Many of our personnel possess skills that would be valuable to all companies engaged in our industry. Consequently, we expect that we will have to actively compete for these employees. Some of our competitors may be able to pay our employees more than we are able to pay to retain them. Our ability to profitably operate is substantially dependent upon our ability to locate, hire, train and retain our personnel. Moreover, our pool of available labor in Lishui is limited, as Lishui is a relatively small city in China. Accordingly, it may be difficult to recruit personnel to move to Lishui to work and to keep talented individuals from moving to other employers who recruit them. There can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our current personnel, or that we will be able to attract and assimilate other personnel in the future. If we are unable to effectively obtain and maintain skilled personnel, the development and quality of our services could be materially impaired.

Failure to manage our growth could strain our management, operational and other resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.

Our growth strategy includes building our brand, increasing market penetration of our existing products, developing new products, increasing our targeting of the home respiratory market in China, and increasing our exports. Pursuing these strategies has resulted in, and will continue to result in substantial demands on management resources. In particular, the management of our growth will require, among other things:

If we are not able to manage our growth successfully, our business and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.

We have not yet implemented advanced logistical management techniques, which may hamper our efficiency and growth.

We have not yet implemented digital logistic management solutions and have not applied any advanced management techniques, such as enterprise resource planning or any structured logistical system and procedures, which may result in a loss of efficiency and require investment at a later stage. We have not yet committed to implement such systems and cannot guarantee that we will do so in the near future. To the extent we do not implement such techniques in a timely or efficient manner, we may be at a competitive disadvantage to those of our competitors who do.

Our business may be negatively affected by adverse publicity.

Failure or perceived failure by us to comply with legal, regulatory and compliance requirements could result in adverse publicity. In September 2015, we were subject to significant negative publicity resulting from reports published by a short seller of our shares. This negative publicity resulted in significant volatility in the trading price of our shares. Such adverse publicity could result in reputational harm, lead to increased regulatory supervision, affect our ability to attract and retain customers, affect our ability to attract and retain key personnel, affect our ability to maintain access to the capital markets, or have other material adverse effects on us in ways that are not predictable.

Our business may be negatively affected by low share prices in the stock market.

The trading price of our shares has been in a serious declinedeclined over the past year. WeAnd we encountered an over 70%90% decline in market value since 2016. As of April 2017, the average market capitalization of our company was $32.5 million compared to $118.15 million at the beginning of 2016. Such2015. The continued decline in our sharesshare price could continue to harm investor confidence, affect our ability to retain existing investors, affect our ability to attract potential investors, affect our ability to maintain access to the capital market, or have other material adverse effects on us in ways that are not predictable.

We may be affected by disruptions to our production facilities.

Our production facilities are subject to breakdown or failure of equipment, power supplies or processes, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, obsolescence, labor disputes, natural disasters and the need to comply with relevant regulatory and requirements. From time to time, we may need to carry out planned shutdowns of our production plants for routine maintenance, statutory inspections and testing and may need to shut down various plants for capacity expansions and equipment upgrades. Moreover, our production processes are continuously being modified and updated. As a result of manufacturing process updates and improvements, from time to time, we may experience shutdowns, and disruptions to the operations. The occurrence of any of the above events may cause us to stop or suspend our production operations and we may not be able to deliver the products to our customers on a timely basis, which would have an adverse impact on its business, financial position and profitability.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, it could harm our business and competitive position.

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws and non-disclosure agreements and other methods to protect our intellectual property rights. We own thirteen patents in China covering our bamboo charcoal production technology.

The process of seeking patent protection can be lengthy and expensive, our patent applications may fail to result in patents being issued, and our existing and future patents may be insufficient to provide us with meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Our patents and patent applications may also be challenged, invalidated or circumvented.

We also rely on trade secret rights to protect our business through non-disclosure provisions in employment agreements with employees. If our employees breach their non-disclosure obligations, we may not have adequate remedies in China, and our trade secrets may become known to our competitors.

Implementation of PRC intellectual property-related laws has historically been lacking, primarily because of ambiguities in the PRC laws and enforcement difficulties. Accordingly, intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in China may not be as effective as in the United States or other western countries. Furthermore, policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive, and we may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. Such litigation and an adverse determination in any such litigation, if any, could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention, which could harm our business and competitive position.

We may be exposed to intellectual property infringement and other claims by third parties which, if successful, could disrupt our business and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to use and develop our technology and know-how without infringing third party intellectual property rights. If we sell our branded products internationally, and as litigation becomes more common in China, we face a higher risk of being the subject of claims for intellectual property infringement, invalidity or indemnification relating to other parties’ proprietary rights. Our current or potential competitors, many of which have substantial resources and have made substantial investments in competing technologies, may have or may obtain patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use or sell our branded products in either China or other countries, including the United States and other countries in Asia. The validity and scope of claims relating to patents in our industry involve complex scientific, legal and factual questions and analysis and, as a result, may be highly uncertain. In addition, the defense of intellectual property suits, including patent infringement suits, and related legal and administrative proceedings can be both costly and time consuming and may significantly divert the efforts and resources of our technical and management personnel. Furthermore, an adverse determination in any such litigation or proceedings to which we may become a party could cause us to:

each of which could effectively prevent us from pursuing some or all of our business and result in our customers or potential customers deferring or limiting their purchase or use of our branded products, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent on our brand andtrademark.

We rely on our “Charcoal Doctor” brand in the marketing and distribution of our products. We believe that we have built significant goodwill in our brand in terms of the quality of products and services and it is widely recognized by the industry in the PRC. We consider our “Charcoal Doctor” brand to be vital in promoting product recognition and customer loyalty. Hence, if there are any major defects in our products or adverse publicity on our brand, the goodwill in our brand will be adversely affected and our customers may lose confidence in our products. This will adversely affect our sales of products, hence affecting our business and financial performance.

If we are unable to rent our commercial property, weWe may experience increased expenses.expenses renting our production properties in Shuige Industrial Zone of Lishui.

We have moved into a new facilityrent our production properties to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd on Cen Shan Road in Shuige Industrial Zone of Lishui. We are seekingLishui, subject to rent outa concession of a free leasehold for the property we own on Tianning Street in Lishui, which formerly served as our headquarters. Although we havefirst two years. The rented out partspace accounts for approximately half of our Tianning Street property,total facilities area in Shuige Industrial Zone of Lishui. The rental facilities may cause increased expense of building depreciation without sufficient revenue to cover. Even as buildings’ fair value appreciates in the local area, we have no guarantee that we will be able to rentmay face increased expense during the restinitial few years of this property.the arrangement.

Our charcoal briquette products have relatively low technical requirements; therefore, barriers to entry are minimal.

We expect to face competition for our charcoal briquette products because competitors can create similar products at a relatively low cost because there are minimal barriers of entry. If competitors enter our market to create similar products they may be able to do so for a much lower price. To the extent our customers discriminate based on price, we may find that we lose market share to such producers. Moreover, we may be required to reduce our price in order to maintain or slow loss of market share for such products. As charcoal briquette products make up a substantial percentage of our revenues, even at a lower profit margin, the reduction of sales of such products could hurt our company.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

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

Substantially all of our business operations are conducted in China. Accordingly, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject to economic, political and legal developments in China. Although the Chinese economy is no longer a planned economy, the PRC government continues to exercise significant control over China’s economic growth through direct allocation of resources, monetary and tax policies, and a host of other government policies such as those that encourage or restrict investment in certain industries by foreign investors, control the exchange between RMB and foreign currencies, and regulate the growth of the general or specific market. These government involvements have been instrumental in China’s significant growth in the past 30 years. In response to the recent global and Chinese economic downturn, the PRC government has adopted policy measures aimed at stimulating the economic growth in China. If the PRC government’s current or future policies fail to help the Chinese economy achieve further growth or if any aspect of the PRC government’s policies limits the growth of our industry or otherwise negatively affects our business, our growth rate or strategy, our results of operations could be adversely affected as a result.

Labor laws in the PRC may adversely affect our results of operations.

On June 29, 2007, the PRC government promulgated the Labor Contract Law of the PRC, which became effective on January 1, 2008. The Labor Contract Law imposes greater liabilities on employers and significantly affects the cost of an employer’s decision to reduce its workforce. Further, it requires certain terminations be based upon seniority and not merit. In the event we decide to significantly change or decrease our workforce, the Labor Contract Law could adversely affect our ability to enact such changes in a manner that is most advantageous to our business or in a timely and cost-effective manner, thus materially and adversely affecting our financial condition and results of operations.

Imposition of trade barriers and taxes may reduce our ability to do business internationally, and the resulting loss of revenue could harm our profitability.

We may experience barriers to conducting business and trade in our targeted markets, specifically South Korea, Japan and Russia, where we hope to develop demand for our EDLC carbon, in the form of delayed customs clearances, customs duties and tariffs. In addition, we may be subject to substantial taxes on profits, revenues, assets and payroll, as well as value-added tax. The markets in which we plan to operate may impose onerous and unpredictable duties, tariffs and taxes on our business and products, and there can be no assurance that this will not reduce the level of sales that we achieve in such markets, which would reduce our revenues and profits.

Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “Resident Enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC stockholders.

China passed the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, and it is implementing rules, both of which became effective on January 1, 2008. Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define de facto management as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise.

On April 22, 2009, the State Administration of Taxation of China, or the SAT, issued the Circular Concerning Relevant Issues Regarding Cognizance of Chinese Investment Controlled Enterprises Incorporated Offshore as Resident Enterprises pursuant to Criteria of de facto Management Bodies, or the SAT Notice 82, further interpreting the application of the EIT Law and its implementation to offshore entities controlled by a Chinese enterprise or enterprise group. Pursuant to the SAT Notice 82, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or enterprise group will be classified as a “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise” if (i) its senior management in charge of daily operations reside or perform their duties mainly in China; (ii) its financial or personnel decisions are made or approved by bodies or persons in China; (iii) its substantial assets and properties, accounting books, corporate stamps, board and stockholder minutes are kept in China; and (iv) at least half of its directors with voting rights or senior management often resident in China. After SAT Notice 82, the SAT issued a bulletin, known as SAT Bulletin 45, which took effect on September 1, 2011, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Notice 82 and clarify the reporting and filing obligations of such “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise.” SAT Bulletin 45 provides procedures and administrative details for the determination of resident status and administration on post-determination matters. On January 29, 2014, the SAT issued Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Recognizing Resident Enterprises Based on the Criteria of de facto Management Bodies, to further clarify the reporting and filing procedure for the offshore entities controlled by a Chinese enterprise or enterprise group and recognized as a resident enterprise.

Because THL, USCNHK and USCNHKEuroasia are controlled (although indirectly) by a foreign individual, rather than by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group, we do not believe that eitherany of THL,USCNHK or USCNHKEuroasia is a PRC resident enterprise.

However, although both SAT Notice 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreign individuals, the determining criteria set forth in SAT Notice 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises, PRC enterprise groups or by PRC or foreign individuals. If the PRC tax authorities determine that THL or USCNHK is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. In our case, this would mean that income such as non-China source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Currently, we do not have any non-China source income, as we complete our sales, including export sales, in China. Second, under the EIT Law and its implementing rules, dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would be deemed as “qualified investment income between resident enterprises” and therefore qualify as “tax-exempt income” pursuant to the clause 26 of the EIT Law. Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation in which the dividends we pay with respect to our common stock, or the gain our non-PRC stockholders may realize from the transfer of our common stock, may be treated as PRC-sourced income and may therefore be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax. The EIT Law and its implementing regulations are, however, relatively new and ambiguities exist with respect to the interpretation and identification of PRC-sourced income, and the application and assessment of withholding taxes. If we are required under the EIT Law and its implementing regulations to withhold PRC income tax on dividends payable to our non-PRC stockholders, or if non-PRC stockholders are required to pay PRC income tax on gains on the transfer of their shares of common stock, our business could be negatively impacted and the value of your investment may be materially reduced. Further, if we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both China and such countries in which we have taxable income, and our PRC tax may not be creditable against such other taxes.

We may be subject to a significant withholding tax should equity transfers by our non-resident enterprises be determined to have been done without a reasonable business purpose.

