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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F 

(Mark One)

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OR

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OR

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OR

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For the transition period from                        to

Commission file number 001-38146

ZK INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LTD.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

British Virgin Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

c/o Zhejiang Zhengkang Industrial Co., Ltd.

No. 678 Dingxiang Road, Binhai Industrial Park

Economic & Technology Development Zone

(Address of principal executive offices)

Di Chen, Corporate Secretary

+86-577-86852999

zjzk@cn-zk.cn

c/o Zhejiang Zhengkang Industrial Co., Ltd.

No. 678 Dingxiang Road, Binhai Industrial Park

Economic & Technology Development Zone

 (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:

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

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

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: 28,918,177 Ordinary shares as of September 30, 2021.

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

☐ Yes    ☒ No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

☐ Yes    ☒ No

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

☒ Yes    ☐ No

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

☒ Yes    ☐ No

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

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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:

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

☐ Item 17    ☐ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

☐ Yes    ☒ No

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

☐ Yes    ☐ No

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Conventions Used in this Annual Report

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report on Form 20-F only, “we,” “us,” “our company,” “Company,” “our” and “ZK” refer to:

This annual report contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollar amounts at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. All reference to “U.S. dollars”, “USD”, “US$” or “$” are to United States dollars. The exchange rates in effect as of September 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019 were US $1.00 for RMB 6.4434, RMB 6.7896, and RMB 7.1477, respectively. The average exchange rates for the years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were US $1.00 for RMB 6.5072, RMB 7.0056, and RMB 6.8753, respectively. We use period-end exchange rates for assets and liabilities and average exchange rates for revenue and expenses. Capital accounts are translated at their historical exchange rates when the capital transactions occurred. Any discrepancies in any table between the amounts identified as total amounts and the sum of the amounts listed therein are due to rounding.

We obtained the industry and market data used in this annual report or any document incorporated by reference from industry publications, research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties and our own internal estimates based on our management’s knowledge and experience in the markets in which we operate. We did not, directly or indirectly, sponsor or participate in the publication of such materials, and these materials are not incorporated in this annual report other than to the extent specifically cited in this annual report. We have sought to provide current information in this annual report and believe that the statistics provided in this annual report remain up-to-date and reliable, and these materials are not incorporated in this annual report other than to the extent specifically cited in this annual report.

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SPECIAL CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation, those discussed under “Item 3—Key Information—Risk Factors,” “Item 4—Information on the Company,” “Item 5—Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” and elsewhere in this report, as well as factors which may be identified from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) or in the documents where such forward-looking statements appear. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this report reflect our views and assumptions only as of the date this report is signed. Except as required by law, we assume no responsibility for updating any forward-looking statements.

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PART I

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

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Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

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A. Selected Financial Data

The following table presents the selected consolidated financial information for our company. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive income data for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 and the selected consolidated balance sheets data as of September 30, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with US GAAP.

(All amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars, except Shares outstanding)

Statement of operations data:

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Balance sheet data:

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B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.

D. Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our business could be materially harmed by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Since the end of 2019, there has been an ongoing spread of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, which has spread rapidly to many parts of the world. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declared the COVID-19 as a pandemic. Governments in affected countries are imposing travel bans, quarantines and other emergency public health measures, which have caused material disruption to businesses globally resulting in an economic slowdown. These measures, though temporary in nature, may continue and increase depending on developments in the COVID-19’s outbreak.

Zhejiang Province, where we conduct a substantial part of our business, was materially impacted by the COVID-19. We followed the recommendations of local health authorities to minimize exposure risk for our employees, including the temporary closure of our offices and suspension of marketing activities, and having employees work remotely. Our on-site work was not resumed until mid-March 2020 upon approval from the local government. Due to the extended lock-down and self-quarantine policies in China, we experienced significant business disruption during the lock-down period from February to mid-March. The production of the Company’s suppliers and logistics services were suspended since early February and did not resume until February 25, 2020 and was picking up slowly after China reopened businesses nationwide.

The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak impacts our financial condition and results of operations for the full year of 2021 cannot be reasonably estimated at this time and will depend on future developments that currently cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and the actions to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or treat its impact, the government steps to combat the virus, the disruption to the general business activities of the PRC and the impact on the economic growth and business of our manufacturers and distributors for the foreseeable future, among others.

We may incur liability for unpaid taxes, including interest and penalties.

In the normal course of its business, our Company, including in particular Zhejiang Zhengkang and Wenzhou Zhengfeng, may be subject to challenges from various PRC taxing authorities regarding the amounts of taxes due. Although Zhejiang Zhengkang is currently entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15% as we have been certified as a high-tech enterprise by the local agency and our management believe that the we have paid all taxes to date, PRC taxing authorities may take the position that the we owe more taxes than we have paid based on transactions conducted by ZK International or ZK Pipe, which may be deemed a resident enterprise, thereby resulting in taxable liability for Zhejiang Zhengkang. (See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Doing Business in China –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.”).

We recorded an income tax liability of $2,354,832, $3,188,615and $4,176,537for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. It is possible that the tax liability of the Company for past taxes may be higher than those amounts. We believe that we have sufficient cash on hand to adequately meet any tax liability for the underpayment of income and business taxes. Additionally, we believe that we may be able to negotiate with local PRC taxing authorities a reduction to any amounts that such authorities may believe are due and a reduction to any interest or penalties thereon. We have no guarantee that we will be able to negotiate such a reduction. To the extent we can negotiate such amounts, national-level taxing authorities may take the position that localities are without power to reduce such liabilities, and such PRC taxing authorities may attempt to collect unpaid taxes, interest and penalties in amounts greatly exceeding management’s estimates.

Our industry is very competitive in China.

The domestic market for pipe and fitting products is fragmented and highly competitive. We estimate that there are a few relatively large companies with which we compete against and more than one hundred smaller companies with regional presences. We

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also face competition from products imported to China or produced by manufacturers that are already globally recognized. The number of these companies varies from time to time. Some of our pipe and fitting products compete on the basis of price and are sold in fragmented markets with low barriers to entry, allowing less expensive domestic producers to gain market share and reduce our margins. To the extent these competitors are able to grow and consolidate, they may be able to take advantage of economies of scale, which could put further pressure on our margins.

A weakening of the Chinese economy (and in particularly in real estate or hospitality sectors) could hurt demand for our products.

Through distributors and wholesalers, most of our products are sold domestically to end users in the real estate or hospitality industries, including those in local municipalities, hotels or residential complexes. As such, we have relied on consumer spending to drive sales in our products. Over the last five years, there are signs that China’s GDP growth rate has slowed. If China’s economy continues to slow, or if customer spending for decreases, demand for our products may be negatively impacted, which would adversely affect sales of our products to infrastructural, real estate or hotel developers and results of our operations.

We might require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.

We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new features or enhance our existing solutions, improve our operating infrastructure or acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing shareholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our ordinary shares. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, or at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly impaired.

Our revenue will decrease if the industries in which our customers operate experience a protracted slowdown.

Our products mainly serve as key components in projects and machines operated by our customers which are mostly in the construction industry. Therefore, we are subject to the general changes in economic conditions affecting those industry segments of the economy. If the industry segments in which our customers operate do not grow or if there is a contraction in those industries, demand for our products will decrease. Demand for our products is typically affected by a number of overarching economic factors, including, but not limited to, interest rates, the availability and magnitude of private and governmental investment in infrastructure projects and the health of the overall global economy. If there is a decline in economic activity in China and the other markets in which we operate or a protracted slowdown in industries on which we rely for our sales, demand for our products and our revenue will likewise decrease.

Any decline in the availability or increase in the cost of raw materials could materially affect our earnings.

Our pipe and fitting manufacturing operations depend heavily on the availability of various raw materials and energy resources. The availability of raw materials and energy resources may decline and their prices may fluctuate greatly. If our suppliers are unable or unwilling to provide us with raw materials on terms favorable to us, we may be unable to produce certain products. This could result in a decrease in profit and damage to our reputation in our industry. In the event our raw material and energy costs increase, we may not be able to pass these higher costs on to our customers in full or at all. Any increase in the prices for raw materials or energy resources could materially increase our costs and therefore lower our earnings.

Outstanding bank loans may reduce our available funds.

We have $17,372,894 in outstanding bank loans as of September 30, 2020. While the management believes that we will have sufficient cash to repay these loans, 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.

Weak liquidity may have material adverse effect on our results of operations.

While our operating activities provided $460,205 and $8,464,493 in net cash during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, our operating activities used $3,479,064 in net cash during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. We cannot assure you that our operating activities will be able to provide net cash in the future. In addition, some of our accounts receivable have

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carried balance for more than 3 years. While we are actively collecting the remaining balance of these accounts receivable, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. If we continue experiencing an increase in accounts receivable without substantial collection of them, the weak liquidity could have a material adverse effect on our financial performance.”

The loss of any of our key vendors could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations.

We consider our major vendors in each period to be those vendors that accounted for more than 10% of overall purchases in such period. We had three major vendors during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, who collectively accounted for 72.52% of total purchases. We had four major vendors during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, who collectively accounted for 70.10% of total purchase. We had two major vendors during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2019, who collectively accounted for 75.78% of total purchase. We purchase raw materials on the market at prevailing market prices. We believe that we can locate replacement vendors readily on the market for prevailing prices and that we would not have significant difficulty replacing a given vendor, any difficulty in replacing such a vendor could adversely affect our company’s performance to the extent it results in higher prices, slower supply chain and ultimately less desirable results of operations.

Any disruption in the supply chain of raw materials and our products could adversely impact our ability to produce and deliver products.

As to the products we manufacture, we must manage our supply chain for raw materials and delivery of our products. Supply chain fragmentation and local protectionism within China further complicates supply chain disruption risks. Local administrative bodies and physical infrastructure built to protect local interests pose transportation challenges for raw material transportation as well as product delivery. In addition, profitability and volume could be negatively impacted by limitations inherent within the supply chain, including competitive, governmental, legal, natural disasters, and other events that could impact both supply and price. Any of these occurrences could cause significant disruptions to our supply chain, manufacturing capability and distribution system that could adversely impact our ability to produce and deliver products.

Our patent rights are limited in China.

We rely on many patented products to establish our market share for stainless pipe products. Our patent rights are granted by the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC. While we have sold our products outside of the PRC and plan to continue expanding the export of our products overseas, we have not been granted any patent in countries outside of the PRC. As of the date hereof, most of our products are sold within the PRC. However, in the event that we begin to generate substantial revenue from sales abroad and if we cannot successfully protect our intellectual properties outside of the PRC, we may not be able to execute our business plan, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial performance.

Rapid expansion could significantly strain our resources, management and operational infrastructure, which could impair our ability to meet increased demand for our products and hurt our business results.

To accommodate our anticipated growth, we will need to expend capital resources and dedicate personnel to implement and upgrade our accounting, operational and internal management systems and enhance our record keeping and contract tracking system. Such measures will require us to dedicate additional financial resources and personnel to optimize our operational infrastructure and to recruit more personnel to train and manage our growing employee base. If we cannot successfully implement these measures efficiently and cost-effectively, we will be unable to satisfy the demand for our products, which will impair our revenue growth and hurt our overall financial performance.

