October 13, 2022
VIA EDGAR
Ms. Julie Sherman
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Life Sciences
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
| Re: | China Foods Holdings Ltd. (the “Company”) | |
| Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 | ||
| Filed April 15, 2022 | ||
Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period ended March 31, 2022 Filed May 16, 2022 File No. 001-32522 |
Dear Ms. Sherman:
This letter sets forth certain of the Company’s responses to the comments contained in the letter dated May 25, 2022 from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) regarding the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Commission on April 15, 2022 (the “2021 Form 10-K”). The Staff’s comments are repeated below in bold and are followed by the Company’s responses thereto. All capitalized terms used but not defined in this letter shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms in the 2021 Form 10-K.
FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021
2. At the onset of Part I, please disclose prominently that you are not a Chinese operating company but a Delaware holding company with operations conducted by your subsidiaries. In addition, please provide early in the Business section a diagram of the company’s corporate structure.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
The Company is a Delaware holding company and we conduct our business through our wholly owned subsidiary Guangzhou Xiao Xiang Health Industry Company Limited, a limited liability company organized under the laws of China on March 8, 2017 (“GXXHIC”). GXXHIC is wholly owned by Alpha Wellness (HK) Limited, a limited liability company organized under the laws of Hong Kong on April 24, 2019, which is in turn wholly owned by Elite Creation Group, a limited liability company formed under the laws of the British Virgin Islands formed on September 5, 2018. Alpha Wellness (HK) Limited and Elite Creation Group are holding companies without operations and are wholly owned by the Company.
3. Provide prominent disclosure about the legal and operational risks associated with being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China. Your disclosure should make clear whether these risks could result in a material change in your operations and/or the value of the securities you have registered for sale or could significantly limit or completely hinder your ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. Your disclosure should address how recent statements and regulatory actions by China’s government, such as those related to the use of variable interest entities and data security or anti-monopoly concerns, have or may impact the company’s ability to conduct its business, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
We are a Delaware corporation and we conduct our primary operations in China through our subsidiary GXXHIC. We face various risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China， Our subsidiary GXXHIC is subject to complex and evolving PRC laws and regulations. Recently, the PRC enacted rules and regulations governing offshore offerings, anti-monopoly actions, and additional oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy.
We do not believe there GXXHIC is in violation of any laws, rules or regulations but since these newly enacted rules are still evolving, we cannot assure you that our business operations comply with such regulations and authorities’ requirements in all respects during the development of these new rules. However, in terms of business operation, GXXHIC expects to adapt to the newly issued rules and take dependent measures to comply with the laws and regulations of the Chinese authorities.
The PRC government’s authority in regulating our operations and its oversight and control over offerings and listings conducted overseas by, and foreign investment in, China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. Implementation of industry-wide regulations in this nature may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. Risks and uncertainties arising from the legal system in China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and quickly evolving rules and regulations in China, could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our securities. But so far, the current operation and securities value of the CFO are stable, and we believe that its risks are to the Company are manageable.
5. Clearly disclose how you will refer to the holding company and subsidiaries when providing the disclosure throughout the document so that it is clear to investors which entity the disclosure is referencing and which subsidiaries or entities are conducting the business operations. For example, disclose, if true, that your subsidiaries conduct operations in China.
The Company updated the filing to clarify that GXXHIC is a subsidiary of the Company and operates in China, and proposes to update its disclosure to add:
The Company is a Delaware holding company and we conduct our business through our wholly owned subsidiary Guangzhou Xiao Xiang Health Industry Company Limited, a limited liability company organized under the laws of China on March 8, 2017 (“GXXHIC”).