In December 2009, the State Administration of Tax in China issued a circular on strengthening the management of proceeds from equity transfers by non-resident enterprises and requires foreign entities to report indirect sales of resident enterprises. If the existence of the overseas intermediary holding company is disregarded due to lack of reasonable business purpose or substance, gains on such sale are subject to PRC withholding tax. Due to limited guidance and implementation history of the circular, significant judgment is required in determining the existence of a reasonable business purpose by considering multiple factors, such as the form and substance of the arrangement, time of establishment of the foreign entity, relationship between each step of the arrangement, relationship between each component of the arrangement, implementation of the arrangement and the changes in the financial position of all parties involved in the transaction. Although we believe that our transactions during all the periods presented would be determined to have reasonable business purposes, should this not be the case, we would be subject to a significant withholding tax that could materially and adversely impact our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption law.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We are also subject to Chinese anti-corruption laws, which strictly prohibit the payment of bribes to government officials. We have operations, agreements with third parties, and make sales in China, which may experience corruption. Our activities in China create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants or distributors of our company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. We are in process of implementing an anticorruption program, which prohibits the offering or giving of anything of value to foreign officials, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The anticorruption program also requires that clauses mandating compliance with our policy be included in all contracts with foreign sales agents, sales consultants and distributors and that they certify their compliance with our policy annually. It further requires that all hospitality involving promotion of sales to foreign governments and government-owned or controlled entities are in accordance with specified guidelines. In the meantime, we believe to date we have complied in all material respects with the provisions of the FCPA and Chinese anti-corruption law.

However, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants or distributors of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-corruption law may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.

We conduct all of our business through our subsidiaries in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws and regulations applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.

Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB. Under our current corporate structure, our income is primarily derived from dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency denominated obligations. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, approval from appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our security-holders.

We are a holding company and we rely for funding on dividend payments from our subsidiaries, which are subject to restrictions under PRC laws.

We are a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and we operate our core businesses through our subsidiaries in the PRC. Therefore, the availability of funds for us to pay dividends to our shareholders and to service our indebtedness depends upon dividends received from these PRC subsidiaries. If our subsidiaries incur debt or losses, their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us may be impaired. As a result, our ability to pay dividends and to repay our indebtedness will be restricted. PRC laws require that dividends be paid only out of the after-tax profit of our PRC subsidiaries calculated according to PRC accounting principles, which differ in many aspects from generally accepted accounting principles in other jurisdictions. PRC laws also require enterprises established in the PRC to set aside part of their after-tax profits as statutory reserves. These statutory reserves are not available for distribution as cash dividends. In addition, restrictive covenants in bank credit facilities or other agreements that we or our subsidiaries may enter into in the future may also restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. These restrictions on the availability of our funding may impact our ability to pay dividends to our Shareholders and to service our indebtedness.

Our business may be materially and adversely affected if any of our PRC subsidiaries declare bankruptcy or become subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

The Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the PRC, or the Bankruptcy Law, came into effect on June 1, 2007. The Bankruptcy Law provides that an enterprise will be liquidated if the enterprise fails to settle its debts as and when they fall due and if the enterprise’s assets are, or are demonstrably, insufficient to clear such debts.

Our PRC subsidiaries hold certain assets that are important to our business operations. If any of our PRC subsidiaries undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

According to the SAFE’s Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Improving and Adjusting Foreign Exchange Administration Policies for Direct Investment, effective on December 17, 2012, and the Provisions for Administration of Foreign Exchange Relating to Inbound Direct Investment by Foreign Investors, effective May 13, 2013, if any of our PRC subsidiaries undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, prior approval from the SAFE for remittance of foreign exchange to our shareholders abroad is no longer required, but we still need to conduct a registration process with the SAFE local branch. It is not clear whether “registration” is a mere formality or involves the kind of substantive review process undertaken by SAFE and its relevant branches in the past.

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

Changes in the value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar, Euro and other foreign currencies are affected by, among other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on our revenues and financial condition, and the value of, and any dividends payable on our shares in U.S. dollar terms. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount that we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of paying dividends on our common shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. In addition, fluctuations of the RMB against other currencies may increase or decrease the cost of imports and exports, and thus affect the price-competitiveness of our products against products of foreign manufacturers or products relying on foreign inputs.

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

Our trading business relies heavily on exchange rate fluctuations. We seek to match suppliers and potential purchasers, which may be located in different geographic areas, and to lock in the exchange rates in order to ensure an appropriate profit margin on such sales. To the extent we are unable to obtain favorable exchange rates, we may find lower profits or losses than we expect.

We reflect the impact of currency translation adjustments in our financial statements under the heading “accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).” For years ended December 31, 20162018, 2017 and 2015,2016, we had adjustments of ($5,422,222)$(949,689), $4,341,324 and ($3,977,179)5,448,209), respectively, for foreign currency translations. Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.

If we become directly subject to the recent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter which could harm our business operations and our reputation and could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.

Recently,In recent years, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S. listed Chinese companies has sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our company and our business. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend the Company. This situation may be a major distraction to our management. If such allegations are not proven to be groundless, our company and business operations will be severely hampered and your investment in our stock could be rendered worthless.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders to penalties and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiary, limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.

On October 21, 2005, the SAFE issued the Notice on Issues Relating to the Administration of Foreign Exchange in Fund-raising and Return Investment Activities of Domestic Residents Conducted via Offshore Special Purpose Companies, or Notice 75, which became effective as of November 1, 2005. According to Notice 75, prior registration with the local SAFE branch is required for PRC residents to establish or to control an offshore company for the purposes of financing such offshore company with assets or equity interests in an onshore enterprise located in the PRC, or an offshore special purpose company. An amendment to registration or filing with the local SAFE branch by such PRC resident is also required for the injection of equity interests or assets of an onshore enterprise in the offshore special purpose company or overseas funds raised by such offshore company, or any other material change involving a change in the capital of the offshore special purpose company. Moreover, Notice 75 applies retroactively. As a result, PRC residents who have established or acquired control of offshore special purpose companies that have made onshore investments in the PRC in the past are required to have completed the relevant registration procedures with the local SAFE branch by March 31, 2006.

To further clarify the implementation of Circular 75, the SAFE issued Circular 19 on May 20, 2011. Under Circular 19, PRC subsidiaries of an offshore special purpose company are required to coordinate and supervise the filing of SAFE registrations by the offshore holding company’s shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents in a timely manner. However, on May 11, 2013, Circular 19 was annulled by Circular 21, issued by the SAFE. Circular 21 has not yet given clear guidance as to how to complete the relevant registration procedures with the local SAFE branch.

While Ms. Yefang Zhang, a citizen of the Philippines, is not required to register with the SAFE, it is not clear, especially with the annulment of Circular 19 and the absence of replacement guidance, whether Mr. Zhengyu Wang, a PRC resident who presently owns no shares of our company needs to register with the SAFE. In the event Mr. Zhengyu Wang receives any shares in the future and is a PRC resident at such time, he would be required to register with the SAFE. We cannot provide any assurances that such registration will be completed in a timely manner, or at all. As advised by our PRC legal counsel, if any future failure by any of our shareholders who are PRC residents, to comply with relevant requirements under this regulation could subject such shareholders and/or our PRC subsidiaries to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries or to provide loans to our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to our company, or otherwise adversely affect our business.

PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds from the offerings of any securities to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries.

As an offshore holding company, our ability to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries is subject to PRC regulations and approvals. These regulations and approvals may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds we received in the past or will receive in the future from the offerings of securities to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries, and impair our ability to fund and expand our business which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and result of operations.

For example, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues concerning Administration Improvement of Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign Invested Enterprises, or Circular 142, on August 29, 2008. Under Circular 142, registered capital of a foreign invested company settled in RMB converted from foreign currencies may only be used within the business scope approved by the applicable governmental authority and may not be used for equity investments in the PRC. In addition, foreign invested companies may not change how they use such capital without the SAFE’s approval, and may not in any case use such capital to repay RMB loans if they have not used the proceeds of such loans. Furthermore, the SAFE promulgated a circular on November 9, 2010, or Circular 59, which requires the authenticity of settlement of net proceeds from offshore offerings to be closely examined and the net proceeds to be settled in the manner described in the offering documents. In addition, to strengthen Circular 142, on November 9, 2011, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Further Clarifying and Regulating Relevant Issues Concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange under Capital Account, or Circular 45, which prohibits a foreign invested company from converting its registered capital in foreign exchange currency into RMB for the purpose of making domestic equity investments, granting entrusted loans, repaying intercompany loans, and repaying bank loans that have been transferred to a third party. Circular 142, Circular 59 and Circular 45 may significantly limit our ability to transfer the net proceeds from offerings of our securities or any future offering to our PRC subsidiaries and convert the net proceeds into RMB, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Operation

We incur additional costs as a public company, which could negatively impact our net income and liquidity.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley and rules and regulations implemented by the SEC and The NASDAQ Capital Market require significantly heightened corporate governance practices for public companies. We expect that these rules and regulations to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and make many corporate activities more time-consuming and costly.

We do not expect to incur materially greater costs as a public company than those incurred by similarly sized U.S. public companies. If we fail to comply with these rules and regulations, we could become the subject of a governmental enforcement action, investors may lose confidence in us and the market price of our common shares could decline.

We have guaranteed the bank loan and renewable bank acceptance notes of a related party; if this related party fails to pay the bank loan or bank acceptance notes, our property may be subject to foreclosure.

We have guaranteed the bank loanIn July 2017, we provided a guaranty on a line of credit on behalf of a related party, Forasen Group in the amount of RMB19.35 million on June 25, 2012 and RMB20 million on April 15, 2014. The RMB19.35 million loan was repaid in 2014 and the RMB20 million loan was repaid in June 2015. We also guaranteedCo., Ltd. (“Forasen Group”). Forasen Group’s renewable bank acceptance notesoutstanding line of RMB35.1credit of RMB 57.07 million (approximately $5.4$8.8 million) on April 8, 2014. The guaranty on the renewable bank acceptance notes will expire in April 2017. We are currently negotiating with the bank to extend guaranty in a reasonable period.on July 23, 2020.

In connection with these guarantees, we pledged our building valuedwith carrying value at approximately $4.0$6.4 million as collateral for Forasen Group's loans and renewable acceptance notes.

At the time we offered these guarantees, we believed Forasen Group would be able to repay (and would in fact repay) such loans and bank acceptance notes based on the following factors:

Entities controlled by our employees, officers and/or directors will control a majoritysignificant percentage of our common shares, decreasing your influence on shareholder decisions.

Entities controlled by our employees, officers and/or directors, in the aggregate, beneficially own approximately 53.26%45.39% of our outstanding shares.shares as of April 30, 2019. As a result, our employees, officers and directors possess substantial ability to impact our management and affairs and the outcome of matters submitted to shareholders for approval. These shareholders, acting individually or as a group, could exert control and substantial influence over matters such as electing directors and approving mergers or other business combination transactions. This concentration of ownership and voting power may also discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our common shares. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders. See “Share Ownership.”

As a “controlled company” under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market, we may exempt our company from certain corporate governance requirements that could adversely affect our public shareholders.

Our principal shareholder beneficially owns a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common shares. Under the Rule 4350(c) of the NASDAQ Capital Market, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of our directors be independent, as defined in the NASDAQ Capital Market rules, and the requirement that our compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees consist entirely of independent directors. Although we do not intend to rely on the “controlled company” exemption under the NASDAQ Capital Market rules, we could elect to rely on this exemption in the future. If we elected to rely on the “controlled company” exemption, a majority of the members of our board of directors might not be independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees might not consist entirely of independent directors. Accordingly, while we remain a controlled company relying on the exemption and during any transition period following a time when we are no longer a controlled company, you would not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ Capital Market corporate governance requirements.

The obligation to disclose information publicly may put us at a disadvantage to competitors that are private companies.

As a publicly listed company, we are required to file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission upon the occurrence of matters that are material to our company and shareholders. In some cases, we need to disclose material agreements or results of financial operations that we would not be required to disclose if we were a private company. Our competitors may have access to this information, which would otherwise be confidential. This may give them advantages in competing with our company. Similarly, as a U.S.-listed public company, we are governed by U.S. laws that our competitors, which are mostly private Chinese companies, are not required to follow. To the extent compliance with U.S. laws increases our expenses or decreases our competitiveness against such companies, our public listing could affect our results of operations.

We are a “foreign private issuer,” and our disclosure obligations differ from those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a result, we may not provide you the same information as U.S. domestic reporting companies or we may provide information at different times, which may make it more difficult for you to evaluate our performance and prospects.

We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to the same requirements as U.S. domestic issuers. Under the Exchange Act, we are subject to reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. For example, we are not required to issue quarterly reports or proxy statements. We are not required to disclose detailed individual executive compensation information. Furthermore, our directors and executive officers are not required to report equity holdings under Section 16 of the Exchange Act and are not subject to the insider short-swing profit disclosure and recovery regime.