We must manage growth in operations to maximize our potential growth and achieve our expected revenues and any failure to manage growth will cause a disruption of our operations and impair our ability to generate revenue.

In order to maximize potential growth in our current and potential markets, we believe that we must expand the scope of our pipe and fitting manufacturing and production facilities and capabilities and continue to develop new and improved valves. This expansion will place a significant strain on our management and our operational, accounting, and information systems. We expect that we will need to continue to improve our financial controls, operating procedures and management information systems. We will also need to effectively train, motivate and manage our employees. Our failure to manage our growth could disrupt our operations and ultimately prevent us from generating the revenues we expect.

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We cannot assure you that our internal growth strategy will be successful, which may result in a negative impact on our growth, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

One of our strategies is to grow internally through increasing the development of new products and improve the quality of existing products. However, many obstacles to this expansion exist, including, but not limited to, increased competition from similar businesses, our ability to improve our products and product mix to realize the benefits of our research and development efforts, international trade and tariff barriers, unexpected costs, costs associated with marketing efforts abroad and maintaining attractive foreign exchange rates. We cannot, therefore, assure you that we will be able to successfully overcome such obstacles and establish our services in any additional markets. Our inability to implement this internal growth strategy successfully may have a negative impact on our growth, future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We cannot assure you that our acquisition growth strategy will be successful, resulting in our failure to meet growth and revenue expectations.

In addition to our internal growth strategy, we plan to explore the possibility of growing through strategic acquisitions. We may pursue opportunities to acquire businesses in the PRC that are complementary or related in products and business structure to us. We do not presently have any commitments, agreements or understandings to acquire any businesses or assets of such businesses. We may not be able to locate suitable acquisition candidates at prices that we consider appropriate or to finance acquisitions on terms that are satisfactory to us. If we do identify an appropriate acquisition candidate, we may not be able to negotiate successfully the terms of an acquisition, or, if the acquisition occurs, integrate the acquired business into our existing business. Acquisitions of businesses or other material operations may require debt financing or additional equity financing, resulting in leverage or dilution of ownership. Integration of acquired business operations could disrupt our business by diverting management away from day-to-day operations. The difficulties of integration may be increased by the necessity of coordinating geographically dispersed organizations, integrating personnel with disparate business backgrounds and combining different corporate cultures.

We also may not be able to retain key employees or customers of an acquired business or realize cost efficiencies or synergies or other benefits we anticipated when selecting our acquisition candidates. In addition, we may need to record write-downs from future impairments of intangible assets, which could reduce our future reported earnings. At times, acquisition candidates may have liabilities or adverse operating issues that we fail to discover through due diligence prior to the acquisition. In addition to the above, acquisitions in the PRC, including state owned businesses, will be required to comply with the laws of the PRC, to the extent applicable. There can be no assurance that any given proposed acquisition will be able to comply with PRC requirements, rules and/or regulations, or that we will successfully obtain governmental approvals that are necessary to consummate such acquisitions, to the extent required. If our acquisition strategy is unsuccessful, we will not grow our operations and revenues at the rate that we anticipate.

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 pharmaceutical 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.

Our bank accounts in China are not insured or protected against loss.

We maintain our cash with various banks and trust companies located in the PRC and the United States. Our cash accounts in China are not insured or otherwise protected. While China is currently considering implementation of banking insurance policies, it has

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not yet done so. 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 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 and Chairman of the Board Jiancong Huang, to manage our operations.

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 including our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Mr. Jiancong Huang. 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 is intense and the pool of suitable candidates is limited. We may be unable to 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 hardware manufacturing companies and related technology 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 not be able 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 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. 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.

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

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and non-disclosure agreements and other methods to protect our intellectual property rights. We own various patents in China covering our pipe and fitting 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.

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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. 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 susceptible to general economic conditions, natural catastrophic events and public health crises, market downturns and changes in supply chains and sales demand could adversely affect our operating results.

Our operating results will be subject to fluctuations based on general economic conditions, in particular those conditions that impact graphite products industry. Deterioration in economic conditions could cause decreases in both retail and wholesale trade volume and reduce and/or negatively impact our short-term ability to grow our revenues. Further, any decreased collectability of accounts receivable or early termination of agreements due to deterioration in economic conditions could negatively impact our results of operations.

Furthermore, our business is subject to the impact of natural catastrophic events such as earthquakes, floods or power outages, political crises such as terrorism or war, and public health crises, such as disease outbreaks, epidemics, or pandemics in the U.S. and global economies, our markets and business locations. Currently, the rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) globally has resulted in increased travel restrictions and disruption and shutdown of businesses. We may experience impacts from quarantines, market downturns and changes in customer behavior related to pandemic fears and impacts on our workforce if the virus becomes widespread in any of our markets. If the virus were to affect a significant number of our workforce employed in our business-to-business and business-to-customer sales operation, we may experience delays or the inability to deliver our products to customers on a timely basis. In addition, our manufacture process relies on raw materials and components provided by our suppliers. If the ongoing quarantining measures cause delays along our supply chain, we will likely experience manufacture slow-down for the indefinite future. Our customers include mainly domestic customers and we generally do not enter into long-term contracts with our customers; one or more of our customers, distribution partners, service providers or suppliers may experience financial distress, file for bankruptcy protection, go out of business, or suffer disruptions in their business due to the coronavirus outbreak; as a result, our operation revenues may be impacted. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and will include emerging information concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions taken by governments and private businesses to attempt to contain the coronavirus, but is likely to result in a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition at least for the near term.

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.

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Risks Related to Investment in CG Malta Holding Limited

We are subject to the risk of becoming an investment company under U.S. federal securities law, which may require us to fundamentally restructure our business or potentially to cease operations.

The Investment Company Act states that a company is an investment company if (i) it holds itself out to be an investment company or (ii) it is in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, and owns or proposes to own investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the company’s total assets on an unconsolidated basis, excluding U.S. Government securities and certain cash items (the “40% Test”). We believe that we will not be considered an investment company because we will not engage primarily or hold ourselves out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Rather, we will be primarily engaged in the non-investment company businesses of the design and manufacture of steel pipes. We will monitor our holdings in equity securities of non-majority owned affiliates to ensure continuing and ongoing compliance with this test.

Although we intend and expect that we will be engaged primarily and predominantly in the steel pipe design and manufacturing business, and we intend to conduct our business on an ongoing basis, our subsidiary, xSigma Entertainment, has invested a total of $25 million in CG Malta Holding Limited as of the date of this annual report and has committed to invest an additional $15 million in CG Malta Holding Limited. The total investment in the amount of $50 million, if made in full, will guarantee xSigma Entertainment a total of 25% equity interest in CG Malta Holding Limited. For more details of the transaction, see “Item 4. Information of the Company – Recent Development – Investment in CG Malta Holding Limited.”

There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing the Investment Company Act, including the Division of Investment Management of the SEC providing more specific or different guidance regarding these exceptions will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations. Any additional guidance from the SEC or its staff from this process or in other circumstances could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could further inhibit our ability to pursue the strategies we have chosen. If we or our subsidiaries fail to maintain an exception from the Investment Company Act, we could, among other things, be required either to (1) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (2) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so or (3) register as an investment company, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

If an exemption were not available, we might be required to register as an investment company. Accordingly, to the extent we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may rely upon Rule 3a-2 of the Investment Company Act, which applies to “transient investment companies.” Rule 3a-2 permits a company that fails the 40% Test to remain exempt from the Investment Company Act for a period of up to one-year commencing upon the earlier of the date on which a company owns or proposes to own securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the value of the company’s total assets, on either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis, or the date on which the company owns or proposes to acquire investment securities in an amount that would fail the 40% Test. A company may only rely upon such Rule once in any three-year period. We have complied with the requirements of Rule 3a-2.

If, as a result of our operations, we are deemed to be an “investment company,” and cannot otherwise qualify for an exception or exemption from such definition, we would be required to register under the Investment Company Act as an investment company, fundamentally restructure our business or cease operations. As we are organized outside of the United States, we could not register as an investment company without first applying for and obtaining an order of the SEC permitting us to do so. These orders have been granted very infrequently. Registered investment companies are subject to extensive and restrictive regulation that can adversely affect businesses like ours. Accordingly, if we were to register as an investment company after obtaining an order permitting us to do so, we would not be able to operate our business as we currently intend to conduct it. If we were to decide to not register under the Investment Company Act or if we were unable to register under the Investment Company Act, we would have to fundamentally restructure our business or cease operations. If we were found in violation of the Investment Company Act, we could become subject to monetary penalties or injunctive relief, or both.

We could be deemed as a “Passive Foreign Investment Company” in the future.

A non-U.S. corporation will be treated as a “Passive Foreign Investment Company” (“PFIC”) for U.S. Federal Income Tax purpose if at least 75% its gross income is “passive income” or on average at least 50% of the value of its assets is attributable to assets that produce passive income. It is likely that xSigma Entertainment’s investment in CG Malta Holding Limited would be deemed passive. If xSigma Entertainment completes the full investment in CG Malta Holding Limited, there is a risk that the Company will become an investment company, a PFIC or both. The consequence of any of those scenarios, or even the perception that such scenarios could occur, could be a significant drop in the market price of our ordinary shares, possible civil litigation and regulatory enforcement.

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The online gaming and interactive entertainment industry is a new and evolving industrys, presenting significant uncertainty and business risks for CG Malta Holding Limited.

The online gaming and interactive entertainment industry is relatively new and continuing to evolve. Whether these industries grow and whether our online business will ultimately succeed, will be affected by, among other things, developments in gaming platforms, legal and regulatory developments (such as the passage of new laws or regulations or the extension of existing laws or regulations to online gaming activities), taxation of gaming activities, data privacy laws and regulation and other factors that we are unable to predict and which are beyond our control. Given the dynamic evolution of these industries, it can be difficult to for CG Malta Holding Limited to plan strategically, and it is possible that competitors will be more successful than us at adapting to the changing landscape and pursuing business opportunities. Additionally, as the online gaming industry advances, including with respect to regulation, CG Malta Holding Limited may become subject to additional compliance-related costs, which may adversely affect the return on our investment in CG Malta Holding Limited.

Risks Related to the Stablecoin Exchange Platform

Our total revenue will be dependent on volume of transactions conducted on the stablecoin exchange platform. If xSigma Corporation does not manage to grow such volume, our business, operating results, and financial condition would be adversely affected.

xSigma Corporation plans to generate commission revenue from the stablecoin in connection with the exchange by users through the stablecoin exchange platform launched by xSigma Corporation in February 2021. Commission revenue will be based on transaction fees that are either a flat fee or a percentage of the value of each transaction. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, although SIG is listed on Bittrex Global and has a public market price, due to SIG’s low trading volume and unstable market price, the Company decides not to recognize revenue for the token it owned until monetization of the token. As such, if xSigma Corporation does not manage to grow the transaction volume, our business, operating results and financial conditions would be adversely affected.