7. Disclose each permission or approval that you or your subsidiaries are required to obtain from Chinese authorities to operate your business and to offer securities to foreign investors. State whether you or your subsidiaries are covered by permissions requirements from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) or any other governmental agency that is required to approve your operations or your subsidiaries’ operations, and state affirmatively whether you have received all requisite permissions or approvals and whether any permissions or approvals have been denied. Please also describe the consequences to you and your investors if you or your subsidiaries: (i) do not receive or maintain such permissions or approvals, (ii) inadvertently conclude that such permissions or approvals are not required, or (iii) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and you are required to obtain such permissions or approvals in the future.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
GXXHIC has received a Business License from the relevant department of the State Administration for Market Regulation. Apart from the Business License, GXXHIC may be subject to additional licensing requirements for our business operation due to the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by relevant government authorities.
Furthermore, in connection with the operations of GXXHIC, as of the date of this report, neither GXXHIC nor the Company are required to obtain any approval or permission from the CSRC, CAC or any other PRC governmental authorities, nor has the Company or GXXHIC received any formal inquiry, notice, warning or sanction from any PRC governmental authorities in connection with requirements of obtaining such approval or permission, under any currently effective PRC laws, regulations and regulatory rules.
11. Please disclose the risks that your corporate structure and being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China poses to investors. In particular, describe the significant regulatory, liquidity, and enforcement risks. For example, specifically discuss risks arising from the legal system in China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice; and the risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence your operations at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in your operations and/or the value of your securities. Acknowledge any risks that any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder your ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
Substantially all of our operations are conducted in China, and are governed by Chinese laws, rules and regulations. The Chinese legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which legal cases may be cited for reference but have limited value as precedents. In the late 1970s, the Chinese government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past four decades has significantly increased the protections afforded to various forms of foreign or private-sector investment in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the Chinese legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties.
From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to interpret and/or enforce our legal rights. However, since Chinese administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings, and the level of legal protection we enjoy, than in more developed legal systems. Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. Furthermore, the Chinese legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect.
As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could affect our business and our ability to continue our operations.
13. Given the Chinese government’s significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of your business, please revise to highlight the risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence your operations at any time, which could result in a material change in your operations and/or the value of your securities. Also, given recent statements by the Chinese government indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, acknowledge the risk that any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder your ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
However, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers like us, and published a series of proposed rules for public comments in this regard, the enaction timetable, final content, interpretation and implementation of which remains uncertain. Therefore, there are substantial uncertainties as to how PRC governmental authorities will regulate overseas listing in general and whether we are required to complete filing or obtain any specific regulatory approvals from the CSRC, CAC or any other PRC governmental authorities for our future offshore offerings. If we had inadvertently concluded that such approvals were not required, or if applicable laws, regulations or interpretations change in a way that requires us to obtain such approval in the future, we may be unable to obtain such necessary approvals in a timely manner, or at all, and such approvals may be rescinded even if obtained. Any such circumstance could subject us to penalties, including fines, suspension of business and revocation of required licenses, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
14. In light of recent events indicating greater oversight by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) over data security, particularly for companies seeking to list on a foreign exchange, please revise your disclosure to explain how this oversight impacts your business and to what extent you believe that you are compliant with the regulations or policies that have been issued by the CAC to date.
The Company proposes to add the following disclosure:
For example, the recently promulgated PRC Data Security Law and the PRC Personal Information Protection Law in 2021 posed additional challenges to our cybersecurity and data privacy compliance. The Cybersecurity Review Measures issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC and several other PRC governmental authorities in December 2021, as well as the Administration Regulations on Cyber Data Security (Draft for Comments) published by the CAC for public comments in November 2021, exposes uncertainties and potential additional restrictions on China-based overseas-listed companies like us. If the detailed rules, implementations, or the enacted version of the draft measures mandate clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, the failure of which may subject us to penalties, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations and the price of our securities. However, as the Company operates in a traditional food industry, we believe the promulgation of the above laws will have a low impact on the Company and CFOO believes it is in compliance with the above laws.
Sincerely,
Conn Flanigan
NewRev General Counsel, LLC
On Behalf of China Foods Holdings Ltd.