As a foreign private issuer, we will also be exempt from the requirements of Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) which, generally, are meant to ensure that select groups of investors are not privy to specific information about an issuer before other investors. However, we will still be subject to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules of the SEC, such as Rule 10b-5 under the Exchange Act. Since many of the disclosure obligations imposed on us as a foreign private issuer differ from those imposed on U.S. domestic reporting companies, you should not expect to receive the same information about us and at the same time as the information provided by U.S. domestic reporting companies.

Our directors’ and executive officers’ other business activities may pose conflicts of interest.

Our directors and executive officers have other business interests outside the company that could potentially give rise to conflicts of interest. For example, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Zhengyu Wang, and his wife and our director, Yefang Zhang, collectively own all of Zhejiang Forasen Group Co., Ltd. (“Forasen Group”).Group. The Forasen Group’s primary business areas are investment, rubber trading, foodstuff production, and financial management. We also have historically engaged in rubber trading. Although we have significantly reduced our trading in rubber at Tantech to immaterial levels, both businesses were for a time trading similar products. Mr. Wang and Ms. Zhang work with the Forasen Group’s rubber trading department and other advisors to locate opportunities that meet the Forasen Group’s investment criteria. As Tantech has significantly reduced its rubber trading activities, they anticipate that any rubber trading opportunities would be presented to and considered by the Forasen Group rather than by Tantech.

Although his business working time at Forasen GroupYefang Zhang is flexible,also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Farmmi, Inc. (“Farmmi”), another Nasdaq listed company, and Zhengyu Wang is a director of Farmmi. Mr. Wang has historically devoted approximately 30%15% of his time to matters concerning Forasen Group andFarmmi, approximately 70% of his time to matters for Tantech. Ms. Zhang has historically devotedTantech, and approximately 95%15% of herhis time to matters concerning Forasen GroupGroup. As Ms. Zhang and approximately 5% of her time to matters for Tantech. As Mr. Wang and Ms. Zhang devote considerable time and effortefforts to Farmmi and Forasen Group, these sort of business activities could both distract them from focusing on Tantech and pose an issue of time commitment.

Mr. Wang and Ms. Zhang signed a Non-Competition Agreement with our company and Farmmi which provides that Mr. Wang and Ms. Zhang shall not vote in favor or otherwise cause our Company to engage in the business that Farmmi conducts. Although, because of these non-competition agreements, we do not believe that there are business activities of Mr. Wang and Ms. Zhang that will compete directly with our business operations, it is possible that the enforceability of these agreements may be challenged and a conflict of interest to the extent their activities at Forasen Group compete with our company in the future. Although Mr. Wang has entered into a non-competition agreement with Tantech, this non-competition agreement contemplates that Mr. Wang will continue to be employed by Forasen Group and that his efforts on behalf of Forasen Group will be permitted. Ms. Zhang does not have a non-competition agreement with Tantech.may occur.

In addition, Forasen Group currently occupies approximately 500 square meters of our Tianning Street facility. We have not historically charged Forasen Group for renting this office space, but plan to do so in the near future. Although we believe we engage in sound corporate governance practices, there remains the risk that our company may be negatively affected by our directors’ or executive officers’ conflicts of interest.

An insufficient amount of insurance could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

While we have purchased insurance to cover our certain assets and property of our business, the amounts and scope of coverage could leave our business inadequately protected from loss. If we were to incur substantial losses or liabilities due to fire, explosions, floods, other natural disasters or accidents or business interruption, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Shares

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although we could lose that status sooner if our revenues exceed $1reach $1.07 billion, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three year period, or if the market value of our common shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our stock price may be more volatile.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail our company of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, are subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

If we arecontinue to be unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common shares may decline.

As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal control. In addition, beginning with this annual report on Form 20-F, we are required to furnish a report by management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We are in the process of designing, implementing, and testing the internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this obligation, which process is time consuming, costly, and complicated. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm are required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our annual report on Form 20-F following the date on which we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” which may be up to five full years following the date of our initial public offering. If we continue to identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, if we are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting when required, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common shares could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the securities exchange on which we list, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Despite recent reforms made possible by the JOBS Act, compliance with these rules and regulations will nonetheless increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and operating results.

As a result of disclosure of information in this annual report and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business, brand and reputation and results of operations.

We also expect that being a public company and these rules and regulations make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

The market price of our common shares may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid.

The trading prices for our common shares have fluctuated since we first listed our common shares. Since our common shares became listed on the NASDAQ on March 24, 2015, the trading price of our common shares has ranged from US$1.00$1.10 to US$33.97$33.97 per common share, and the last reported trading price on April 25, 2017May 10, 2019 was $1.38$1.50 per common share. The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, stockholders have filed securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, and adversely affect our business.

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

We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our common shares if the market price of our common shares increases.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. For example, we must now engage U.S. securities law counsel and U.S. auditors that we did not require as a private company, and we have annual payments for listing on NASDAQ. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as new rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ, have required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. We expect these new rules and regulations to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and to make certain corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. In addition, we incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. While it is impossible to determine the amounts of such expenses, we expect that we incur expenses of between $500,000 and $1 million per year that we did not experience as a private company.

Our classified board structure may prevent a change in our control.

Our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors. The current terms of the directors expire in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Directors of each class are chosen for three-year terms upon the expiration of their current terms, and each year the shareholders elect one class of directors. The staggered terms of our directors may reduce the possibility of a tender offer or an attempt at a change in control, even though a tender offer or change in control might be in the best interest of our shareholders. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees — Board of Directors and Board Committees.”

U.S. tax authorities could treat us as a “passive foreign investment company,” which could have adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. shareholders.

A non-U.S. entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be treated as a “passive foreign investment company,” or a PFIC, for any taxable year for which either (i) at least 75% of its gross income consists of certain types of “passive income” or (ii) at least 50% of the average value of the corporation’s assets produce, or are held for the production of, those types of passive income. For purposes of these tests, passive income includes rents and royalties (other than rents and royalties that are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business) and does not include income derived from the performance of services.

If we are treated as a PFIC, U.S. Holders would ordinarily be able to mitigate certain of the negative tax consequences if they are able to make: (i) a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election; (ii) a protective QEF election; or (iii) a mark to market election with respect to the first taxable year in which we are considered a PFIC during the U.S. Holder’s holding period in its shares.

We are not committing to provide our U.S. Holders with the information required for making a QEF election or protective QEF election. If we fail to provide such information, a QEF election with respect to such entity generally will not be available. In such event, the rules described in the next paragraph generally will apply.

If we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder that does not make a QEF election generally will be subject to a special tax and an interest charge upon the sale of its shares or receipt of an “excess distribution” with respect to its shares. A U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving an “excess distribution” if the amount of the distributions received by the U.S. Holder in any taxable year is more than 125% of the average annual distributions paid by the Company with respect to its shares during the three preceding taxable years (or the period in which the U.S. Holder held such shares if shorter).

In addition, a portion of any gain recognized by a U.S. Holder upon the sale of our shares may be recharacterized as ordinary income. Further, any dividends received from the Company, if the Company is treated as a PFIC, will not constitute qualified dividend income and will not be eligible for the reduced 20% rate of tax even if such rate would be available otherwise. If a U.S. Holder holds our shares during any taxable year in which we are treated as PFICs, such shares will generally be treated as stock in a PFIC for all subsequent years.

We are subject to liability risks stemming from our foreign status, which could make it more difficult for investors to sue or enforce judgments against our company.

Our operations and assets are located in the PRC. In addition, most of our executive officers and directors are non-residents of the U.S., and substantially all the assets of such persons are located outside the U.S. As a result, it could be difficult for investors to effect service of process in the U.S., or to enforce a judgment obtained in the U.S. against us or any of these persons.

In addition, British Virgin Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States. The circumstances in which any such action may be brought, and the procedures and defenses that may be available in respect to any such action, may result in the rights of shareholders of a British Virgin Islands company being more limited than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United States. Accordingly, shareholders may have fewer alternatives available to them if they believe that corporate wrongdoing has occurred. The British Virgin Islands courts are also unlikely to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts in the United States based on certain liability provisions of U.S. securities law; and to impose liabilities against us, in original actions brought in the British Virgin Islands, based on certain liability provisions of U.S. securities laws that are penal in nature. There is no statutory recognition in the British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the British Virgin Islands will generally recognize and enforce the non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits. This means that even if shareholders were to sue us successfully, they may not be able to recover anything to make up for the losses suffered.

Lastly, under the law of the British Virgin Islands, there is little statutory law for the protection of minority shareholders other than the provisions of the BVI Act dealing with shareholder remedies. The principal protection under statutory law is that shareholders may bring an action to enforce the constituent documents of the corporation, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Shareholders are entitled to have the affairs of the company conducted in accordance with the general law and the articles and memorandum.

There are common law rights for the protection of shareholders that may be invoked, largely dependent on English company law, since the common law of the British Virgin Islands for business companies is limited. Under the general rule pursuant to English company law known as the rule inFoss v. Harbottle, a court will generally refuse to interfere with the management of a company at the insistence of a minority of its shareholders who express dissatisfaction with the conduct of the company’s affairs by the majority or the board of directors. However, every shareholder is entitled to have the affairs of the company conducted properly according to law and the constituent documents of the corporation. As such, if those who control the company have persistently disregarded the requirements of company law or the provisions of the company’s memorandum and articles of association, then the courts will grant relief. Generally, the areas in which the courts will intervene are the following: (1) an act complained of which is outside the scope of the authorized business or is illegal or not capable of ratification by the majority; (2) acts that constitute fraud on the minority where the wrongdoers control the company; (3) acts that infringe on the personal rights of the shareholders, such as the right to vote; and (4) where the company has not complied with provisions requiring approval of a special or extraordinary majority of shareholders, which are more limited than the rights afforded minority shareholders under the laws of many states in the United States.

Tantech Bamboo was established in October 2002 under the trading name “Lishui Zhonglin High Tech Co., Ltd.” by its incumbent owner. Following the establishment of the Forasen Green Energy Group, later renamed Forasen Group Ltd. (“Forasen Group”), in May 2003, 60% of THL’s shares were acquired by the Forasen Group. A second subsidiary, Tantech Charcoal, was acquired in September 2006 to manage the Forasen Group’s export business. In September 2008 a third subsidiary, Tantech Energy, was established to research and develop bamboo charcoals application as a carbon component for EDLCs. On December 14, 2017, the Company entered into a sale agreement and related agreements to transfer its EDLC carbon business (including intellectual property rights and equipment) to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd. (the “Buyer”), a PRC start-up company controlled by Dr. Zaihua Chen, the Company’s then Chief Technology Officer. Following the renaming of the Forasen Group to its current name, 95% of Tantech Bamboo’s shares were acquired by USCNHK, a Hong Kong registered company, in December 2010. In May and December 2016, Tantech Holdings (Lishui) Co., Ltd., formerly Zhejiang Tantech Bamboo Technology Co.,Ltd., a USCNHK’s wholly owned subsidiary, acquired 100% of Tantech Bamboo’s shares from USCNHK and five individuals.

Historical Timeline

Below is a brief timeline of key dates in our Company’s history since its formation.

We develop and manufacture bamboo-based charcoal products for industrial energy applications and household cooking, heating, purification, agricultural and cleaning uses. We have grown over the past decade to become a pioneer in charcoal products industry made from carbonized bamboo. We are a highly specialized high-tech enterprise producing, researching and developing bamboo charcoal based products with an established domestic and international sales and distribution network. In 2017, we acquired a controlling equity interest in Suzhou E-Motors, which became known as Shangchi Automobile in 2019, and we intend to continue to grow our business to include the manufacture and sale of electric vehicles.

We provide our charcoal products in the following areas:

We oversee a national sales network that has a presence in 17 cities throughout China. We sell approximately 90% of our products in China, and the remaining 10% of products are sold internationally. We sell products in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Middle East and Europe.

In addition to our bamboo charcoal products, we also derive revenues from our trading activities, which primarily relate to industrial purchases and sales of charcoal.

We are headquartered in the bamboo rich southwest of Zhejiang Province, in the city of Lishui. Zhejiang province, located in southeastern coastal China, is China’s tenth largest province in population, with 54.5 million residents, and eighth in terms of population density. The first province in China without any counties in the poverty-county list of the central government, Zhejiang has become one of the wealthiest and most commercial provinces in China. Its province-wide GDP of approximately RMB4.6RMB 5.6 trillion in 20162018 places it as the fourth highest in China in absolute amount.

Lishui is a prefecture-level city located in southwest Zhejiang province. Approximately 2.52.7 million residents live in the city, and city-wide GDP is approximately RMB50.6RMB 139.5 billion. Lishui’s primary industries include wood and bamboo production, ore smelting, textile, clothes making, construction materials, pharmaceutical chemistry, electronic machinery and food processing. As to wood and bamboo production, approximately 69% of Lishui prefecture is covered with forest, giving it the nickname “The Foliage Ocean of Zhejiang.”