The demand for buying, selling, and trading of digital assets have historically been subject to significant volatility. The trading volume of any digital asset is subject to significant uncertainty and volatility, depending on a number of factors, including:

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There is no assurance that any supported digital asset will maintain its value or that there will be meaningful levels of trading activities. In the event that xSigma Corporation does not manage to grow the transaction volume, our business, operating results and financial conditions would be adversely affected.

Cryptocurrency, including stablecoin, is not legal tender, is not backed by the U.S. government or most other governments, and customer balances are not covered by FDIC or SIPC protections. The value of a cryptocurrency may be derived in large part from the continued willingness of market participants to exchange legal tender for cryptocurrency, or a particular cryptocurrency for another, which, if such willingness diminishes or disappears, may result in permanent and total loss of value for that particular cryptocurrency.

A stablecoin is a class of cryptocurrencies that attempt to offer price stability and are backed by an underlying asset, often a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. The stablecoins available for exchange on our exchange platform are DAI, USDC and USDT. Although they are considered fiat-backed stablecoins. They are not legal tender, are not backed by the U.S. government or most other governments and customer balances are not covered by FDIC or SIPC protections. Federal, state and foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of cryptocurrency, including the stablecoins, and regulation in the U.S. and in other countries is still developing. For example, in September 2021, China declared all financial transactions involving cryptocurrencies illegal and issued a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency mining. Additionally, the value of cryptocurrencies is based in large part on market adoption and the continued willingness of market participants to exchange legal tender for cryptocurrency, or a particular cryptocurrency for another, which, if such willingness diminishes or disappears, may result in permanent and total loss of value for that particular cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies have only recently become selectively accepted as a means of payment by retail and commercial outlets and use of cryptocurrencies by consumers to pay such retail and commercial outlets remains limited. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for cryptocurrency transaction, process wire transfers to or from cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in cryptocurrency. Any of these actions, events or decisions could limit xSigma Corporation’s ability to operate the stablecoin exchange platform, reduce liquidity in the market and damage the public perception of cryptocurrencies generally, or any one cryptocurrency in particular, and their utility as a payment system, which could decrease the price of cryptocurrencies generally or individually. While xSigma Corporation has observed a

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continuing positive trend in the total market capitalization of cryptocurrency assets, driven by increased adoption of cryptocurrency trading by both retail and institutional investors and corporations as well as continued growth of various non-investing use cases, historical trends are not indicative of future adoption, and it is possible that the adoption of cryptocurrencies may slow, take longer to develop or never be broadly adopted, which would negatively impact xSigma Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, unlike securities or other traditional asset exchanges and financial services providers, cryptocurrency platforms are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated or insufficiently regulated. Because of this, users may be less familiar with cryptocurrency platforms or may not fully understand the risks associated with them. Additionally, while many prominent cryptocurrency platforms provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance, many cryptocurrency platforms do not provide this information, which could result in users making uninformed investment decisions. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in cryptocurrency platforms. Further, any security weaknesses identified with a cryptocurrency, any actual or perceived improper trading in trading platforms, any other fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, any unrecoverable loss of customer assets, and any associated negative publicity, could adversely affect the value of cryptocurrencies and negatively affect the market perception of such cryptocurrencies and, by extension, cryptocurrency markets and platforms, including xSigma Corporation’s stablecoin exchange platform.

Regulation of the cryptocurrency industry is incipient, fragmented and complex and will likely change substantially. xSigma Corporation’s interpretations of any cryptocurrency regulation may be subject to challenge by the relevant regulators and xSigma Corporation’s failure to comply with such regulation may negatively impact its ability to allow customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies with it in the future and may materially adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations.

xSigma Corporation’s stablecoin exchange platform currently provides customers with the ability to exchange a limited number of DAI, USDC and USDT. While both domestic and foreign regulators and governments are increasingly focused on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, there is currently no uniformly applicable legal or regulatory regime governing cryptocurrencies in the United States. Rather, xSigma Corporation’s business is subject to extensive laws, rules, regulations, policies, orders, determinations, directives, treaties, and legal and regulatory interpretations and guidance in the markets in which it operates, including those governing financial services and banking, trust companies, securities, broker-dealers and alternative trading systems, commodities, money transmitters and money services businesses, credit, crypto asset custody, cross-border and domestic money and crypto asset transmission, consumer and commercial lending, usury, foreign currency exchange, privacy, data governance, data protection, cybersecurity, fraud detection, payment services (including payment processing and settlement services), consumer protection, escheatment, antitrust and competition, bankruptcy, tax, anti-bribery, economic and trade sanctions, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorist financing. Cryptocurrencies are regulated by both federal and state authorities in the United States depending on their nature and the context of their usage, and regulation of cryptocurrencies continues to evolve. Recent initiatives by U.S. lawmakers and regulators have increasingly focused on cryptocurrencies and their impact on the economy, retail investors and securities markets, and lawmakers have urged the SEC and the CFTC to implement a comprehensive regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies. Various states within the U.S. have recently proposed, or are in the process of implementing, additional or enhanced licensing and other regulatory obligations on entities, such as xSigma Corporation’s stablecoin exchange platform, that provide cryptocurrency exchanging capabilities to retail investors. Cryptocurrency market disruptions and resulting governmental interventions are unpredictable, and may make cryptocurrencies, or certain cryptocurrency business activities, unprofitable or illegal altogether. There is a substantial risk of inconsistent regulatory guidance among federal and state agencies and state governments which, along with potential accounting and tax issues or other requirements relating to cryptocurrencies, could impede xSigma Corporation’s growth and operations.

Additionally, the significant uncertainty surrounding the regulation of cryptocurrencies requires xSigma Corporation to exercise its judgment as to whether certain laws, rules and regulations apply to it and, if so, how, and it is possible that governmental bodies and regulators may disagree with xSigma Corporation’s conclusions. To the extent xSigma Corporation has not complied with such laws, rules and regulations or regulators’ interpretation thereof, it could be subject to significant fines, revocation of licenses, limitations on its products and services, reputational harm and other regulatory consequences, each of which may be significant and could materially adversely affect xSigma Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition to existing laws and regulations, various governmental and regulatory bodies, including legislative and executive bodies, in the United States and in other countries may adopt new laws and regulations, or new interpretations of existing laws and regulations may be issued by such bodies or the judiciary. Any such new laws, regulations or interpretations may materially adversely impact the development of the cryptoeconomy as a whole and xSigma Corporation’s legal and regulatory status in particular by changing how it operates its business, how its products and services are regulated, and what products or services xSigma Corporation and its competitors can offer, requiring changes to xSigma Corporation’s compliance and risk mitigation measures, imposing new licensing requirements, or imposing a total ban on certain crypto asset transactions, as has occurred in certain jurisdictions in the past. Any one of these events could have a material adverse effect on xSigma Corporation’s business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

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A particular cryptocurrecy’s status as a “security” in any jurisdiction is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and if xSigma Corporation is unable to properly characterize a cryptocurrecy it may be subject to federal or state regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines and other penalties, which may adversely affect xSigma Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

The SEC and its staff have taken the position that certain cryptocurrencies fall within the definition of a “security” under the U.S. federal securities laws but that the application of the securities laws to cryptocurrencies may not be warranted in every instance. The legal test for determining whether any given cryptocurrency is a security is a highly complex, fact-driven analysis that has and will continue to evolve over time, and the outcome is difficult to predict. The SEC generally does not provide advance guidance or confirmation on the status of any particular cryptocurrency as a security, and it is difficult to predict the direction or timing of any continuing evolution of the SEC’s views in this area. It is also possible that a change in the governing administration or the appointment of new SEC commissioners could substantially impact the views of the SEC and its staff. The Report on Stablecoins published on November 1, 2021 by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “stablecoins, or certain parts of stablecoin arrangements, may be securities, commodities and/or derivatives.” The SEC’s statement publish on the same day by Chair Gary Gensler states that “the use of stablecoins presents a number of public policy challenges with respect to protecting investors” and that the SEC and the CFTC “will deploy the full protections of the federal securities laws and the Commodity Exchange Act to these products and arrangements, where applicable.” In addition to the SEC and its staff taking the position that certain cryptocurrencies meet the definition of a “security” under the federal securities laws, the CFTC and its staff have generally taken the position that cryptocurrencies, at least to the extent they are not a security, meet the definition of a “commodity” under the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC has enforcement authority to impose fines and other remedies for manipulative or fraudulent activity in the commodities markets generally.

The classification of a cryptocurrency as a security under applicable law has wide-ranging implications for the regulatory obligations that flow from the offer, sale, trading and clearing of such assets. For example, a cryptocurrency that is a security in the U.S. may generally only be offered or sold in the U.S. pursuant to a registration statement filed with the SEC or in an offering that qualifies for an exemption from registration. Persons that effect transactions in cryptocurrencies that are securities in the U.S. may be subject to registration with the SEC as a “broker” or “dealer.” Platforms that bring together purchasers and sellers to trade cryptocurrencies that are securities in the U.S. are generally subject to registration as national securities exchanges, or must qualify for an exemption, such as by being operated by a registered broker-dealer as an alternative trading system, in compliance with rules for alternative trading systems. Persons facilitating clearing and settlement of securities may be subject to registration with the SEC as a clearing agency. Foreign jurisdictions may have similar licensing, registration and qualification requirements. In the event that the SEC, a foreign regulatory authority, or a court were to determine that a stablecoin currently offered, sold or exchanged on the xSigma Corporation’s platform is a “security” under applicable laws, xSigma Corporation could be subject to legal or regulatory action. This could include xSigma Corporation’s exchange platform being subject to judicial or administrative sanctions for failing to offer or sell a cryptocurrency in compliance with the registration requirements, or for acting as a broker, dealer or national securities exchange without appropriate registration, as xSigma Corporation is not a licensed broker-dealer. Such an action could result in injunctions and cease and desist orders, as well as civil monetary penalties, fines or disgorgement, criminal liability or reputational harm. Customers that traded such supported cryptocurrency and suffered trading losses could also seek to rescind a transaction that xSigma Corporation facilitated on the basis that it was conducted in violation of applicable law, which could subject xSigma Corporation to significant liability.

Risks Related to The Equity, Contract For Differences (CFD) and Crypto Trading Platform

Although xSigma Corporation have the know-your-customer, or KYC procedures to prevent offers and sales of CFD and Crypto assets in the United States or to U.S. persons, xSigma Corporation faces the risks related to the KYC procedures when the clients provide outdated, inaccurate, false or misleading information or use virtual private network to visit xSigma Trading, the equity, CFD and Crypto trading platform.

xSigma Trading, the equity, CFD and Crypto trading platform, is under beta testing and is planned to be launched by xSigma Corporation in February 2022. xSigma Corpoartion is activally seeking partners that are licensed in the markets that xSigma Trading will be launching in and plans to apply for its own license in the future. xSigma Trading or its licensed partners will establish a blacklist IP address to block the users from U.S. sanctioned countries and the U.S. xSigma Trading or its licensed partners will also collect client information during the account opening and registration process and screen accounts against public databases or collaborates with external service providers for purpose of verifying client identity and detecting risks. xSigma Corporation or its licensed partners will have a dedicated team to conduct the KYC procedure on new clients’ backgrounds and identify manually and will request the clients to reconfirm that they are not U.S. persons on an annual basis. xSigma Corporation will reject all account applications if there is any U.S. exposure. For example, we will not allow U.S. citizens or residents to open an account with xSigma Corporation and xSigma Corporation will require the potential clients to provide copies of their passports or identity cards in connection with their account applications. Although xSigma Corporation will require the clients to submit documents for proof of their identity for completing the account

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registration and to update such information from time to time, xSigma Corporation faces risks as the information provided by the clients may be outdated, inaccurate, false or misleading. xSigma Corporation cannot fully confirm the accuracy, currency and completeness of such information beyond reasonable effort. For instance, if a potential client only provides a non-U.S. passport or identity card, and misinforms xSigma Corporation that he or she does not also possess a U.S. passport or permanent resident card, xSigma Corporation might not be able to detect such misinformation. In addition, as a client who is not a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of account registration may later obtain U.S. citizenship or residential status and fail to update xSigma Corporation in a timely manner, our customer database might not be entirely accurate at all time. Despite the efforts to exclude persons who reside in jurisdictions where xSigma Corporation has no license or permit such as the United States, the provision of products and services to such clients could be in violation of the applicable laws and regulations in those jurisdictions, of which xSigma Corporation may have no awareness until xSigma Corporation is warned by the relevant supervising authorities. In addition, anonymous accounts are generally not allowed to be opened, heightened scrutiny measures are imposed on accounts opened on behalf of third parties and additional verification measures are conducted before xSigma Corporation accepts third party payments against the accounts of the clients.

Despite the safeguards, xSigma Corporation could still be subject to certain legal or regulatory sanctions, fines or penalties, financial loss, or damage to reputation resulting from such violations. There is no assurance that xSigma Corporation will be able to successfully identify and exclude all persons who resides in jurisdictions where xSigma Corporation has no license or permit to operate, including the United States. If U.S. citizens and residents were to register on and begin using the platform, xSigma Corporation may be subject to the scrutiny of U.S. regulatory agencies and required to comply with applicable laws and regulations in the United States, including the requirements to obtain relevant licenses and permits for providing the products to U.S. citizens and residents. In addition, xSigma Corporation may not be able to prevent users from using virtual private network or other high technology measures to circumvent the blacklist IP address to visit the websites. xSigma Corporation currently do not intend to apply for such licenses and permits in the United States, and if xSigma Corporation determines to do so, there is no guarantee that xSigma Corporation will successfully obtain such licenses in a timely fashion, or at all. xSigma Trading, LLC could be subject to disciplinary or other actions by the U.S. regulatory agencies due to claimed noncompliance which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, although xSigma Corporation have strict internal policies for continuing KYC procedures after the activation of accounts and for issues such as anti-corruption, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, export controls and securities fraud, xSigma Corporation mainly rely on the continuing KYC procedures to ensure the compliance with relevant laws and regulations related to anti-corruption, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, export controls and securities fraud. Although xSigma Corporation have trainings for the employees in all of the departments, the KYC system and procedures cannot be foolproof. Any potential flaw in the KYC system or any misconduct in the KYC procedures by any of the employees may lead to the failure of compliance with such relevant laws and regulations, which will further subject xSigma Corporation to certain legal or regulatory sanctions, fines or penalties, financial loss, or damage to reputation.

Risks Related to the Non-fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace

The failure to safeguard and manage xSigma Collectibles’ customers’ fiat money and crypto assets could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

In November 2021, xSigma Collectibles launched MaximNFT, an exclusive NFT marketplace in partnership with the iconic men's lifestyle brand Maxim. The success of MaximNFT requires significant public confidence in our ability, or the partners or service providers, if any, to properly manage customers’ balances and assets and handle large transaction volumes and amounts of customer funds. xSigma Collectibles must continue to strengthen the associated internal controls and ensure that the service providers do the same. In addition, xSigma Collectibles may be dependent on the service providers’ operations, liquidity, and financial condition for the proper maintenance, use, and safekeeping of these customer assets. MaximNFT allows its users to connect and link their own digital wallets, such as Metamask, to the MaximNFT marketplace, therefore, any failure by xSigma Collectibles or the service providers to maintain the necessary controls or to manage customers’ crypto assets and funds appropriately and in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements could result in reputational harm, significant financial losses, lead customers to discontinue or reduce their use of xSigma Collectibles’ and the service providers’ products, and result in significant penalties and fines and additional restrictions, which could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

xSigma Collectibles, or the partner, or the service providers, may deposit, transfer, and custody customer’s NFT in multiple jurisdictions. In each instance, xSigma Collectibles is required to safeguard customers’ assets using high-level security standards applicable to the or service providers’ hot and cold wallet and storage systems, as well as the financial management systems. xSigma Collectibles’ security technology is designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate inappropriate access to the systems, by internal or external threats. We believe xSigma Collectibles has developed and maintained administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to

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comply with applicable legal requirements and industry standards. However, it is nevertheless possible that hackers, employees or service providers acting contrary to xSigma Collectibles’ policies, or others could circumvent these safeguards to improperly access xSigma Collectibles’ systems or documents, or the systems or documents of the business partners, agents, or service providers, and improperly access, obtain, misuse customers’ crypto assets and funds. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable, or degrade service or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and evolving and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of time. Additionally, transactions undertaken through the platform or other electronic channels may create risks of fraud, hacking, unauthorized access or acquisition, and other deceptive practices. Any security incident resulting in a compromise of customer assets could result in substantial costs to xSigma Collectibles and require xSigma Collectibles to notify impacted individuals, and in some cases regulators, of a possible or actual incident, expose xSigma Collectibles to regulatory enforcement actions, including substantial fines, limit xSigma Collectibles’ ability to provide services, subject xSigma Collectibles to litigation, significant financial losses, damage our reputation, and adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and cash flows.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities. We are currently not required to obtain approval from Chinese authorities to list on U.S exchanges, however, if our holding company or subsidiaries were required to obtain approval in the future and were denied permission from Chinese authorities to list on U.S. exchanges, we will not be able to continue listing on U.S. exchange, which may cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or be worthless.

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.

On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect on September 1, 2021. The law requires data collection to be conducted in a legitimate and proper manner, and stipulates that, for the purpose of data protection, data processing activities must be conducted based on data classification and hierarchical protection system for data security.

On August 20, 2021, the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted and passed the "Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", or “PRC Personal Information Protection Law”, which became effective on November 1, 2021. The PRC Personal Information Protection Law applies to the processing of personal information of natural persons within the territory of China that is carried out outside of China where (1) such processing is for the purpose of providing products or services for natural persons within China, (2) such processing is to analyze or evaluate the behavior of natural persons within China, or (3) there are any other circumstances stipulated by related laws and administrative regulations.

On December 28, 2021, the CAC jointly with the relevant authorities formally published Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) which will take effect on February 15, 2022 and replace the former Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2020) issued on July 10, 2021. Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) stipulates that operators of critical information infrastructure purchasing network products and services, and online platform operator (together with the operators of critical information infrastructure, the “Operators”) carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, shall conduct a cybersecurity review, any online platform operator who controls more than one million users’ personal information must go through a cybersecurity review by the cybersecurity review office if it seeks to be listed in a foreign country.

We do not believe that we or any of our subsidiaries is deemed to be an “Operator” that are required to file for cybersecurity review, because (i) we do not collect or store personal information except for those of our employees and such number of PRC individuals are much less than one million and (ii) as of the date of this annual report, none of our subsidiaries have been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that it files for a cybersecurity review or a CSRC review.

However, since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon the legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any. It is also highly uncertain what the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will

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have on the daily business operations of our subsidiaries, their respective abilities to accept foreign investments and the continued listing of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq or other foreign exchanges. There remains significant uncertainty in the interpretation and enforcement of relevant PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations. If any of our subsidiaries is deemed to be an “Operator”, or if the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) or the PRC Personal Information Protection Law becomes applicable to our subsidiaries, the business operation of our subsidiaries and the continued listing of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq could be subject to the CAC’s cybersecurity review in the future. If any of our subsidiaries become subject to the CAC review, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will be able to comply with the regulatory requirements in all respects and the current practice of collecting and processing personal information may be ordered to be rectified or terminated by regulatory authorities. In the event of a failure to comply, our subsidiaries may become subject to fines and other penalties which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition and may cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or be worthless.

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, adopted the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009. Foreign investors shall comply with the M&A Rules when they purchase equity interests of a domestic company or subscribe to the increased capital of a domestic company and thus change the nature of the domestic company into a foreign-invested enterprise; or when the foreign investors establish a foreign-invested enterprise in the PRC, purchase the assets of a domestic company and operate the assets; or when the foreign investors purchase the assets of a domestic company, establish a foreign-invested enterprise by injecting such assets and operate the assets. The M&A Rules purport to require offshore special purpose companies/vehicles formed for overseas listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain approval from the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange.

On July 6, 2021, the State Council and General Office of the CPC Central Committee issued Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities in Accordance with the Law. The opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies and proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems to deal with the risks and incidents faced by China-based overseas-listed companies.

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC, together with other relevant government authorities in China issued the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments), and the Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (“Draft Overseas Listing Regulations”). The Draft Overseas Listing Regulations requires that a PRC domestic enterprise seeking to issue and list its shares overseas (“Overseas Issuance and Listing”) shall complete the filing procedures of and submit the relevant information to CSRC. The Overseas Issuance and Listing includes direct and indirect issuance and listing. Where an enterprise whose principal business activities are conducted in PRC seeks to issue and list its shares in the name of an overseas enterprise (“Overseas Issuer”)on the basis of the equity, assets, income or other similar rights and interests of the relevant PRC domestic enterprise, such activities shall be deemed an indirect overseas issuance and listing (“ Indirect Overseas Issuance and Listing”) under the Draft Overseas Listing Regulations.

There remain some uncertainties as to whether the Draft Overseas Listing Regulations are appliable to us and our continued listing on Nasdaq. If it is determined that CSRC approval is required for our continued listing, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek CSRC approval for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, suspension of business operations in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ordinary shares.

The Opinions recently issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future.

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions, which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. The aforementioned policies and any related implementation rules to be enacted may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. As the Opinions were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of the Opinions remain unclear in several respects at

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this time. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will remain fully compliant with all new regulatory requirements of the Opinions or any future implementation rules on a timely basis, or at all.

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, 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.

Our PRC subsidiaries’ books and records are prepared in accordance with China GAAP, not U.S. GAAP.

Substantially all of the business operations of our Company are located in the PRC. Although ZK International’s reports are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, our PRC subsidiaries’ books and records are prepared in accordance with China GAAP. Despite our efforts to improve the Company’s controls and procedures, our accounting personnel do not have sufficient knowledge, experience and training in maintaining our books and records in accordance with U.S. GAAP standards. If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm the value of our shares.

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 a new labor law, namely, the Labor Contract Law of the PRC, which became effective on January 1, 2008, which was further amended on December 28, 2012 (effective July 1, 2013). 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. The Labor Contract Law also mandates that employers provide social welfare packages to all employees, increasing our labor costs. To the extent competitors from outside China are not affected by such requirements, we could be at a comparative disadvantage.