Zhejiang Province		City of Lishui

We have relocated all of our production, research and development (“R&D”) and management facilities a newly built production facility in the Shuige Industrial Zone, 20 kilometers from downtown Lishui. The facility covers a land area of37,248of 37,248 square meters (9.7 acres) and includes two dormitories, a large office and R&D building, two buildings housing Charcoal Doctor production and storage facilities, a five story building for charcoal briquette production, four buildings housing a complete EDLC carbon production line and one inventory warehouse for EDLC carbon raw materials. Facilities boast an array of sophisticated and automated production machinery and a water treatment plant. Gross floor area stands at 51,419 square meters (12.7 acres). In December 2017, we discontinued our EDLC business and rent our EDLC production facilities to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd.

We rely on a combination of patent, trademark and trade secret laws and non-disclosure agreements and other methods to protect our intellectual property rights. We currently own fifteensix patents in China covering our bamboo charcoal production and EDLC technology.production.

DuringFor the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, and 2015, our three largestmajor suppliers accounted for approximately 74%60%, three major suppliers accounted for approximately 61%, and 61%four major suppliers accounted for approximately 88% of ourthe Company’s total purchases, respectively. Because we purchase a material amount of our raw materials from these suppliers, the loss of any such suppliers could result in increased expenses for our company and result in adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Bamboo and Bamboo Charcoal

As a company primarily focused on bamboo charcoal, our business is in a sub-part of China’s bamboo industry. Government policies that encourage the use of bamboo also benefit the bamboo charcoal industry. Accordingly, we provide a brief overview of bamboo and those elements of China’s bamboo industry, insofar as they have an effect on the bamboo charcoal industry in general and our company in particular.

Bamboo

Bamboo plants are some of the fastest growing plants in the world, with some varieties growing more than three feet per day. Moreover, Bamboo can be re-grown quickly following harvesting, ensuring high frequency utilization without shortages. Unlike trees, individual bamboo culms emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height in a single growing season of three to four months. Over the next 2–5 years, fungus begins to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrates and overcomes the culm. Eventually the fungal growths cause the culm to collapse and decay. As a result, bamboo culms generally have life cycles of up to ten years, at which point they must be cut down in order to preserve the environment of the surrounding forest. Optimal quality bamboo culms for carbonization are cut at five years of age. Additional bamboo can be grown in the same area where previous culms grew.

Bamboo is considered environmentally friendly because it takes in substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen as it grows. Indeed, bamboo sequesters more carbon dioxide than an equivalent region of plantation trees. Moreover, harvesting of bamboo is considered more environmentally friendly than allowing it to live through the full life cycle, as such harvesting maximizes the amount of carbon dioxide the bamboo can sequester because of the effects of fungus noted above.

A 2013 report notes that the ChineseThe total value of China's bamboo industry’s output value reached $19.5industry was approximately $30 billion. It employs 7.75 million people and has become a pillar industry of development of economic society of China’s bamboo main producing area and major income source of peasants’ families. Given bamboo’s importance in China, we believe that favorable government policies and regulations encouraging the advancement of bamboo technology in China generally will create an environment favorable to our increased production of bamboo-based charcoal products. The Chinese government is also working to develop its bamboo industry to meet its goals in environmental protection and green economic development, as planting bamboo is both profitable and environmentally-friendly, according to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (“INBAR”). Moreover, given the central government’s goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 compared to 2005, we expect the bamboo technology industry to continue to be important to the country’s long-term planning.

China now produces approximately 80% of the world’s bamboo and consumes approximately 60% of that production. According to statistics from INBAR, China has more than 6 million hectares for bamboo production and over 500 bamboo species. In 2012, for example, the domestic industry was worth $19.5 billion and employed more than 7.75 million people.

During a period of rampant deforestation, China put in place restrictions on harvesting of natural wood and encouraged the country to make more use of bamboo. Under the National Forest Protection Program (“NFPP”), China implemented natural forest logging bans that covered 17 provinces in China. These bands required consumers of charcoal to look to other sources for creation of charcoal than the natural trees they were most familiar with using. During this time, bamboo charcoal became a viable alternative in the country.

Bamboo has many desirable characteristics compared to timber based products:

The physical and environmental properties of bamboo make it an exceptional economic resource for a wide range of uses. It grows quickly and can be harvested annually without depletion of the parent plant and without causing harvesting damage or deterioration in soil quality; in addition bamboo is very versatile and has many uses in the construction, culinary, furniture, pulp, pharmaceutical, and textiles industries. New uses for bamboo are being developed as we understand its biological, chemical and physical characteristics.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization the bamboo industry affects the lives of about 1.5 billion people around the world. About 2.5 billion people in the world depend economically on bamboo, and the international trade in bamboo amounts to between $5 and $10 billion. TheAccording to the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), the growth of the global bamboo market iswas expected to reach up to USD 15 – 20 Billion/$15-20 billion/year in 2017.2018.

There are about 39 genera of bamboo and more than 590 species in China with 5.38 million hectares of pure bamboo forest, which accounts for 25% of the bamboo area in the world. With 5.38 million hectares of bamboo plantations and an annual increase of 100,000 hectares, China is leading the world’s bamboo industry in its number of varieties, amount of bamboo reserves, as well as production output, said Zehui Jiang, co-chair of INBAR’s board of trustees.

Zhejiang province is situated on the shore of the East China Sea and has about thirty genera and four hundred varieties of bamboo. Bamboo products made there are sold all around the world, with an annual output of RMB 28 billion Yuan ($4.5 billion) in 2010. Zhejiang province has almost one fifth of the whole bamboo forest area in China. Moreover, approximately 69% of Lishui prefecture is covered with forest, giving it the nickname “The Foliage Ocean of Zhejiang.”

Bamboo Charcoal

Bamboo charcoal has been documented in China as early as 1486 AD during the Ming Dynasty in China. Bamboo charcoal has traditionally been used as a heating source, in replacement of wood, coal or wood charcoal. As a source of heat, bamboo charcoal has a calorific value approximately half that of an equivalent weight of oil, and similar to the calorific value of wood. In addition to being an efficient source of heat, bamboo charcoal is considered less polluting than wood charcoal, because it burns more cleanly due to a lower percentage of volatile matter. Smoke and pollution in charcoal burning relate largely to moisture content and volatile matter. While careful processing can control the moisture content, the ratio of volatile matter is affected by the source of charcoal. Traditional wood charcoals may range between 5 – 40% volatile matter free of moisture, depending on the type of wood and the temperature at which it is carbonized. Bamboo heating charcoal tends to be between 13 – 17% volatile matter free of moisture.

Because of the relatively higher pollution levels in wood charcoal, it is estimated that the burning of wood fuel claims the lives of an estimated 2 million people every year who inhale the smoke. Moreover, it takes between seven and ten tons of wood to produce one ton of wood charcoal, compared with four tons of bamboo to produce one ton of bamboo charcoal.

In addition to use as a heating source, bamboo charcoal has applications as an adsorbent, deodorizer, dehumidifier, purifier and electrical conductor. Nonactivated bamboo charcoal is a versatile mineral matter with great porosity and consequently high absorption ability. Bamboo charcoal’s porous surface area makes it an ideal air and water purifying agent, odor absorbent, additive, dehumidifier and electromagnetic wave absorber (electromagnetic waves from computers, mobile telephones and other electronics can be conducted through bamboo charcoal to dissipate their energy in the charcoal pores). While wood charcoal’s surface area may be as low as 20 m² /g, bamboo charcoal generally ranges from 200 – 600200-600 m² /g, and our company’s EDLC carbon has achieved 2,200 m² /g.

While bamboo charcoal has a high absorptive capacity after carbonization, it becomes even more effective after activation. Activated bamboo carbon is bamboo charcoal that has been taken through an extra step greatly increasing its absorptive abilities. Activated bamboo charcoal can be used for cleaning the environment, absorbing excess moisture and producing medicines.

The carbonization process occurs in the absence of oxygen and produces a brown-black liquid containing more than 200 organic compounds known as bamboo vinegar, or pyroligneous acid. Following sedimentation two distinct layers appear: a light yellow-brown liquid (clarified bamboo vinegar) which can be refined to produce acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, carbinol and organic solvents, and a viscid oily liquid (bamboo tar) containing large amounts of phenol substances. Bamboo vinegar is found in sanitary and health products as well as a range of horticultural fertilizers and organic solutions.

EDLC Carbon

Bamboo charcoal is beginningOn December 14, 2017, the Company entered into a sale agreement and related agreements (the “Agreements”) to be used for applications in hi-tech industries. Duetransfer its EDLC carbon business (including intellectual property rights and equipment) to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd. (the “Buyer”), a PRC start-up company controlled by Dr. Zaihua Chen, our former CTO. After the range of possible uses, there are a variety of essential qualities of bamboo charcoal required among various hi-tech industries. Bamboo charcoal is used in related research and to develop items such as baseboard material for supercapacitor research, high-capacity battery manufacturing, fiber synthesis mixed with bamboo charcoal in textiles, special coatings manufacture, enzyme fixing in biochemical technology, porous carbon materials manufacturing, nano-carbon tube research in biomedical sciences.

Supercapacitors refer to high capacitance electrochemical batteries or capacitors. These devices can store more energy (energy density) than a traditional capacitor (but less than a battery) and more power (power density) than a battery bringing significant benefits to both “peak-assist” and “power-assist” applications. Somecompletion of the advantagestransactions, the Company is expected to focus its core business on the development of supercapacitors include:

While existing supercapacitors have energy densities that are approximately 10%electric vehicle products and traditional charcoal products. Tantech’s Board of Directors approved the terms of the sale based on a conventional battery, their power density is generally 10 to 100 times greater. As a result, supercapacitors are used in applications that require significant amounts of power, both in quick bursts and also for sustained periods.

Compared to traditional batteries, EDLCs can be charged and discharged many hundreds of thousands of times without any degradation or damage. This is due to the absence of chemical reactions. Additionally, EDLCs have much shorter charge/discharge times and can operate in a much wider temperature range. These qualities are made possiblevaluation report obtained by the absorption/desorption processesparties and with knowledge that govern EDLCsDr. Chen was the Company’s CTO during the transaction. However, as opposed to chemical reactions. EDLCs are constructed from a number of components, namely electrodes, electrolytes, separators, collection fluid, lead and packaging materials. The electrode, electrolyte and membrane composition are critical in the performance and quality and will influence the basic propertiespart of the final product.

Electrode charcoal is a porous and amorphous carbon material. This special charcoal has a very highly developed and complex pore structure and a large surface area making it an ideal electrode fuel cell material for EDLCs.transactions, Dr. Chen resigned from the Company’s CTO position on December 31, 2017.

The main usesdecision of supercapacitors include:the Company to divest its EDLC carbon business was made based on business considerations, including the fact that (1) the company’s EDLC carbon business had been dependent on a very limited number of customers, (2) capital constraints on additional substantial investment on developing EDLC Carbon products, (3) a challenging market condition and unfavorable political climate and (4) the Company’s future transition focus of its traditional charcoal business to electric vehicle business.

Pursuant to the Agreements, Tantech sold to the Buyer all of its intellectual property rights related to EDLC carbon and the equipment for R&D and production. The Buyer paid Tantech a total purchase price of RMB 16 million. The payment will be made over 10 years. Other key terms include the following: (a) the first payment of 28% of the total purchase price, or RMB 4.48 million, was made in 2017, consisting of RMB 3.2 million in cash advancement and RMB 1.28 million as payment for Tantech’s EDLC carbon related IP rights; (b) the remaining balance of the purchase price will be paid evenly over the following nine years; (c) the second payment of RMB 1.28 million of the purchase price and cash interests on the remaining cash receivable was made in 2018; and (d) Tantech will lease its office space, including offices and EDLC carbon R&D and production facilities, to the Buyer, subject to a concession of a free leasehold for the first two years.