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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 emerging markets in the form of delayed customs clearances, customs duties and tariffs. In addition, we may be subject to repatriation taxes levied upon the exchange of income from local currency into foreign currency, 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 an Enterprise Income Tax Law (the “EIT Law”) and 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 issued the Notice 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 Notice, further interpreting the application of the EIT Law and its implementation to offshore entities controlled by a Chinese enterprise or group. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or 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 are often resident in China. A resident enterprise would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and must pay a withholding tax at a rate of 10% when paying dividends to its non-PRC stockholders. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Notice is applicable to an offshore enterprise controlled, but not necessarily owned, by a Chinese natural person. Therefore, it is unclear how tax authorities will determine tax residency based on the facts of each case.

If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “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, so this would minimal effect on us; however, if we develop non-China source income in the future, we could be adversely affected. Second, under the EIT Law and its implementing rules, dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income.” Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation in which a 10% withholding tax is imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC stockholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC stockholders from transferring our shares.

Since our operations and assets are located in the PRC, shareholders may find it difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against the assets of our company, our directors and executive officers.

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.

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, or 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

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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 be 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.

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 we received from our initial public offering into RMB for our operations, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of paying dividends on our Ordinary 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.

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We reflect the impact of currency translation adjustments in our financial statements under the heading “accumulated other comprehensive (loss)/income.” For the years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we had adjustment gain of $2,423,439, adjustment gain of $2,319,048, and adjustment loss of $1,694,278, 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.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC law.

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 that requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC citizens or residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This notice has amended SAFE Circular 37 requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing.

If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration as required, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

Our shareholders who are PRC residents have not completed their registration with the local SAFE branches. The failure of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents to register or amend their SAFE registrations in a timely manner pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, may subject such beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

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

Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.

We are required under PRC laws and regulations to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of our employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where we operate our businesses. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. We did not pay, or were not able to pay, certain social insurance or housing fund contributions for all of our employees and the amount we paid was lower than the requirements of relevant PRC regulations. If we are determined by local authorities to fail to make adequate contributions to any employee benefits as required by relevant PRC regulations, we may face late fees or fines in relation

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to the underpaid employee benefits. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

We are a holding company and will rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us, or any tax implications of making dividend payments to us, could limit our ability to pay our expenses or pay dividends to holders of our ordinary shares.

We are a BVI holding company and conduct substantially all of our business through our subsidiaries in China. We may rely on dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. If our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.

Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, wholly foreign-owned enterprises are required to set aside at least 10% of their accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a certain statutory reserve fund, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital.

Our PRC subsidiaries generate primarily all of their revenue in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of any one of our PRC subsidiaries to use its Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting process may be put forward by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other kinds of payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or EIT, and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are incorporated. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

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

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries.

As an offshore holding company of our PRC subsidiaries, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries, or may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, subject to satisfaction of applicable governmental registration and approval requirements.

Any loans we extend to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, cannot exceed the statutory limit and must be registered with the local counterpart of the SAFE.

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We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, these capital contributions are subject to registration with or approval by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts. In addition, the PRC government also restricts the convertibility of foreign currencies into Renminbi and use of the proceeds. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, which took effect and replaced certain previous SAFE regulations from June 1, 2015. SAFE further promulgated Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which, among other things, amend certain provisions of Circular 19. According to SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16, the flow and use of the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that Renminbi capital may not be used for business beyond its business scope or to provide loans to persons other than affiliates unless otherwise permitted under its business scope. Violations of the applicable circulars and rules may result in severe penalties, including substantial fines as set forth in the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations. These circulars may limit our ability to transfer the net proceeds from this offering to our PRC subsidiaries, and we may not be able to convert the net proceeds from this offering into Renminbi to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies in China.

In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans or capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries by us. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we expect to receive from this offering and to fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares

Our ordinary shares may be delisted under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. The delisting of our ordinary shares, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCA Act states if the SEC determines that a company has filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit such securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the United States.

On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the Act. The interim final amendments will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report on Forms 10-K, 20-F, 40-F or N-CSR with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. The SEC will implement a process for identifying such a registrant and any such identified registrant will be required to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that it is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity in that foreign jurisdiction, and will also require disclosure in the registrant’s annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and governmental influence on, such a registrant.

On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act from three years to two.

On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.

On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.

On December 16, 2021, SEC announced that the PCAOB designated China and Hong Kong as the jurisdictions where the PCAOB is not allowed to conduct full and complete audit inspections as mandated under the HFCAA.

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The lack of access to the PCAOB inspection in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of the auditors based in China. As a result, the investors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these accounting firms’ audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause existing and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

Our auditor, ZH CPA, LLC, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess our auditor’s compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is based in Denver Colorado and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis, with the latest inspection completed in January 2021.

However, we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements. It remains unclear what the SEC’s implementation process related to the above rules will entail or what further actions the SEC, the PCAOB or Nasdaq will take to address these issues and what impact those actions will have on U.S. companies that have significant operations in the PRC and have securities listed on a U.S. stock exchange. In addition, the above amendments and any additional actions, proceedings, or new rules resulting from these efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could create some uncertainty for investors, the market price of our ordinary shares could be adversely affected. If our auditor is unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement, we may be required to engage a new audit firm, which would require significant expense and management time. If we cannot engage a new auditor within a reasonable time under reasonable terms, our ordinary shares may be delisted, and the price of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease or become worthless.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our ordinary 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 proxy statements 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 $1 billion, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period, or if the market value of our Ordinary 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 Ordinary Shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Ordinary Shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Ordinary Shares and our stock price may be more volatile.

Our officers/directors have entered into an agreement to vote in concert, which provides control over majority of our Ordinary Shares and increases our influence on shareholder decisions.

ZK International was incorporated on May 13, 2015 under the laws BVI, with 100% of the founding shares held by Kai Chun Cheng. On the same date, Jiancong Huang, Mingjie Wang, Guolin Wang, Jiandi Wang and Yangming Wang entered into an agreement to vote in concert in ZK International with Mr. Huang appointed as proxy effective completion of transfer of the ordinary shares held by Mr. Cheng. Pursuant to the agreement, which has a term of 20 years from its effective date of May 13, 2015, if the parties are unable to reach a unanimous consent in relation to the matters requiring action in concert, a decision made by more than 50% of the voting rights of the parties will be deemed a decision unanimously passed by all parties and will be binding on all parties. On July 29, 2015, Mr. Cheng entered into equity interest transfer agreements with and transferred to these individuals 45%, 20%, 20%, 10% and 5%, respectively, of ZK International’s equity interest on October 12, 2015. All of these individuals are officers or directors of ZK International and/or our operating entity Zhejiang Zhengkang. As of January 28, 2022, our officers and/or directors beneficially own approximately 28.92% of our outstanding shares. As a result, our officers and directors will 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

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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 Ordinary Shares. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders.

As a foreign private issuer, 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 will be 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 will not be required to issue quarterly reports or proxy statements. We will not be required to disclose detailed individual executive compensation information. Furthermore, our directors and executive officers will not be required to report equity holdings under Section 16 of the Exchange Act and will not be 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.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to, and did follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of otherwise applicable Nasdaq Capital Market requirements, which may result in less protection than is accorded to investors under rules applicable to domestic U.S. issuers.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to and did follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of those otherwise required under the applicable rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market for domestic U.S. issuers, provided that we disclose the requirements we are not following and describe the home country practices we are following. We have elected to follow home country practice in British Virgin Islands in lieu of Nasdaq Capital Market Listing Rule 5600 with the exception of those rules which are required to be followed pursuant to the provisions of Listing Rule 5615(a)(3). See “Item 16G. Corporate Governance”. Following our home country governance practices as opposed to the requirements that would otherwise apply to a U.S. company listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market may provide less protection to you than what is accorded to investors under the applicable rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market applicable to domestic U.S. issuers.

If we are 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 Ordinary 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 will be 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”. If we 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 Ordinary 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

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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 filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will 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 new rules and regulations will 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.

We have incurred and will continue to incur additional costs as a result of becoming a public company, which could negatively impact our net income and liquidity.

As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to 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 will increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs and will make many corporate activities more time-consuming and costly.

We do not expect to incur materially greater costs as a result of becoming 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 Ordinary Shares could decline.

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

We are a publicly listed company in the United States. As a publicly listed company, we will be 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 will 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 will be 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 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 Ordinary Shares if the market price of our Ordinary Shares increases.

British Virgin Islands companies may not be able to initiate shareholder derivative actions, thereby depriving shareholders of the ability to protect their interests.

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.

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The laws of the British Virgin Islands provide little protection for minority shareholders, so minority shareholders will have little or no recourse if they are dissatisfied with the conduct of our affairs.

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 Business Companies Act (the "BVI Act") dealing with shareholder remedies. The principal protection under statutory law is that shareholders may bring an action to enforce the company's memorandum and articles of association. Shareholders are entitled to have the affairs of the company conducted in accordance with the general law and the company's memorandum and articles of association.

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 in Foss 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.

Volatility in our ordinary share price may subject us to securities litigation.

The market for our ordinary share may have, when compared to seasoned issuers, significant price volatility and we expect that the price of our ordinary shares may continue to be more volatile than that of a seasoned issuer for the indefinite future. In the past, plaintiffs have often initiated securities class action litigation against a company following periods of volatility in the market price of its securities. We may, in the future, be the target of similar litigation. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and liabilities to the Company and could divert our management’s attention and resources.

The market price of the Company’s ordinary shares may continue to be volatile.

The trading price of our ordinary shares has been volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. From the beginning of 2021 through August 25, 2021, our ordinary shares have traded at a low of $2.55 and a high of $14.60 irrespective of our operating performance and with no discernable announcements or developments by the company or third parties. We may incur rapid and substantial decreases in our stock price in the foreseeable future that are unrelated to our operating performance or prospects. In addition, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 has caused broad stock market and industry fluctuations. The stock market in general and the market for companies such as us in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our ordinary shares. A decline in the market price of our ordinary shares also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional shares or other of our securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future. Factors affecting the trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares may include:

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A possible “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand of our ordinary shares that largely exceeds supply may lead to additional price volatility.

Historically there has not been a large short position in our ordinary shares. However, in the future investors may purchase our ordinary shares to hedge existing exposure or to speculate on the price of our ordinary share. Speculation on the price of our ordinary shares may involve long and short exposures. To the extent an aggregate short exposure in our ordinary shares becomes significant, investors with short exposure may have to pay a premium to purchase shares for delivery to share lenders at times if and when the price of our ordinary shares increases significantly, particularly over a short period of time. Those purchases may in turn, dramatically increase the price of our ordinary shares. This is often referred to as a “short squeeze.” A short squeeze could lead to volatile price movements in our ordinary shares that are not directly correlated to our business prospects, financial performance or other traditional measures of value for the Company or its ordinary shares.

​

ITEM 4.INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

Business Overview

We primarily conduct our business through our subsidiary Zhejiang Zhengkang. Our core business focuses on providing systematic solutions to construction projects that require sophisticated piping systems. Leveraging our experience in the industry, we offer urban planners and real estate developers sophisticated pipe and fitting products and engineering expertise, enabling them to bring communities reliable and durable gas and water transmission systems. Our products are primarily sold in China, but are also exported and distributed in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia. We have received numerous awards and recognitions domestically and internationally. Located within the Wenzhou Binhai Industrial Park, a national economic development zone, our facility occupies approximately five acres, consisting of business offices, manufacturing plants, a research and development center and storage facilities.

We specialize in designing and producing pipes and fittings such as double-press thin-walled stainless steel tubes and fittings, carbon steel tubes and fittings and single-press tubes and fittings. Focused on the innovation and expansion of our products to meet the specific needs of our clients, we believe that we are a leading manufacturer and engineer of high-performance stainless steel pipes. Our products offer a comprehensive suite of superior solutions for use in the construction and infrastructure industries. Our innovative products are used in a broad range of applications, including water and gas transmission within urban infrastructural development, residential housing development, food and beverage production, oil and gas exploitation, and agricultural irrigation. Since Zhejiang Zhengkang’s founding in 2001, we have developed an array of patented pipe and fitting products that have been marketed and distributed both domestically and internationally.

We promote our brand through our sales staff, distributors, trade shows, trade fairs, forums, direct communications with potential customers, business networks, and the internet. In addition, we tailor our products to the needs of our clients and provide our clients with competitive pricing to establish long-term business relationships. We take pride in the cutting-edge technology and superb quality of our products, which have received recognitions such as the ISO9001 Quality Management System Certification, ISO14001 Environmental Management System Certification, and National Industrial Stainless Steel Production License, among other awards and honors. Our products have been used in well-known facilities such as Olympic stadiums, multinational hotel chains, and mega-sized apartment complexes.

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Safety, quality and productivity are three pillars of our operations and the hallmarks of our success. In the past year, we experienced another year of outstanding safety performance while continuing to improve safety standard for our workforce. We also plan to transform our value proposition from strictly being a product supplier to a solution provider, aiming to deliver both high-quality products and complete engineering solutions to our clients. We have compiled a team of engineers and pipe network designers who will work closely with the manufacturing team to respond to clients’ special construction demands, create rapid prototypes of our solutions, and enhance the utility of our products based on clients’ feedback. This work flow could also significantly improve the efficiency and performance of our engineers.

Recent Development

Disposition of Wenzhou Zhenglong Ecommerce Co. Ltd

On September 30, 2020, the Company sold all its equity interests of Wenzhou Zhenglong Ecommerce Co. Ltd (“Zhenglong”) with the consideration of RMB 4,500,000 (approximately $662,778). Zhenglong was incorporated on March 15, 2018 and was 90% owned by Zhejiang Zhengkang and 10% owned by a third-party individual. The operation of Zhenglong was at a very preliminary stage and had immaterial impact to the consolidated financials of the Company’s business.

September 2020 Registered Direct Offering

On September 25 and October 16, 2020, we closed a registered direct offering (the “September 2020 Offering”) with certain investors pursuant to certain securities purchase agreements, pursuant to which we issued convertible debentures (the “September 2020 Convertible Debentures”) in the aggregate principal amount of $1,400,000, convertible into our ordinary shares. The initial closing of a September 2020 Convertible Debenture in an amount of $100,000 occurred on September 25, 2020 and the second closing of September 2020 Convertible Debentures in an amount of $1,300,000 occurred on October 16, 2020. We plan to use the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The September 2020 Convertible Debentures have an annual interest rate of 5% and a term of 12 months from the date of issuance, and are convertible into ordinary shares at 70% of the average closing price during the seven (7) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of conversion with a floor price of $0.62 per share.

The September 2020 Offering was effected as a takedown off the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-230860) filed by the Company on April 15, 2019, which was declared effective by the SEC on April 29, 2019, pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on September 22, 2020.

As of the date of this annual report, all of the outstanding principal and interest underlying the Convertible Debentures have been converted into a total of 1,394,253 ordinary shares.

December 2020 Registered Direct Offering

On December 23, 2020, we closed a registered direct offering (the “December 2020 Offering”) with certain investors pursuant to certain securities purchase agreements, pursuant to which we sold a total of 1,784,992 ordinary shares at a price of $1.40 per share. We received gross proceeds in the amount of approximately $2,499,000. We plan to use the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The December 2020 Offering was effected as a takedown off the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-230860) filed by the Company on April 15, 2019, which was declared effective by the SEC on April 29, 2019, pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on December 22, 2020.

Consultancy Agreement

On February 15, 2021, the Company entered into a consultancy agreement with Dentoro Alliance LP, a company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland (the “Consultant”), pursuant to which the Consultant agreed to provide marketing services for the business development of xSigma Corporation including website development, protocol development and implementation, social media and community management, content creation and public relations management. In exchange for the Consultant’s services, the Company agreed to pay the Consultant initial compensation and performance earn-out. The initial compensation includes 250,000 ordinary shares of the Company, valued at $2.00 per share with a total consideration of $500,000, which were issued upon execution of such consultancy agreement, and warrants to purchase a total of 2,500,000 ordinary shares, which include (i) warrants to purchase 400,000 ordinary shares, exercisable at $1.00 per share only when Company’s closing bid price is at least $2.00 for ten consecutive trading days, (ii) warrants to

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purchase 1,000,000 ordinary shares, exercisable at $1.50 per share only when Company’s closing bid price is above $2.50 for seven consecutive trading days, (iii) warrants to purchase 500,000 ordinary shares, exercisable at $2.00 per share only when Company’s closing bid price is at least $3.50 for seven consecutive trading days, (iv) Warrants to purchase 600,000 ordinary shares, exercisable at $2.50 per share, only when Company’s closing bid price is at least $4.25 for seven consecutive trading days. All the warrants will expire nine months after issuance and may be permitted for cash or cashless exercise at Company’s option pursuant to a definitive warrant agreement. The performance earn-out includes 1,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company if xSigma Corporation generates $2,500,000 or more in audited operating net income in any fiscal year of xSigma Corporation (the “Milestone Event”). This performance earn-out precludes the Consultant from earning any additional share based on the Milestone Event.

The warrants and ordinary shares, when issued pursuant to such consultancy agreement, will be issued in reliance upon the exemption from securities registration afforded by the provisions of Regulation S as promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company made the determination based upon the factors that the Consultant is not a “U.S. Person” as that term is defined in Rule 902(k) of Regulation S under the Securities Act, that the Consultant was acquiring our securities for investment purposes for its own respective account and not as nominees or agents, and not with a view to the resale or distribution thereof, and that the Consultant understood that the shares of our securities may not be sold or otherwise disposed of without registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption therefrom.

February 2021 Registered Direct Offering

On February 24, 2021, the Company closed a registered direct offering (the “February 2021 Offering”) of an aggregate investment of approximately $4,600,000 pursuant to certain securities purchase agreement with several accredited investors dated February 22, 2021 for the issuance by the Company of (i) 1,295,770 ordinary shares of the Company; (ii) first registered investor warrants, with a term of five (5) years exercisable immediately upon issuance, to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,295,770 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $4.00 per share, subject to customary adjustments thereunder; and (iii) second registered investor warrants, with a term of five (5) years exercisable immediately upon issuance, to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,295,770 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $4.50 per share, subject to customary adjustments thereunder. Holders of the warrants may exercise them by paying the applicable cash exercise price or, if there is not an effective registration statement for the sale of the ordinary shares underlying such warrants at the time of exercise, by exercising on a cashless basis pursuant to the formula provided in the warrants.

The February 2021 Offering was pursuant to the Securities Act, pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed on February 23, 2021 to the Company’s currently effective registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-230860), which was initially filed with the SEC on April 15, 2019 and was declared effective on April 29, 2019.

As of the date of this annual report, 270,696 warrants have been exercised and the Company has received $964,779.

xSigma DeFi Project

In February 2021, xSigma Corporation launched its DeFi Protocol, a stablecoin exchange platform built on smart contract, which is available at https://xsigma.fi. Liquidity provider who provides liquidity for certain stable coin on the exchange is awarded a certain amount of SIG token, a governance token issued by the smart contract. The SIG holder is entitled to the commission revenue generated by the exchange and as the project founder xSigma Corporation is holding 30% all SIG token issued and outstanding. On April 2021, SIG was listed on Bittrex Global and it continues to be available for trading. The "SIG" Token is a governance token of xSigma DEX based on the Ethereum network. The xSigma DEX allows users to swap stablecoins, such as USDT, USDC and DAI. However, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, although SIG is listed on Bittrex Global and has a public market price, due to SIG’s low trading volume and unstable market price, the Company decides not to recognize revenue for the token it owned until monetization of the token. . In addition, xSigma Corporation launched the second version, V2, of its Protocol on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) on November 30, 2021, which raised over $1.5m of liquidity on the launch day. See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Risks Related to the Stablecoin Exchange Platform.”

The xSigma R&D lab has also been working on its ETF-like decentralized platform but has decided to focus on its DeFi and NFT projects in the near future.

March 2021 Registered Direct Offering

On March 25, 2021, the Company closed a registered direct offering (the “March 2021 Offering”) of 4,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company for an aggregate gross proceeds of $18,000,000 pursuant to certain securities purchase agreement with several accredited investors dated March 22, 2021.

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The March 2021 Offering was pursuant to the Securities Act, pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed on March 23, 2021 to the Company’s currently effective registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-230860), which was initially filed with the SEC on April 15, 2019 and was declared effective on April 29, 2019.

Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

In March 2021, our Board of Directors passed a resolution to amend the Articles of Association of the Company to change the quorum for a meeting of shareholders to one third (33.3%) of the votes of the shares or class or series of shares entitled to vote on resolutions of shareholders. The Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, incorporating the change to the quorum for a meeting of shareholders, became effective on March 30, 2021 upon the registration by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs of the British Virgin Islands.

2021 Equity Incentive Plan

In March 2021, our Board of Directors and shareholders of the Company holding an aggregate of 14,425,664 ordinary shares, representing approximately 57% of the total issued and outstanding as of March 25, 2021 took action by written consent to approve the 2021 equity incentive plan, which provides for an aggregate of four million two hundred thousand (4,200,000) ordinary shares to be available for awards to current or prospective employees, directors, advisors or consultants of the Company or its affiliates.

Investment in CG Malta Holding Limited

xSigma Entertainment Limited is primarily engaged in the online gaming industry. Subsequent to the formation of xSigma Entertainment, xSigma Entertainment entered into a share subscription agreement with CG Malta Holding Limited (“CG Malta”), dated April 4, 2021, as amended on August 4, 2021 and December 27, 2021. On April 4, 2021, xSigma Entertainment acquired 12% interest in CG Malta for a total of $15 million and agreed to subscribe to an additional number of ordinary shares in CG Malta for a total purchase price of $35 million, which will guarantee xSigma Entertainment an additional 13% interest in CG Malta. In September 2021, xSigma Entertainment completed an investment of $10 million in CG Malta, representing an additional 3.73% in CG Malta. xSigma Entertainment has further agreed to complete an investment of $5 million in CG Malta no later than February 15, 2022 and an investment of $5 million in CG Malta no later than March 15, 2022, and to sign a separate subscription agreement for the remaining investment no later than April 30, 2022. See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Risks Related to Investment in CG Malta Holding Limited.”