More than 50 domestic manufacturers are engaged in research and development of large and super capacity capacitors. However, only approximately 10 manufacturers are capable of mass production and have reach the utilization level. We believe the supercapacitors for vehicle use developed by Shanghai Aowei Technology Co., Ltd. are leading the industry in terms of technology. Through comparison with products made by foreign manufacturers, the electrical performance and physical performance of Aowei are equivalent to similar products made by foreign companies.Electric Vehicles

Bamboo Charcoal Production ProcessPursuant to the Purchase Agreement executed on May 2, 2016, Supplemental Agreement I signed on December 22, 2016 and Supplemental Agreement II signed on July 12, 2017, the Company acquired a 70% equity interest of Shangchi Automobile, formerly Suzhou Yimao E-Motors Co., Ltd (“Shangchi Automobile”). The 70% equity interest include a 19% equity interest owned directly by Hangzhou Jixi Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Jixi”) and a 51% equity interest owned through a series of contractual agreement with the owners of Hanzhou Wangbo Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Wangbo”). Jixi is 100% owned by Shanghai Jiamu Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Jiamu”), which is, in turn, wholly owned by Euroasia International Capital (“Euroasia”), a 100% owned subsidiary of the Company. These agreements include a Technical Consultation and Services Agreement, a Business Cooperation Agreement, an Equity Pledge Agreement, a Share Disposal Agreement and a Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (collectively “VIE Agreements”). Pursuant to the above VIE Agreements, Jiamu has the exclusive right to provide Wangbo consulting services related to business operations including technical and management consulting services. All the above contractual agreements obligate Jiamu to absorb a majority of the risk of loss from Wangbo’s activities and entitle Jiamu to receive a majority of their residual returns. In essence, Jiamu has gained effective control over Wangbo. Therefore, the Company believes that Wangbo should be considered as a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”).

Suzhou E-Motors was established in April 2011. It changed its name to Shangchi Automobile in January 2019. It develops, manufactures, and sells specialty electric vehicles. The processcompany also offers solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, auto parts, and electric control systems in China. Its manufacturing facility, located in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province is 15,000 square meters. Shangchi Automobile has been approved by Ministry of making bamboo charcoal consistsIndustry and Information Technology of the following steps, which we and/or our suppliers perform,People's Republic China (MIIT) as indicated:

Our suppliers select bamboo culms that are between 5qualified to manufacture electric vehicles. It is also entitled to both central and 8 years old, which we consider the optimal range for our needs. They then prepare the raw bamboo for pyrolysis, heating organic material in the absencelocal government subsidies with any approved EV models. As of oxygen to cause them to decompose. The absence of oxygen causes bamboo to convert into charcoal rather than to catch on fire. At this stage, our suppliers shape the bamboo culm into the appropriate shape, depending upon the ultimate use of the charcoal product. Because the density, cavity structure and tissue composition of bamboo culms differ from top to bottom, and based on the age, soil and climate conditions in which the bamboo is grown, it is common to divide bamboo accordingly. The cut bamboo is typically air or smoke dried until moisture content is between 15 to 20%.

The carbonization process consists of first loading the mechanical furnace with the prepared bamboo. Bamboo is then dried, to the extent it is not already dry,April 17, 2018, Shangchi Automobile has ten EV models approved by heating at 120 to 150°C until the desired moisture content is reached. Pre-carbonization (150 – 280°C) then follows, paying attention to keep the temperature below the autoignition point of bamboo. The carbonization phase (280 – 450°C) is brief and exceeds the flash point of bamboo, releasing heat in an exothermic reaction. As the bamboo carbonizes, bamboo vinegar and tar pyrolyze and flow out of the bamboo. The specific amount of bamboo vinegar that recovered depends on carefully coordinating the temperature and rate of temperature increase.MIIT.

Next, high-temperature refining occurs between 600Shangchi Automobile has to date developed a full range of electric buses and 1,100°C. During this stage, volatile matter discharges due toa variety of specialty vehicles. It has developed more than ten models of electric buses, electric logistics cars, and specialty vehicles, such as high-speed brushless cleaning cars, electric cleaning cars, special emergency vehicles, and funeral cars. The sale region for current products is mainly within Jiangsu Province where the high temperature, and the fixed carbon contentShangchi Automobile locates. In 2016, we sold 103 tourist buses, all in the charcoal increases as a result. The characteristicsJiangsu Province. In 2017, we sold 100 various types of vehicles, where 10 types of vehicles directly sold to Northern China, and over 90 types of vehicles were used in Northern China. In 2018, we sold 110 logistic vehicles to Southern China. Below are examples of the bamboo charcoal depend on choices made at this stage. For instance, electrical resistance decreases as carbonization temperature increases, while density increases. Techniques matter even in non-EDLC bamboo charcoal: bamboo carbonized at 500°C excels at filtering ammonia, while bamboo carbonized at 1,000°C is better at filtering benzene and toluene.specialty vehicles produced by Shangchi Automobile.

Finally, atUrban Sanitary Vehicles. The Urban Sanitary Vehicles work with high efficiencies with low operating expenses. They travel (clean) around 20~30 km/hr with fuel consumption rates approximately 3.33 km/liter. The vehicles are equipped with professional sanitary vehicle chasses, with front axle drives & front axle steering to strengthen their operations’ stability and smoothness; the completionwhole vehicle is made of refining, the bamboo charcoal naturally cools. Once the temperature in the furnace is below 60°C, the charcoal may be unloaded.

After the carbonization process is completed, our suppliers sort the bamboo charcoal according to gradestrengthened steel plates and type. They then complete their processing, check the qualitypipes, making it more durable and deliver it to our company for further processing. The amount of processing performed by the suppliers will vary depending on the product. For example, we purchase some wood-based OEM BBQ charcoal in essentially finished form and then prepare it for resale domestically. On the other hand, for our self-produced BBQ charcoal, we purchase pre-briquette charcoal and complete the steps needed to form briquettes, described below.anti-collusive.

As to briquette charcoal, the process for finishing involves disintegrating the charcoal into an appropriate size, combining the charcoal with a binding agent and pressing the charcoal into the desired briquette shape. As noted, for our OEM BBQ charcoal, our suppliers perform all of these steps. For our self-produced BBQ charcoal, we receive small pieces and complete the disintegration, combination, binding and pressing steps on our production line.

As to charcoal to be used for ornamental purposes, the charcoal may be left whole or ground to an appropriate size for the desired purpose. Our suppliers deliver such bamboo charcoal to us per our specifications as to size of charcoal pieces, and we complete final processing and packaging in order to prepare such charcoal for sale. Among other steps, we prepare and fill our charcoal bags and mix any formulas specific to given products such as our silver ion nano products.

We first activate charcoal to be used for EDLC carbon purposes and then crush it to an appropriate size for the desired applications. We perform all of these steps in-house on un-activated bamboo charcoal delivered to us. The specific size and characteristics of the charcoal, including porosity, depends on the use intended by the EDLC manufacturer. To produce activated bamboo carbon, we subject carbonized bamboo to a further process involving granulation and high pressure steam injection, which further exposes pores. The surface area to mass ratio of the bamboo charcoal can more than double after activation, and we have achieved a surface area to mass ratio of 2,200 m² /g for our EDLC carbon. 

Tourist Buses. The Tourist Buses are 12-meter-long and 7-meter-long lithium-battery-based buses whose interior noise is less than 76 dBs and off vehicle acceleration noise is less than 82 dbs. Their fuel-saving rates are up to 50% and emissions rates are lowered 75%.

Logistic Vehicles. The logistic electric vehicles are 4.2-meter-long, 810 kg standard load weight fully charged vehicles. Each are a 100% electricity-driven vehicle specially designed for logistics companies. The batteries for this vehicle can be charged and discharged quickly, and each vehicle is made of high quality steel stamping body which is highly durable. The Internal structure and the design of the car doors are both made for the deliverers’ convenience.

Below are the major vehicle components we purchase for assembling the electric vehicles (“EVs”):

In general, the purchase of the vehicle chassis, electric motors, lithium-ion battery pack and three-in-one electric control system have covered two-thirds of EVs’ production cost. We purchase these components from four different but well-established suppliers in China.

We currently rely on local EV distributors to sell our EVs to end-users. The primary reason for such a sales channel is the dependence on local government subsidy policies. In general, local governments only allow the locally-licensed EV distributors to sell EV vehicles, which are entitled to EV road permits and subsidies.

Over the years, Shangchi Automobile has had more than 20 EV core technologies and patents, including nanotechnology for raw materials for power lithium electronics, group technology of power lithium electronics and battery management technology.

Our Processing Workflow

We develop and manufacture our bamboo charcoal products using the following processing workflow:

We develop and manufacture our electric vehicles using the following processing workflow:

Our Products

We produceBefore acquisition of Shangchi Automobile, we primarily produced and sellsold three categories of products, all of which are produced from bamboo charcoal and bamboo charcoal byproducts. Because of the lifespan and fast growth rate of bamboo, our products are considered environmentally friendly. Moreover, our facilities have received ISO 14001:2004 certification, which reflects our focus on measuring and managing our environmental impact.

BBQ Products

We sell pressed and formed charcoal briquettes for use in grills, incense burners, and other applications for which the primary purpose of the charcoal is burning for heat or fuel. These products are sold in China and internationally under the Algold brand.

Our charcoal briquettes are processed from carbonized bamboo (as to our self-produced BBQ charcoal) and wood (as to our OEM BBQ charcoal) into charcoal and pressed into shapes appropriate for our customers’ preferred use. These products include barbecue grill briquettes, disposable all-in-one barbecue grills (including charcoal), and fuel for incense and tobacco burners.

We expect revenues generated from our charcoal briquette products in oversea market will increase, however we expect total revenue in our charcoal briquette will keep current relevant level in comparison to these other segments and in absolute terms.

Charcoal Doctor Products

Our primary consumer brand is Charcoal Doctor (“”, “TanTan Boshi” or “Dr. Tan” in Chinese). In processing our charcoal products, the primary byproducts are solid charcoal and charcoal vinegar. We make use of both the solid and liquid byproducts in our Charcoal Doctor products.

Our Charcoal Doctor brand products have been the primary source of our revenue over the last few years. Charcoal Doctor products are sold throughout China and stocked by many supermarkets and specialty shops in Zhejiang Province and other provinces. We seek to protect and grow our market share pricing our products aggressively, often as much as 10 – 15%10-15% below our competitors’ prices. Our Charcoal Doctor gross profit margins average 26%, largely due to our industrialized and automated production processes. We plan to expand product lines in the coming years to take advantage of the many uses of bamboo charcoal and vinegar. Charcoal Doctor products can be categorized according to their physical state: liquid or solid:

Our solid charcoal products are primarily used for purification and deodorization. These consumer products are made from dry distilled carbonized bamboo, and have the ability to absorb harmful substances and foul odors from the air, including benzene, toluene, ammonia and carbon tetrachloride. The primary ingredient of these products, activated charcoal, is an adsorbent. Our solid Charcoal Doctor products generally fit within three categories: (1) charcoal bags, primarily used as air purifiers and humidifiers, (2) charcoal deodorants and (3) toilet cleaning disks. Our primary Charcoal Doctor solid products include the following:

Samples of the range of solid Charcoal Doctor products are pictured below.

In addition to providing solid charcoal, the carbonization process also results in a liquid byproduct called bamboo vinegar. Bamboo vinegar is used in disinfectants, detergents, lotions, specialized soaps, toilet cleaners and fertilizers. We have also adapted our bamboo vinegar for use in a variety of agricultural applications:

Samples of the range of liquid Charcoal Doctor products are pictured below.

We believe liquid products are crucial to maintaining close ties with the agricultural industry, which we expect will be a key area for growth in the coming years. We plan to expand in this area by adding production lines for daily health products, such as toilet-cleaning products, hand washing products, as well as other everyday household items based on silver ion anti-bacterial nano technology.nanotechnology.

We use this silver ion nano technologynanotechnology for sterilization to improve the effectiveness of our sanitation and purification products. We purchase silver ion nano powder from third parties to add into our products. We use our own formulas for the purification and sanitation products that incorporate such powder.

We have developed two kinds of products that use our silver ion nano technology.nanotechnology. Our detergent products are based on bamboo vinegar and are supplemented by the introduction of silver ion nano powder. These products are used for washing clothes and are in the trial stage. We began trial sales of our silver nano detergent products in Yantai (Shangdong Province), Lishui (Zhejiang Province), Chengdu (Sichuan Province) and Zhengzhou (Henan Province) in November 2012. We have concluded our trial sales in Lishui and Chengdu (and plan to conclude sales in Yantai upon the exhaustion of current trial sales inventory), and our preliminary conclusions are that customers liked the product but were less enthusiastic about the packaging. As a result, we adjusted our packaging in preparation for full-scale sales. Given the investment required to improve brand awareness for our silver ion nano detergent, we will focus first on Zhengzhou before beginning to plan either the expansion plan or the timeline for such expansion into other cities in China. At the same time as we are selling such products under our Charcoal Doctor brand name in China, we are also in discussions to sell such products to one distributor in Dubai, who would then re-brand the products for resale in local markets in Africa and the Middle East.

Our silver ion bamboo charcoal bag products are used for odor absorption and air purification. We combine our charcoal powder products with silver ion nano powder to achieve a charcoal bag that may be stored in a wider variety of locations. If our traditional bags are stored in conditions that are too damp and warm, mold or mildew may grow. Our silver ion nano products are able to fight the growth of mold and mildew, allowing them to be used in damp conditions without problem. We have begun to promote and sell limited numbers of such bags in connection with our sales of traditional charcoal bags. We are promoting these bags in anticipation of adding such products to our portfolio of products for sale in supermarkets and other stores. Our customer stores typically invite us to apply in June or July to update the products we will offer for sale in their stores, and we are required to pay a fee for shelf space at such time. Accordingly we plan to increase demand for our silver ion nano products in anticipation for adding them to the list of products we sell this year. As we will make these silver ion nano charcoal bags available everywhere we offer our traditional charcoal bags, we will leverage our existing sales and distribution channels to introduce these products to the market.

EDLC Carbon

We have recently begun to produce bamboo carbon for use in EDLCs. Our product serves as the industrial carbon compound for the EDLC and is responsible for conducting electricity in the battery. Activated charcoal is extremely porous and has a high specific surface area, so it provides a useful electrode material. Because the surface area of such a material is many times greater than a traditional material like aluminum, many more charge carriers (ions or radicals from the electrolyte) can be stored in a given volume, allowing for a higher energy density.

We have invested heavily in R&D efforts in past years to improve our production process and increase our capacity and efficiency. We only began developing EDLC carbon in 2008 with initial samples being sent to customers in May 2010; it was not until November 2011 that our products were ready for public sale. Thus far our EDLC products have had limited exposure in a market dominated by imports. Our EDLC penetration strategy is based on service and price. We seek to maintain our prices are at a discount of up to 20% from import prices for products of at least equivalent quality. We currently develop three activated carbon compounds:

Raw Materials

Our primary raw material is bamboo charcoal. Each year, we purchase bamboo charcoal locally that has been prepared to our specifications from between 15 and 20 suppliers located in and around Lishui. The majority of such purchases comes from approximately four suppliers. In recent years, due to the rising awareness of environmental protection, the Zhejiang province is taking a series of measures to improve water environment, which has led to a massive closure of small-sized bamboo charcoal manufacturers. In addition, we are unable to purchase wood charcoal briquettes from our lastprior fiscal year’s second largest supplier, Tahe Xingzhongda Carbon Co. in 2016, due to shortage of supply. However, we have taken actions to remedy such matters, in particular to our primary raw material, bamboo charcoal. Therefore, we do not expect any shortage supply from bamboo charcoal in coming years.

In addition to bamboo charcoal, we also purchase bamboo charcoal powder for use in our EDLC carbon products. The suppliers for bamboo charcoal powder are more limited in number, and the technical requirements of producing such powder are higher, than those for producing bamboo charcoal. We rely on three suppliers for bamboo charcoal powder, one of which is also a major supplier of bamboo charcoal. Because of the technical demands of producing bamboo charcoal powder for use in our EDLC carbon products, we expect that in the event of unavailability, we would experience difficulty in replacing bamboo charcoal powder suppliers. While we expect that we could instruct existing bamboo charcoal providers to produce bamboo charcoal powder, we could experience temporary lack of availability until such suppliers are able to produce to our specifications.

We also purchase bamboo vinegar for use in our liquid products. Our bamboo vinegar suppliers in some but not all cases are the same as our bamboo charcoal suppliers. As the supply of bamboo vinegar is directly related to the supply of bamboo charcoal, we believe we have a steady supply of bamboo vinegar given the prevalence of bamboo in the Lishui area. Accordingly, we do not anticipate any lack of availability of bamboo vinegar for our liquid products.

We purchase wood charcoal briquettes from a supplier in Heilongjiang province for use in our OEM BBQ charcoal products. As such products have low technical requirements and are typically used for heating and cooking purposes, we have found that competing on price makes purchasing wood-based charcoal for such purposes suit our customers’ requirements. Our primary source for wood charcoal briquettes, which we rebrand under our Algold brand for sale in China, is Tahe Xingzhongda Carbon Co. in Daxing Anling, Heilongjiang province. In 2016, we were unable to purchase raw material from Tahe Xingzhongda Carbon Co. It caused major decline in our domestic charcoal briquettes sale. While we have adjusted our purchasing strategies to look for alternatives. However, due to tightening environmental control in local authority, we expect the cost of wood charcoal briquettes would increase in the coming years.

In addition to our primary raw materials, we also purchase small amounts of other raw materials, such as silver ion nano powder, fabric for charcoal bags, packaging materials, and coconut charcoal. We do not anticipate any difficulty in replacing the suppliers of any of such minor raw materials.

The prices of our primary raw materials have not historically been volatile. We have generally experienced differences in price of less than 5% over the course of a year for our primary raw materials.

Electric Vehicles

Shangchi Automobile does not produce major vehicles components directly from raw material. In general, Shangchi Automobile purchases major parts directly from four major suppliers. The suppliers for parts are shown below:

Distribution Channels and Methods of Competition

International Markets and Customers

Products from all three categories of our products (although not all of our products)Our bamboo charcoal and bamboo charcoal byproducts are also sold directly or indirectly through distributors to international markets. Such exported products include bamboo vinegar, bamboo charcoal and purification products, and EDLC carbon.product. The majority of our export items are for non-energy use. LessAfter pivoting our business focus in 2017, less than 2%1% of our direct sales are currently international. Including business conducted with domestic distributors, however,distributors. However, we estimate that with respect to our household products that the percentage of goods sold for export is approximately 10%5%, with the majority destined for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

The following is a list of selected international customers, their respective nations and products sold:

Domestic Markets and Customers

Currently, our consumer products and specialty electric vehicles are sold via our sales and distribution networks located in 17 cities (Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Lanzhou, Lishui, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Yantai, and Zhengzhou). We do not own or lease locations in Changsha, Fuzhou, Lanzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Yantai or Zhengzhou. .distributors’ networks. In addition, we have a logistics center in Lishui and relationships with third-party warehousing companies in Hangzhou, Jinan, Shanghai and Zhengzhou. Starting from 2016, we intend to sellhave been selling our products mainly through distributors instead of operating logistics and warehousing facilities internally.

Our Charcoal Doctor brand has been successful in the domestic market, and is sold through many specialty stores and large chain stores and supermarkets.

The following is a list of selected stores and shops that stock In addition, we have significantly cut our products in China:sales to supermarket customers.

We are in the process of expanding our product line to include toilet cleaning and kitchen cleaning products, among others. We believe there will be a high demand for these types of products because of growing awareness of cleanliness and environmental protection, as well as antibacterial products and disinfectants. In addition, we are in the process of restructuring our distribution network in an effort to cut both overall time and costs relating to the sale cycle.

Geographic Distribution of Revenues

Following is a summaryBeginning in 2017, our charcoal products are sold via distributors instead of our total revenues by category of activitydirect distribution to supermarkets and geographic market for each of our last three fiscal years.chain stores. As all of our sales are completed in China, with title transferring to our customers in the country, the below tables reflectwe estimate most of our understandingproducts are sold and used in China. We have divested our EDLC line of wherebusiness, which had contributed greatly to our customers are ultimately reselling our products. All such figures are presented in thousands of U.S. dollars.international sales.

BBQ CharcoalElectric Vehicles

We sell our BBQ charcoal both domesticallySupported by the Chinese government’s endorsement and driven by its focus on petroleum resource independence, environmental protection and the “Made in China 2025” industrial upgrade, we believe the electric vehicle sector is the most promising segment in the Chinese auto industry. China has become the largest new energy vehicle market in the world. According to a central government forecast, China’s new energy vehicle sales are projected to grow to 2.1 million units in 2020, and its penetration is expected to reach 7% of vehicle sales by 2020.

Our specialty vehicles have a variety of international locations.uses in many areas. Each of these vehicles integrate the advanced technology of mechanical, electronic, hydraulic, chemical, environmental protection and other fields into a special vehicle chassis to realize its specific function. Specialty vehicles are widely used in the highway transportation, engineering construction, oil fields, mines, electricity, telecommunications, postal, medical, environmental sanitation, agriculture, water conservancy, aviation, food, public security, fire protection, justice and national defense construction markets.

Charcoal DoctorIn general, our EV product faces two group of competitors: manufacturers of conventional fuel vehicles and EV manufactures. In terms of competitors specializing in conventional fuel vehicles, many of them are much larger in terms of size, have greater manufacturing capabilities, and have larger customer bases than we do. However, the conventional fuel vehicle manufacturers face many challenges, including environmental pollution and energy scarcity, which provides great opportunities for the rapid development of the EV industry in China. In addition, conventional fuel vehicle manufacturers have begun focusing their attention on developing and producing EV, and we expect that we may face tougher competition in the future from these manufacturers.

We sellThere are many companies in China that engage in the research, production and distribution of electric vehicles. Competition within the electric vehicle market is intense as we have to compete with many domestic and global companies, established and new EV manufactures, some of which have greater brand recognition and resources than we do. As a brand new player in the Chinese electric vehicle industry, we hope our Charcoal Doctor products both domestically andfocus on developing specialty vehicles might give us advantages in a variety of international locations.niche market, rather than facing strong competition from similar vehicles on the consumer vehicle market.

EDLC Carbon

We sell substantially all of our EDLC carbon products in China and South Korea.

Methods of Competition

The primary market for our Charcoal Doctor line of products is household hygiene use. Our air purification, deodorizing, and other health promoting products such as our charcoal pillow, cater to a niche but growing market of health-conscious customers. Customers in this sector have a particular affinity to brands. Notwithstanding this loyalty, product-switching costs are low, so manufacturers must compete on price.

We conducted a marketing survey in Guangzhou in October 2013 for our charcoal bag products. According to the survey, we found that a decrease in package weight of 10% or an increase in price of 5% resulted in a loss of sales of less than 1%, showing that the market could absorb minor changes. By contrast, when the price increase reached 10% or the package weight decrease reached 15%, we saw that 30% of respondents were willing to choose alternate brands or forego a purchase. We further found that for cleaning and purification products, 85% of respondents cared about design attractiveness and approximately 65% made purchasing decisions based on attractiveness, causing us to conclude that demand for our products is more heavily influenced by such products than by minor (but not major) economic fluctuations.

Because the household hygiene sector has enjoyed relatively strong growth in the last few years as a result of increases in disposable urban income and an increased awareness of healthy lifestyle products, we have focused on growing our market share in this industry. In order to do this, compete by pricing our products aggressively, often at a discount of 10 – 20% below our competitors. In addition, we pride ourselves on providing a high quality product, so that our customers believe they have received value for the price they pay.

With regardsregard to household carbonized bamboo products, the Charcoal Doctor brand is one of the largest and most famous. Our Charcoal Doctor brand name has been recognized as a “China Well-known Brand” by the China Brand Strategy Management Association, and our products have been recognized as a “Zhejiang Famous Forest Product” by the Zhejiang Famous Forest Product Affirmation Committee and have been awarded “The Fifth China Yiwu International Forestry Product Expo Gold Award” by the Fifth China Yiwu International Forestry Product Expo Committee. Moreover, the 2014 – 2018 China Bamboo Charcoal Products Market Research and Corporate Strategy Analysis Report notes high brand recognition for Charcoal Doctor products in China.

The industry is geographically concentrated in the South East of China in the provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian where bamboo is more prominent, the bamboo charcoal industry is also fragmented since it is subject to relatively low barriers of entry; low initial capital expenditure, low technical requirements (excluding high end EDLC carbon compounds), highly homogenous products and few substitutes.

We face competition from a number of companies operating in the vicinity. Many of these companies have similar profiles in terms of size, number of employees and product ranges. One of the largest competitors is Zhejiang Maitanweng Ecology Development Co. Ltd., a local company also from Zhejiang Province.

Zhejiang Maitanweng has the largest franchise in the industry with a presence in over 100 cities in China. Like our Company, Zhejiang Maitanweng has an extensive product portfolio of 200 household, automotive and health related bamboo charcoal-based products.

Jie Jie Gao Charcoal is another company with a similar product portfolio. Also located in the Lishui vicinity, it also holds many awards, and its products are stocked by Walmart, Hualian, Century Mart and other supermarkets like our products are. Jie Jie Gao is also one of the founding members of INBAR —  International Network for Bamboo and Rattan.

Due to product homogeneity and low barriers to entry branding is an important differentiator in the industry. We are not aware of any foreign competitors in this specific segment.

Awards and Recognition

The Company is fully ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified and has received a number of national, provincial and local honors, awards and certifications for its quality products and scientific research efforts:

2004

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Research and Development

We are committed to researching and developing applications of bamboo charcoal and activated bamboo charcoal. We believe scientific and technological innovations will help our Company achieve its long-term strategic objectives. R&D is an integral part of our operations and the crux of its competitive advantage and differentiation strategy.

Led by our Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Zhaihua Chen, ourOur R&D team is well educated and has far-reaching research capabilities. Dr. Chen is a graduate of Chiba University in Japan and is one of China’s one-thousand talent plan experts, with particular expertise in carbon for supercapacitors.

The R&D team has 133 dedicated researchers and analysts focusing on Charcoal Doctor product development and applications as well as EDLC formulations.applications. Quality control is an important aspect of the teamsteam’s work and ensuring quality at every stage of the process has been a key driver in maintaining and developing brand value for the Company.

We regularly collaborate with a number of top domestic universities and institutions for the advancement of bamboo charcoal research and process technology. Current efforts and collaborations cover a wide range of areas including but not limited to: bamboo vinegar applications, bamboo yield and quality improvements, bamboo’s natural characteristics, bamboo carbonization process optimization and engineering initiatives to optimize and integrate production processes. It is through these collaborations that the company has managed to secure important breakthroughs resulting in proprietary knowledge and patents. Research has been carried out in cooperation with the following notable institutions:

Our Research Projects

We have led or participated in numerous scientific projects that have led to important technological breakthroughs and advances. However in December 2017, we have transferred all EDLC research project to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd, a PRC start-up company controlled by Dr. Zaihua Chen, our former Chief Technology Officer.

During the years ended December 31, 20162018, 2017 and 2015,2016, we spent $ 479,353$386,628, $627,577 and $1,084,867,$136,626, respectively, on R&D. R&D expenditures in each year were for the following purposes:

In addition to the continuing R&D efforts in the Charcoal Doctor products,Because we will also focus on the R&D of super capacitor batteries, lithium-ion batteries and special new energy vehicles. In 2017, we expect to invest approximately $1 million in R&D projects, we are in the process of acquiring Suzhou E Motors, a specialty EV manufacturer located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Once the acquisition is completed,discontinued our EDLC carbon business, our R&D will invest more capital on EVs related projects.expense has decreased accordingly.

The prospective increase in planned R&D expenses is related to the following initiatives:

Our Patents

We rely on our technology patents to protect our domestic business interests and ensure our position as a bamboo carbon technology pioneer in our industry. We have placed a high priority on the management of our intellectual property. Some products that are material to our operating results incorporate patented technology. Patented technology is critical to the continued success of our products. However, we do not believe that our business, as a whole, is dependent on, or that its profitability would be materially affected by the revocation, termination, expiration or infringement upon any particular patent. We currently hold thirteensix issued patents on charcoal products and thirty issued patents on electric vehicles as of April 25, 2016.:30, 2019:

In addition, Shangchi Automobile possesses the following patents.

Regulations

We are subject to a variety of PRC and foreign laws, rules and regulations across a number of aspects of our business. This section summarizes the principal PRC laws, rules and regulations relevant to our business and operations. Areas in which we are subject to laws, rules and regulations outside of the PRC include intellectual property, competition, taxation, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption.

Investment Direction Regulations

On March 27, 2011, the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) has issued the Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustments (2011 edition), which was amended on February 16, 2013. This Guidance Catalogue is an important basis for the government to guide investment direction, promote technology innovation and industrial upgrading. Pursuant to relevant laws and regulations, in line with the promotion of energy conservation and green industry initiatives, the approval authorities will strictly control energy-intensive, polluting and natural resources industries, such as projects in low-end, capacity-redundant and over-expansion projects. Environmental protection departments and other departments with jurisdiction will also review such projects for compliance with applicable criteria.

The Catalogue divides industries into three categories: “encouraged,” “restricted,” and “eliminated” for investment. Industries not listed in the Catalogue are generally deemed as falling into a fourth category, “permitted.”

According to the Guidance Catalogue, development of bamboo byproducts () like our products falls in the encouraged category while activated carbon production using raw material of woods or chopped roots () (as opposed to our methods, which use neither) falls in the eliminated category. As a result, government initiatives favor our carbon production methods over methods using wood and wood products.

Given the Chinese government’s move toward more environmentally friendly initiatives, we believe the bamboo industry, and in particular, the bamboo charcoal industry, are poised to grow, both for heating and cooking purposes and also for use as carbon in super capacitors.charcoal byproduct uses for cleaning, purification and deodorization.

Intellectual Property Rights Regulations

The State Council and the National Copyright Administration, or the NCAC, have promulgated various rules and regulations relating to the protection of software in China. Under these rules and regulations, software owners, licensees and transferees may register their rights in software with the NCAC or its local branches and obtain software copyright registration certificates. Although such registration is not mandatory under PRC law, software owners, licensees and transferees are encouraged to go through the registration process to enjoy the better protections afforded to registered software rights.

On March 1, 2009, the MIIT promulgated the Administrative Measures on Software Products, or the Software Measures, which replaced the original Administrative Measures on Software Measures promulgated by MIIT in October 2000, to regulate software products and promote the development of the software industry in China. Pursuant to the Software Measures, software products which are developed in China and registered with the local provincial government authorities in charge of the information industry and filed with MIIT may enjoy the relevant encouragement policies. Software developers or producers may sell or license their registered software products independently or through agents. Upon registration, the software products will be granted registration certificates. Each registration certificate is valid for five years and may be renewed upon expiration.

The PRC Trademark Law, adopted in 1982 and revised in 1993, 2001 and 2013 respectively, with its implementation rules adopted in 2002 and revised in 2014, protects registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or the SAIC, handles trademark registrations and grants a protection term of ten years to registered trademarks.

The MIIT amended its Administrative Measures on China Internet Domain Names in 2004. According to these measures, the MIIT is in charge of the overall administration of domain names in China. The registration of domain names in PRC is on a “first-apply-first-registration” basis. A domain name applicant will become the domain name holder upon the completion of the application procedure.

Regulations on Tax

Our business operations are governed primarily by tax laws in the PRC. A description of the material tax consequences applicable to holders of our common shares may be found in the section titled “Item 10. Additional Information.-E. Taxation.” For more information regarding the impact of the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, see “Risk Factors — Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “Resident Enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC stockholders.”

Foreign Exchange Regulation

The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations. Under the PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, such as profit distributions and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, may be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. By contrast, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of foreign currency-denominated loans or foreign currency is to be remitted into China under the capital account, such as a capital increase or foreign currency loans to our PRC subsidiaries.

In August 2008, SAFE issued the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency-registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. In addition, SAFE promulgated Circular 45 on November 9, 2011 in order to clarify the application of SAFE Circular 142. Under SAFE Circular 142 and Circular 45, the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of foreign-invested enterprises. The use of such RMB capital may not be changed without SAFE’s approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used.

In November 2012, SAFE promulgated the Circular of Further Improving and Adjusting Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Foreign Direct Investment, which substantially amends and simplifies the current foreign exchange procedure. Pursuant to this circular, the opening of various special purpose foreign exchange accounts, such as pre-establishment expenses accounts, foreign exchange capital accounts and guarantee accounts, the reinvestment of RMB proceeds by foreign investors in the PRC, and remittance of foreign exchange profits and dividends by a foreign-invested enterprise to its foreign shareholders no longer require the approval or verification of SAFE, and multiple capital accounts for the same entity may be opened in different provinces, which was not possible previously. In addition, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Printing and Distributing the Provisions on Foreign Exchange Administration over Domestic Direct Investment by Foreign Investors and the Supporting Documents in May 2013, which specifies that the administration by SAFE or its local branches over direct investment by foreign investors in the PRC shall be conducted by way of registration and banks shall process foreign exchange business relating to the direct investment in the PRC based on the registration information provided by SAFE and its branches.

In July 2014, SAFE decided to further reform the foreign exchange administration system in order to satisfy and facilitate the business and capital operations of foreign invested enterprises, and issued the Circular on the Relevant Issues Concerning the Launch of Reforming Trial of the Administration Model of the Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises in Certain Areas, or Circular 36, on August 4, 2014. This circular suspends the application of Circular 142 in certain areas and allows a foreign-invested enterprise registered in such areas to use the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital for equity investments within the PRC.

On March 30, 2015, SAFE released the Notice on the Reform of the Management Method for the Settlement of Foreign Exchange Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, which has made certain adjustments to some regulatory requirements on the settlement of foreign exchange capital of foreign-invested enterprises, lifted some foreign exchange restrictions under Circular 142, and annulled Circular 142 and Circular 36. However, Circular 19 continues to, prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using Renminbi fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises.

On June 19, 2016, SAFE issued the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or Circular 16, which took effect on the same day. Compared to Circular 19, Circular 16 not only provides that, in addition to foreign exchange capital, foreign debt funds and proceeds remitted from foreign listings should also be subject to the discretional foreign exchange settlement, but also lifted the restriction, that foreign exchange capital under the capital accounts and the corresponding Renminbi capital obtained from foreign exchange settlement should not be used for 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.

SAFE Circular 37

In July 2014, SAFE issued SAFE Circular 37, which supersedes SAFE Circular 75, and requires that PRC citizens or residents must register with the relevant local SAFE branch before making capital contribution to any offshore entity directly established or indirectly controlled by that PRC citizen or resident for the purpose of investment or financing and with onshore or offshore assets or equity interests legally owned by that PRC citizen or resident. In addition, the SAFE registrations are required to be updated with local SAFE branch with respect to that offshore special purpose company in connection with the change of its basic information, such as its company name, business term, shareholding by individual PRC citizens or residents, merger, or division and, with respect to the individual PRC citizens or residents in case of any increases or decreases of capital in that offshore special purpose company, or share transfers or swaps by the individual PRC citizens or residents

Share Option Rules

Under the Administration Measures on Individual Foreign Exchange Control issued by the PBOC on December 25, 2006, all foreign exchange matters involved in employee share ownership plans and share option plans in which PRC citizens participate require approval from SAFE or its authorized branch. In addition, under the Notices on Issues concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Share Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or the Share Option Rules, issued by SAFE on February 15, 2012, PRC residents who are granted shares or share options by companies listed on overseas stock exchanges under share incentive plans are required to (i) register with SAFE or its local branches, (ii) retain a qualified PRC agent, which may be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas listed company or another qualified institution selected by the PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the share incentive plans on behalf of the participants, and (iii) retain an overseas institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of share options, purchase and sale of shares or interests and funds transfers. We will make efforts to comply with these requirements.

Regulation of Dividend Distribution

The principal laws, rules and regulations governing dividend distribution by foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC are the Company Law of the PRC, as amended, the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise Law and its implementation regulations and the Equity Joint Venture Law and its implementation regulations. Under these laws, rules and regulations, foreign-invested enterprises may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profit, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Both PRC domestic companies and wholly-foreign owned PRC enterprises are required to set aside as general reserves at least 10% of their after-tax profit, until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of their registered capital. A PRC company is not permitted to distribute any profits until any losses from prior fiscal years have been offset. Profits retained from prior fiscal years may be distributed together with distributable profits from the current fiscal year.

Labor Laws and Social Insurance

Pursuant to the PRC Labor Law and the PRC Labor Contract Law, employers must execute written labor contracts with full-time employees. All employers must comply with local minimum wage standards. Violations of the PRC Labor Contract Law and the PRC Labor Law may result in the imposition of fines and other administrative and criminal liability in the case of serious violations.

In addition, according to the PRC Social Insurance Law, employers in China must provide employees with welfare schemes covering pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance and housing funds.

Below is a chart representing our current corporate structure:

In the above chart, we provide the ChineseEnglish names of our corporate entities. As to THL and USCNHK, both the English and Chinese names are the legal corporate names.names of the entities. As to Lishui Tantech, Tantech Bamboo, Tantech Charcoal, Tantech Energy, Tanbo Tech., Tantech Babiku and Lishui Zhongzhu, only our Chinesethe other corporate entities, their legal names are legal corporate names,in Chinese, and the English translations are provided as courtesy translations.

Our registered agent in the British Virgin Islands is Offshore Incorporations Limited. Our registered office and our registered agent’s office in the British Virgin Islands are both located at P.O. Box 957, Offshore Incorporations Centre, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

THL

THL was incorporated on November 9, 2010 under the BVI Companies Act, 2004 as a company limited by shares under the name “Sinoport Enterprises Limited.” On April 15, 2013, Sinoport Enterprises Limited changed its name to “Tantech Holdings Ltd.” At the time of its formation, THL was authorized to issue 50,000 common shares with a par value of $1.00 per share. On November 19, 2010, THL issued 50,000 shares to its sole shareholder, Forasen Energy Co., Ltd, now named “Tanbsok Group Limited.”

On November 25, 2014, in contemplation of the initial public offering of its common shares, THL effected a simultaneous (a) 1,000-for-1 split of its common shares and (b) pro-rata redemption for par value and cancellation of 600 of such shares (30,000,000 in total). This transaction was accomplished in this way for several business reasons: (1) we wanted to maintain $50,000 in aggregate share capital; (2) in anticipation of the offering, we desired to increase the total number of common shares and reduce their per-share price to a level consistent with the targeted offering price in the offering; and (3) prior to completion of the recapitalization, we had issued all of the shares we were authorized to issue and needed to create authorized but unissued shares by repurchasing a portion of such authorized and outstanding shares.

Upon completion of these transactions, THL was authorized to issue 50,000,000 common shares, $0.001 per share, of which 20,000,000 are issued and outstanding. At formation, THL had one director, Dehong Zhang, a citizen of the Philippines. On June 21, 2013, Yefang Zhang, a citizen of the Philippines, was also appointed as a director of THL. In June 2014, THL appointed three independent directors, all citizens of the PRC: Hongdao Qian, Shudong Wang and Wencai Pan.

On March 24, 2015, THL completed an initial public offering of 1,600,000 common shares.

On March 1, 2016, THL completed a private placement of 1,693,000 common shares.

On September 28, 2018, THL completed an issuance of 150,000 common shares.

USCNHK

USCNHK was formed on October 17, 2008 under the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 32) of Hong Kong under the name “Raymond & O/B Raysucess Co., Limited.” On December 2, 2010, Raymond & O/B Raysucess Co., Limited changed its name to “USCNHK Group Limited.” USCNHK’s authorized share capital is HKD10,000,HKD 10,000, and the company has issued 10,000 shares, par value HKD1.00HKD 1.00 per share, to its sole shareholder, THL. USCNHK has one director, Dehong Zhang, a citizen of the Philippines. On June 21, 2013, Yefang Zhang, a citizen of the Philippines, was also appointed as a director of USCNHK.

Tantech Bamboo

Tantech Bamboo was formed on October 23, 2002 under the name “Lishui Zhonglin High-Tech Co., Ltd.” (Chinese: ).丽水中林高科有限公司 ). On December 31, 2005, Tantech Bamboo changed its name to “Zhejiang Tantech Bamboo Technology Co., Ltd.” On May 17, 2017, it changed its name to Lishui Tantech Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and on July 7, 2017 changed its name again to Tantech Holdings (Lishui) Co., Ltd. Tantech Bamboo’s authorized share capital is RMB80RMB 80 million, of which Lishui Tantech owns 100% interest. Tantech Bamboo has one directors,director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.

Tantech Charcoal

Tantech Charcoal was formed on September 5, 2002. Tantech Charcoal’s authorized share capital is RMB 3.5 million, of which Tantech Bamboo owns 100%. Tantech Charcoal is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. Tantech Charcoal has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.

Tantech Energy

Tantech Energy was formed on September 24, 2008. Tantech Energy’s authorized share capital is RMB 30 million, of which Tantech Bamboo owns 100%. Tantech Energy is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. Tantech Energy has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen. On December 14, 2017, the Company entered into a sale agreement and related agreements to transfer its EDLC carbon business (including intellectual property rights and equipment) to Zhejiang Apeikesi Energy Co., Ltd. (the “Buyer”), a PRC start-up company controlled by Dr. Zaihua Chen, our former CTO.

Tantech Babiku

Tantech Babiku was formed on October 20,2015. Tantech Babiku’s authorized share capital is RMB 10 million, of which Tantech Bamboo owns 100%. Tantech Babiku is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. Tantech Babiku has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.

LishuiZhejiang Zhongzhu

LishuiZheijiang Zhongzhu was formed on November 18, 2015. Lishui Zhongzhu’s authorized share capital is RMB 10 million, of which Tantech Bamboo owns 100%.2015 as Lishui Zhongzhu is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. LishuiCharcoal Co., Ltd. It changed its name to Zhejiang Zhongzhu has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.Tourism Development Co., Ltd. on May 17, 2017. It was closed on November 5, 2018.

Tanbo Tech.

Tanbo Tech. was formed on December 8, 2015. Tanbo Tech.’s authorized share capital is RMB 10 million, of which Tantech Bamboo owns 100%. Tanbo Tech. is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. Tanbo Tech has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.

Lishui Tantech

Lishui Tantech was formed on April 7, 2016. Lishui Tantech’s authorized share capital is RMB 200 million, of which USCNHK owns 100%. Lishui Tantech is organized as a limited liability company under PRC law. Lishui Tantech has one director, Zhengyu Wang, who is a PRC citizen.

Shangchi Automobile, formerly known as Suzhou E-Motors

On July 12, 2017, the Company acquired 70% of the equity interest of Suzhou Yimao E-Motors Co., Ltd., which changed its name to Shangchi Automobile in January 2019 (“Shangchi Automobile”) from its original shareholder. Shangchi Automobile is a specialty electric vehicles and battery manufacturer based in Zhang Jia Gang City, Jiangsu Province, China. After the acquisition, the Company owns a 100% equity interest of Euroasia International Capital Co., Ltd., a Hong Kong limited company (“Euroasia”) and its wholly owned subsidiary Shanghai Jiamu Investment Management Co., Ltd, a Chinese company (“Jiamu”), which further owns 100% equity interest of Hangzhou Jixi Investment Management Co., Ltd, a Chinese company (“Jixi”). Jixi owns a 19% of equity interest of Shangchi Automobile. In addition, Jiamu entered into a series of contractual agreements with the owners of Hanzhou Wangbo Investment Management Co., Ltd, a Chinese company (“Wangbo”), which owns 51% of the equity interests of Shangchi Automobile. These agreements include a Technical Consultation and Services Agreement, a Business Cooperation Agreement, an Equity Pledge Agreement, a Share Disposal Agreement and a Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (collectively, the “VIE Agreements”).

Pursuant to the above VIE Agreements, which are described in further detail below, Jiamu has the exclusive right to provide Wangbo consulting services related to business operations including technical and management services. Taken together, the VIE Agreements obligate Jiamu to absorb a majority of the risk of loss from Wangbo’s activities and entitle Jiamu to receive a majority of their residual returns. In essence, Jiamu has gained effective control over Wangbo. Therefore, the Company believes that Wangbo should be considered as a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810 “Consolidation”. As a result, the Company ultimately controls a 70% equity interest of Shangchi Automobile and the accounts of Shangchi Automobile are consolidated into those of the Company. Ouyatong, Jiamu, , Jixi and Wangbo are all investment holding companies with no significant business activities. (collective “E-Motor Holdings”).

Contractual Arrangements

We have chosen to use contractual relationships in our corporate structure because direct investment by foreign-owned companies in the automobile industry is restricted to own no more than 50% of equity.

The principal regulation governing foreign ownership of businesses in the PRC is the Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue, effective as of April 10, 2015 (the “Catalogue”). The Catalogue classifies various industries into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Tantech is engaged in business in industries where direct foreign investment over 50% is expressly prohibited: automobile industry.

Due to the regulations on foreign ownership of PRC businesses, Shanghai Jiamu Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Jiamu”) and Hangzhou Wangbo Investment Management Co., Ltd (“Wangbo”) have entered into a series of contractual arrangements, also known as VIE Agreements. The variable interest entity, or VIE, agreements are designed to provide Jiamu with the power, rights and obligations equivalent in all material respects to those it would possess as the sole equity holder of its controlled company, including absolute control rights and the rights to the assets, property and revenue of Wangbo. Our PRC counsel has advised that the VIE agreements constitute valid and binding obligations of the parties to such agreements and are enforceable and valid in accordance with the laws of the PRC.

The VIE Agreements, entered into as of July 13, 2017, are described below and consist of (a) Exclusive Purchase Agreement, (b) Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, (c) Exclusive Management Consulting and Technology Service Agreement, (d) Voting Rights Proxy Agreement and (e) Power of Attorney. As an overview, these agreements taken together are designed to allow Jiamu to manage the operations of Wangbo and to receive all of the net income of Wangbo in return.

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

Exclusive Purchase Agreement

The Exclusive Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) was entered into by and among (a) Jiamu, (b) Wangbo and (c), Mr. Zhengyu Wang and Mr. Wangfeng Yan, as shareholders of Wangbo (the “Wangbo Shareholders”).

Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement and as permitted by the applicable laws of the People’s Republic of China, the parties have agreed that, at the exercise of such purchase option by Jiamu, (i) the Wangbo Shareholders will transfer all of their shares of Wangbo to Jiamu, or (ii)Wangbo will transfer its assets to Jiamu. To conduct the abovementioned share transfer and assets transfer, Wangbo and the Wangbo Shareholders irrevocably grant Jiamu an exclusive and unconditional asset purchase right and share purchase right, respectively.

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement

This Equity Interest Pledge Agreement (the “Pledge Agreement”) was made and entered into by and among Jiamu as pledgee, the Wangbo shareholders as pledgors and Wangbo. The Wangbo Shareholders pledged all current and future shares of Wangbo held by such Wangbo Shareholders to Jiamu, in order to guarantee that Wangbo and/or the Wangbo Shareholders will fulfill their respective responsibilities and obligations, and will ensure that Jiamu is able to obtain all rights and interests under the (a) Exclusive Management Consulting and Technology Service Agreement and any supplemental agreements (if any) between Jiamu and Wangbo; (b) Exclusive Purchase Agreement and any supplemental agreements (if any) among Jiamu, Wangbo and the Wangbo Shareholders; and (c) Shareholder Voting Right Authorization Agreement and any supplemental agreements (if any) among Jiamu, Wangbo and the Wangbo Shareholders.

Exclusive Management Consulting and Technology Service Agreement

This Exclusive Management Consulting and Technology Service Agreement (the “Service Agreement”) was made and entered into by Jiamu and Wangbo. Pursuant to terms and condition of the Service Agreement, Wangbo appointed Jiamu as its exclusive service provider providing comprehensive management consulting, technical supporting, intellectual property license and other relevant services, including all services within the primary business of Wangbo and decided necessary from time to time by Jiamu, including, (1) management consulting, (2) technical support and (3) intellectual property. Wangbo agreed to accept consulting and services provided by Jiamu and not to acquire, directly or indirectly, the same or similar consulting and/or services as set in the Service Agreement from any third party, except with Jiamu’s prior written consent. Both parties agree that Jiamu can designate other parties to provide Wangbo with services and/or support stated in the Service Agreement.

Voting Rights Proxy Agreement

This Voting Rights Proxy Agreement (the “Proxy Agreement”) was made and entered by and among Jiamu as trustee, the Wangbo Shareholders as trustors and Wangbo. Under the Proxy Agreement, the Wangbo Shareholders irrevocably authorized Jiamu or its designated person (such as director or successor or liquidator of Jiamu) to solely exercise such Wangbo Shareholders’ voting rights in Wangbo under the law and Memorandum and Articles of Association of Wangbo as representative, including, without limitation (a) convene, convoke and attend shareholders’ meeting of Wangbo as representative of the Wangbo Shareholders; (b) submit proposals to Wangbo’s board of directors as representative of the Wangbo Shareholders; (c) vote on any matters to be deliberated at the shareholders’ meeting of Wangbo; (d) sign on minutes of Wangbo’s shareholder meetings; (e) exercise other voting rights of shareholders under Wangbo’s Memorandum and Articles of Association; (f) submit relevant documents to industrial and commercial registration offices and other government authorities concerned in order to performance or guarantee this contract as representative of the Wangbo Shareholders; and (g) sign share transfer agreements or other relevant documents, deal with official documents, registration, records or other procedures in order to enable share transfer under the Purchase Agreement take effect.

Power of Attorney

The Power of Attorney was made and entered into by Mr. Wangfeng Yan. Pursuant to the Power of Attorney, Mr. Yan designated Mr. Zhengyu Wang to exercise Mr. Yan’s rights under the Proxy Agreement on behalf of Mr. Yan.

Shenzhen Yimao New Energy Sales Co., Ltd.

On November 13, 2018, we established Shenzhen Yimao New Energy Sales Co., Ltd., a sales subsidiary of Shangchi Automobile Co., Ltd.

There is no private land ownership in China. Individuals and entities are permitted to acquire land use rights for specific purposes. We were granted land use rights for our facilities in Lishui City, which extend until between 2051 and 2058. Following is a list of our properties:

Currently, household products are sold via our sales and distribution networks located in 17 cities (Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Lanzhou, Lishui, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Yantai, and Zhengzhou). We do not own or lease locations in Shenyang, Tianjin, Yantai, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Fuzhou or Lanzhou. In addition, we have logistics centers in Lishui and relationships with third-party warehousing companies in Hangzhou, Jinan, Shanghai and Zhengzhou.

The following is a list of our office, sales and distribution networks and logistic center locations.