CG Malta is a globally licensed sports betting and casino operator that launched MaximBet in Colorado on September 12, 2021. MaximBet is sports betting and casino website, available at MaximBet.com and through iOS and Android applications that will allow users to bet on sports and casino in the United States and around the world. Established in 2017, CG Malta is a rapidly-growing licensed sports betting and casino operator that is hyper-focused on capitalizing on the multi-billion dollar legalized sports betting and iGaming industry in the United States. The company was formed by top executives with more than 100 years of collective experience in the gaming industry and utilizes proprietary technology to build personalized consumer betting experiences. Harnessing the power of the Maxim men's lifestyle brand, MaximBet gives players incredible real life and virtual access to celebrities, athletes and influencers, and lets guests truly live the Maxim lifestyle wherever they live and play. Colorado is the “first of many” state launches for MaximBet, CG Malta is also planning launches in Indiana, Iowa and New Jersey, which allows real-money online casino gaming. Additional target states for the early run on MaximBet sportsbook launches include Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi. In addition, the company struck a market access deal in Arizona, but was not selected for one of the state’s limited online licenses. By law, MaximBet is allowed to open a retail sportsbook at Hoh-Dah Resort-Casino in Pinetop, Arizona.  In the meantime of exploring this opportunity, MaximBet continues to look for Market Access in the state of Arizona.

Engagement with Susan Kilkenny

On April 5, 2021, ZK International entered into a consulting agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”) with Susan Kilkenny (the “Consultant”), pursuant to which the Company engages the Consultant as “Senior Strategic Marketing Advisor”, and the Consultant will assist the Company in international marketing and branding services, building the “xSigma Entertainment” brand.

The Consultant shall receive from the Company 200,000 ordinary shares of the Company and stock options or warrants to purchase 50,000 shares of the Company upon execution of the Consulting Agreement, with the option exercisable at an exercise price of $10.00 per share for three years from the date of issuance. The Consultant shall also receive, from the Company, options to purchase up to an additional 200,000 shares exercisable at an exercise price of $10.00 for three years from the date of each issuance. The options shall be vested and issued on a quarterly basis starting from the third month of the engagement.

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August 2021 Registered Direct Offering

On August 26, 2021, the Company closed a registered direct offering (the “August 2021 Offering”) for the sale of convertible debentures (the “August 2021 Convertible Debentures”) in the aggregate principal amount of $12,679,000, convertible into the Company's ordinary shares, with no par value per share. The Company received gross proceeds of approximately $12,679,000, before deducting offering expenses, and intends to use the net proceeds from the Registered Offering for working capital and other general working capital purpose. The Company may also use the proceeds to acquire certain assets that the Board of Directors may deem appropriate for the growth of the Company.

The August 2021 Convertible Debentures have an annual interest rate of 5% and a term of 12 months from the date of issuance, and are convertible into ordinary shares at 80% of the volume weighted average closing price during the seven (7) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of conversion (the “Conversion Price”), subject to a floor price of $2.50 per share and a cap equals to 19.99% of the ordinary shares of the Company issued and outstanding as of the date of the Securities Purchase Agreements. The Company may issue up to 5,125,086 ordinary shares upon holders’ conversion of the August 2021 Convertible Debentures for an aggregate of $13,312,950 in principal and interests. The actual number of ordinary shares as converted and issued will vary depending on the Conversion Price.

The securities were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), under the Securities Act, pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the Company’s currently effective registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-230860), which was initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 15, 2019, and was declared effective on April 29, 2019.

Launch of MaximNFT

On November 29, 2021, xSigma Collectibles launched its new marketplace brand called MaximNFT ("MaximNFT"), available at www.maximnft.com. This exclusive NFT (Non-Fungible Token) marketplace is a partnership between xSigma Collectibles and the iconic men's lifestyle brand Maxim. MaximNFT seeks to provide the best customer experience and innovative NFT solutions. It will allow customers to create and sell NFTs on various blockchains. Some of the collectibles will come with unique real-world experiences for buyers. Furthermore, MaximNFT will offer an innovative "NFT tokenization" feature that will allow customers to trade fractions of any NFT in the market. MaximNFT plans to focus on sports and celebrities' collectibles, as well as gaming content. MaximNFT is betting on the rise of gaming and the utilization of NFT technology for in-game purchases and collectibles. Additionally, MaximNFT will combine its NFTs with new AR and VR technologies. MaximNFT's partnered athletes will certify their own unique sets of 3D digital collectibles that will be exclusive to the platform. A host of sports superstars, including Matt Carpenter, Jerami Grant, Janoris Jenkins, Devon Kennard, Cris Cyborg and others will launch their exclusive NFT collections on the platform. See "Item 3. Key Information - D. Risk Factors - Risks Related to the Non-fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace."

MaximNFT is built in partnership with Maxim magazine. Maxim is a lifestyle brand that has earned its position over its 25-year history. Maxim engages with more than 10 million men monthly through its website and social platforms. On July 12, 2021, xSigma Collectibles entered into a License Agreement (the “License Agreement”) with Maxim Inc. (“Maxim”), pursuant to which Maxim granted xSigma Collectibles an exclusive non-assignable license to use the trademarks of Maxim in connection with the promotion and operation of Maxim NFT. In addition, MaximNFT will be the exclusive seller of Maxim's own NFTs. The License Agreement shall be for a period of five year (the “Initial Term”) and can be extended for three additional five-year periods (each an “Extension”) if xSigma Collectibles requests such Extension in writing at least 90 days, but no more than one year, before the expiration of the License Agreement. Maxim has the right to terminate the License Agreement immediately by giving xSigma Collectibles a notice of termination if xSigma Collectibles or its creditors on behalf of xSigma Collectibles institutes proceedings seeking relief under a bankruptcy act or any similar law. xSigma Collectibles has the right to terminate the License Agreement immediately by giving Maxim a notice of termination if (i) Maxim or its creditors on behalf of Maxim institutes proceedings seeking relief under a bankruptcy act or any similar law, or (ii) Maxim loses its rights to the licensed trademarks. If either party breaches its material obligations under the License Agreement, the other party has the right to terminate the License Agreement by giving the breaching party a notice of intention to terminate. Such termination will become effectively automatically and without further notice unless the breaching party cure such breach within 30 days after such notice. Additionally, Maxim has a right to terminate the License Agreement if xSigma Collectibles fails to comply with the approval, submission or quality requirements of the License Agreement or fails to adhere to any guidelines or specifications if such failure occurred despite reasonable efforts by xSigma Collectibles to comply with the applicable approval processes and/or guidelines and upon discovering such failure or being provided with notice of the failure, xSigma Collectibles promptly, but in no event longer than 10 days after discovery or notice, discontinued any non-compliant uses and takes reasonable steps to prevent future non-compliance. The License Agreement also contains covenants regarding the protection of Maxim’s intellectual property rights,

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approval and guideline on the use of the licensed trademarks, indemnification obligations of the Maxim and xSigma Collectibles with respect to its use of the licensed trademarks, and other customary provisions.

xSigma Trading

In October 2021, xSigma Corporation launched the beta version of its two flagship trading platforms, “xSigma Trading” for CFD trading and “xSigma Trader” for Crypto, Crypto Options and Crypto Derivatives, both flatforms are under the brand name “xSigma Trading”.

xSigma Trading is a proprietary, robust, dynamic, interactive trading platform that focuses on equity, CFD, Crypto, Crypto Options and Crypto derivatives trading in global markets via its advanced, independent design and cutting-edge technology. Through xSigma Trading, all traders can participate in the CFD marketplace and engage in the trading of various unique products and offerings including some of the most restricted stock lists in the marketplace. In addition, the platform allows participants to diversify their crypto currency risk by using products like immediate and short-term crypto options and derivatives. In the near future, xSigma Trading plans to allow the offering of a large variety of crypto currencies and a marketplace for most new crypto listings to trade.

With the recent release of our Android application, xSigma Trading has several projects in development. It is planned that customers will have access to trade U.S. equities and Crypto through xSigma Trading’s website version, as well as on both Android and iOS applications by April 2022.

xSigma Trading’s services and products will be offered worldwide, excluding residents of the United States, and are tailored to both retail and institutional investors. Currently, xSigma Trading is open for beta testing with plans to launch live trading as soon as February 2022. xSigma Corpoartion is activally seeking partners that are licensed in the markets that xSigma Trading will be launching in and plans to apply for its own license in the future. See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Risks Related to The Equity, Contract For Differences (CFD) and Crypto Trading Platform.”

Industry Overview

Stainless Steel Pipe

We believe that we are in the early stages of four trends that are reshaping how water is accessed and managed by our community on a daily basis:

These trends are creating an increasing number of new opportunities for organizations in the stainless steel pipe industry. We believe that the best opportunities are for the organizations that can continually make quality products and work with clients to solve problems and make improvements.

The Clean Water Supply Initiative

With almost 20% of the world’s population, but access to only 5% of the world’s renewable freshwater resources, it is easy to understand the reason that water resource management has been a high social priority in China. The Ministry of Water Resources notes on its website that out of 663 cities in China, more than 400 are suffering from water shortages, with 110 classified as “severe”. China’s move to upgrade its water distribution infrastructure comes as it faces tremendous challenges from two directions. On one side, water quality remains an issue, while on the other side, reliable water distribution networks in many cities are still in developmental stage.

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Increasing Investment Towards the Drinking Water Distribution Industry

Like many other things, opportunities always come with challenges. There are both political and economic incentives in this field attracting investment from the government and private companies. As reported by Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), the quality of drinking water has significantly improved as well – 76% of water sources are safe for drinking compared to 53.4% in 2004. Despite these improvements in drinking water quality, the distribution networks across China still falls short as many cities still rely on decades-old pipe networks that are outdated and rusted.

The total water consumption in 2018 was 611 billion cubic meters, an increase of 1.1% over the previous year%, as illustrated below. Among them, domestic water consumption increased by 1.4%, industrial water consumption increased by 0.6%, agricultural water consumption increased by 1.1%, and ecological water supply increased by 3.8%.

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From 2010 to 2017, the length of China’s water supply pipelines and total water supply have increased year by year, as illustrated below. In 2017, the length of China’s water supply pipelines reached 797,000 kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 5.28%; China's total water supply reached 59.38 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 2.26%.

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The government and private capital have now turned their focus to updating cities’ water distribution networks. According to Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, a Chinese research firm, investment from both the government and private companies in the water supply and distribution industry has grown significantly, as illustrated below:

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Generational Shift to Stainless Steel Pipe Network

To accommodate the enormous increase of clean water demand in urban cities, the distribution network has to be highly safe, reliable, durable, and environmentally friendly. Current pipe networks mainly consist of plastic (such as PPR and PVC), galvanized, and copper pipe, however, these materials don’t meet the standards of drinking water transmission. In some developed countries, stainless steel had been widely accepted as the best material for such application; Germany and Japan, for instance, have 80% and 90% of their water pipe networks using stainless steel, respectively, while the percentage in China is around 3%. The popular acceptance of stainless steel is due to the following advantages over other materials:

High Strength: Stainless steel pipe’s strength is 1.5 times higher than galvanized pipe, 2-3 times higher than copper pipe and 8-10 times higher than PPR pipe. Strength is an important factor and determines how shock resistant the pipe is.

Anti-corrosion: Stainless steel pipe is highly corrosion resistant. Even under high velocity water flow of 60m/s, stainless steel’s corrosion rate is below 0.003mm/year. This ensures stainless steel has more than 70 years of service life. As comparison, other materials can only be used for 10-20 years.

Low water resistance: Due to the smoothness of the inner pipe wall, stainless steel has a 40% lower water resistance than that of carbon and copper pipe. Low water resistance reduces scale and bacterial deposits on the inner pipe wall, improving overall water quality and also reduces the amount of electricity consumed by pump stations by half, provided that all downstream pipes are stainless steel.

Low Leakage Rate: Benefitting from its high strength and anti-corrosion features,stainless steel pipes and fittings have extremely low leakage rates. According to Best Practice: Water Leakage Prevention Controls published by New York City, replacing current pipe networks with stainless steel components is a major priority to prevent water leakage, which can cause water waste, secondary disasters such as poor water flow, road collapse, and flooding of buildings and inundation. Tokyo, an example used in the

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Best Practice document, decreased its leakage rate from 20% in 1956 to 3% in 2010, mostly attributed to the usage of stainless steel pipes in its network.

(Source: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/globalpartners/downloads/pdf/Tokyo_Energy_Water%20Leakage%20Controls.pdf)

Recyclable: Stainless steel is 100% recyclable, while plastic pipe can only be landfilled or incinerated, both causing pollution to environment.

In addition to the significant potential market within the urban development and residential real estate industries, we anticipate that the demand of our services and products from hotels within China will also become an important target market. Currently, through local distributors, our products are provided to global hotel brands such as Kempinski, Sheraton and Holiday Inn within China. During the past ten years, through contractors, distributors and wholesalers, our products have been used in more than three hundred three- to five-star hotels. As we have become one of the industry-leading stainless pipe manufacturers, we plan to work with end users such as multinational global chains from the initial planning stage, assisting in the design of their pipe transmission systems, to the post-sale stage, providing maintenance and repair services as part of their daily operation. China’s hotel industry has experienced tremendous growth due to both inbound foreign travelers and domestic travelers, resulting in a $44 billion business with 2.5 million hotel rooms. However, the hotel penetration rate is only approximately 4 rooms per 1,000 capita in China, which is relatively low compared to that of developed nations. It is anticipated that the hospitality industry in China could reach $100 billion with 6.3 million rooms and 8 rooms per 1,000 capita. This therefore presents a significant opportunity for our company. As developers and travelers are becoming more sophisticated, the need for a sustainable and cost-effective solution is expected to increase. The quality of our products and our expertise servicing global hotel chains will provide us with a competitive advantage for future hotel construction projects.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Centralized exchanges have been the backbone of the cryptocurrency market for years. They offer fast settlement, high trading volume, and continually improving liquidity. However, there's a parallel world being built in the form of trustless protocols. DeFi and decentralized exchanges (DEX) aims to build a system which can work openly, securely, and in a modular manner, so that anyone can join it, use it, contribute to it, and upgrade it. The main idea is to recreate financial services and tools that are entirely on the blockchain, eliminating the need for banks or other third parties as intermediaries. Decentralized financial systems allow users to participate in blockchain markets and other alternative markets that have been developed on blockchain based networks. This makes it fast, inexpensive, and available to everyone. Further, the open-source nature of DeFi makes it transparent and trustless. It also enables cross-border payments, as blockchain markets have no borders. DeFi is a hot trend in the blockchain industry, growing from $700 million by December 2019 to $13 billion to December 2020, and to more than $169 billion locked into the ecosystem as of September 2021 and the number continues to grow. xSigma Corporation’s DeFi protocol launched at an opportune time in the blockchain industry.

Our Products and Services

Stainless Steel Pipe

Our products focus primarily on the drinking water and gas transmission industries, while a minor portion of revenue is generated from the pharmaceutical, medical, food and beverage industries. Produced from different stages of our production line, our steel products can be broken down and sold as the following parts and components:

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Our connections and fittings segment has grown significantly during 2019. The increased proportion of our revenue generated by the connections and fittings segment reflects a shift in our manufacturing and marketing priority to this segment. We have shifted our focus to connections and fittings because we could offer more value-add to our products than pipe or strip. More importantly, providing quality products in this segment is more likely to help us retain clients as consistency and quality of joints and fittings plays a big role in reducing maintenance costs and leakage rates for the customers.

Pipe production is very competitive in China. In order to distinguish ourselves from the other competitors in the industry, we have employed a team of engineers specializing in network design, CAD drawing, and special prototyping of piping systems to help our customers create a systematic solution based on their piping needs.

xSigma DeFi Project

xSigma Corporation is a blockchain R&D lab that explores decentralized finance (“DeFi”) and other blockchain technologies and applications. The ultimate objective of xSigma Corporation is to build an ecosystem of products for finance, blockchain and emerging technology markets.

On February 24, 2021, xSigma Corporation launched its DeFi Protocol, a stablecoin exchange platform built on smart contract, which is available at https://xsigma.fi. Liquidity provider who provides liquidity for certain stablecoin on the exchange is awarded a certain amount of SIG token, a governance token issued by the smart contract. “Stablecoin” means crypto assets designed to minimize price volatility. A stablecoin is designed to track the price of an underlying asset such as fiat money or an exchange-traded commodity (such as precious metals or industrial metals). Stablecoins can be backed by fiat money or other crypto assets. The SIG holder is entitled to the commission revenue generated by the exchange and as the project founder xSigma Corporation is holding 30% all SIG token issued and outstanding. On April 2021, SIG was listed on Bittrex Global and it continues to be available for trading. The "SIG" Token is a governance token of xSigma DEX based on the Ethereum network. The xSigma DEX allows users to swap stablecoins, such as USDT, USDC and DAI. However, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, although SIG is listed on Bittrex Global and has a public market price, due to SIG’s low trading volume and unstable market price, the Company decides not to recognize revenue for the token it owned until monetization of the token. . In addition, xSigma Corporation launched the second version, V2, of its Protocol on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) on November 30, 2021, which raised over $1.5m of liquidity on the launch day. See “Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Risks Related to the Stablecoin Exchange Platform.”

The xSigma R&D lab has also been working on its ETF-like decentralized platform but has decided to focus on its DeFi and NFT projects in the near future.

Sales Channels and Long-Term Opportunities

Extensive Sales Network within China. To market our products and brand to other regions within China, we have set up 48 sales representative posts in major cities across China by assigning our sales and engineer specialists to those regions to establish long-term business relationship with the local water and gas supply companies. In addition, we also have worked with 156 distributors across

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China to serve their local customers. This extensive sales network ensures our products and services are accessible in all of the cities within in 30 of the 34 provinces and territories in China.

Strategic Partners. There’re many water and gas transmission companies in China, and it would be very time-consuming if we negotiate with each of them one by one on the terms of our order contract. To better market our products to these utility companies, we have invited some of them to conduct on-site visit to check our production facility, quality control protocols, production capability, and research and development capacity to demonstrate our value as a supplier compared to other competitors on the market. Once approved by these utility companies’ internal assessment teams, we will be pre-approved as their “qualified supplier”, which would exempt our company form their production inspection process when they place orders. We have been pre-approved as “qualified supplier” by the following companies:

All of these companies present us with potential long term opportunities for large scale project, which would require a large volume of piping products over multiple years. In addition, we would be able to advantage of their business network. We currently do not directly supply to some of our partners and instead we rely on local distributors and wholesalers to deal with specific projects due to the complex of each project. However, to provide goodwill and value-add to our customers in addition to our quality products, we prioritize the production of their orders and plan to offer them with engineering advisory and post-sales maintenance services in the future. We also have staffed experienced engineers available to resolve any installation or maintenance issues that these end users may encounter.

Customers and Suppliers

Customers

For carbon and stainless steel pipe products, we principally target our marketing efforts toward those clients in the water and gas supply industries which require high quality specialty steel pipes and fittings with precise “just-in-time” delivery as most of our clients do not carry inventory, technical consultancy or post-sale support. Our enhanced product quality and delivery capabilities, as well as our emphasis on customer oriented technical support and product planning, are critical factors in our ability to serve this segment of the market. In the near future, as we begin to transform our business to both a product supplier and a solution provider, we expect that customers will enjoy using our products and working with engineers since our integrated approach is expected to help our customers reduce planning, installation and maintenance costs.

We find that primarily sold through distributors, our products are mostly embraced by two categories of end users: those within the water transmission industry and those within the gas transmission. Our clients scatter in diverse industries including, but not limited to, water treatment, real estate development, hospitality, hospital, gas supply, and school. We consider our major customers in each period to be those customers that accounted for more than 10% of overall revenues in such period. We had no major customer during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Suppliers

We consider our major vendors in each period to be those vendors that accounted for more than 10% of overall purchases in such period. We had three major vendors during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, who collectively accounted for 72.52% of total purchases. We had four major vendors during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, who collectively accounted for 70.10% of total purchase. We had two major vendors during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2019, who collectively accounted for 75.78% of total purchase. We purchase from a variety of suppliers and believe these raw materials are widely available. If we were unable to purchase from our primary suppliers, we do not expect we would face difficulties in locating another supplier at substantially the same price. We have secure and efficient access to all the raw materials necessary for the production of our products. We believe our

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relationships with the suppliers of these raw materials are strong. While the prices of such raw materials may vary greatly from time to time, we believe we could hedge such risk by adjusting our price or absorb the higher cost at times if necessary.

Research and Development

We are committed to researching and developing stainless steel products for use in all industries that need water and gas transmission systems. We believe scientific and technological innovations will help our Company achieve its long-term strategic objectives. Our research and development efforts are an integral part of our operations and the crux of our competitive advantage and differentiation strategy.

The Research and Development team consists of dedicated researchers and analysts focusing on mechanical design, mechatronics, CAD design, mold design and welding. Quality control is an important aspect of the team’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.

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Our Intellectual Property

We rely on our technology patents to protect our domestic business interests and ensure our competitive position in our industry. The issued patents we hold are as follows:

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Description of Chinese Patent Categories:

Invention patents

As in Europe, this type of patent is granted for new technical solutions or improvements to a product or a process with practical applicability.

Utility patents

Granted for new technical solutions or improvement with a lower degree of ‘inventiveness’ than Invention patents, i.e., products with a new shape or structural physical features. Utility Models are also sometimes called ‘Utility Patents’ or ‘Petty Patents’ in other countries.

Design patents

Granted for innovations in the external features of a product, encompassing any of the following features: Shape; Pattern; Shape and Pattern; Shape and Color; Shape, Pattern and Color. Innovations must also be “fit for industrial application” (i.e., specifically usable by industry, producible in batches, etc.).

Trademarks

In addition, we have the right to use the following trademark registrations issued in the PRC, all of which are held by the Zhejiang Zhengkang: