As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 23, 2023.

Registration No. 333-[●]

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

SUNCAR TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

c/o Shanghai Feiyou Trading Co., Ltd.
Suite 209, No. 656 Lingshi Road
Jing’an District, Shanghai, 200072
People’s Republic of China
Tel: (86) 138-1779-6110

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices) 

Puglisi & Associates
850 Library Avenue, Suite 204
Newark, DE 19711

Tel: 302-738-6680

 (Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date hereof.

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards † provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine. 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Up to 3,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares

Common Warrants to Purchase up to 6,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares (and up to 6,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Common Warrants)

PA Warrants to Purchase up to 30,000 Class A Ordinary Shares (and up to 30,000 Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Common Warrants)

SunCar Technology Group Inc.

SunCar Technology Group Inc. is offering on a “reasonable best efforts” basis, up to 3,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, together with warrants to purchase up to 6,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, which we refer to as “Common Warrants,” at an assumed combined public offering price of $10.00 per Class A Ordinary Share and Common Warrant. Each Class A Ordinary Share will be sold together with up to two (2) Common Warrants. Each Common Warrant has an exercise price of per Class A Ordinary Share equal to 125% of the combined public offering per Class A Ordinary Share and Common Warrant, and will expire on a date no later than the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date.

The public offering price for our securities in this offering will be determined at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to then current market price or to the assumed price set forth above. The assumed public offering price used throughout this prospectus may not be indicative of the final offering price. The final public offering price will be determined through negotiation between us and investors based upon a number of factors, including our history and our prospects, the industry in which we operate, our past and present operating results, the previous experience of our executive officers and the general condition of the securities markets at the time of this offering.

Our Class A Ordinary Shares and tradable warrants are currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “SDA” and “SDAWW”, respectively. On October 20, 2023, the last reported sale price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and the tradable warrants on Nasdaq were $11.20 and $0.30, respectively.

The actual public offering price per Class A Ordinary Share and Common Warrant will be determined between us, the placement agent and the investors based on market conditions at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to the current market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

We are both an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (or the JOBS Act), and a “foreign private issuer,” as defined under the U.S. federal securities law and are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary – Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and Foreign Private Issuer” for additional information.

SunCar is not an operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company with operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries in China.

SunCar’s PRC Operating Entities (as defined below) face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China. For instance, SunCar’s PRC Operating Entities face risks associated with regulatory approvals on offshore offerings, anti-monopoly regulatory actions, and oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, as well as the ability of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) to inspect SunCar’s auditors, which may impact the ability of SunCar’s subsidiaries to conduct certain businesses, accept foreign investors, or its continuing listing on the Nasdaq. These risks could result in a material adverse change in SunCar’s business operations and the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares, significantly limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. As SunCar’s PRC Operating Entities do business in China, Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow such structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. For a detailed description of risks related to doing business in China, see “Risk Factors — Risk Factors Relating to Doing Business in China” in this prospectus.

SunCar’s corporate structure as a Cayman Islands holding company with operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries in China involves unique risks to investors. Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow this structure, which cause the incapability to continue operation without changing the corporate structure or switching the business focus. This may in turn cause the value of the securities to significantly decline or even become worthless. According to the Foreign Investment Law in China, the State Council shall promulgate or approve a list of special administrative measures for market access of foreign investments, or the Negative List. The Foreign Investment Law grants national treatment to foreign-invested entities, except for those foreign-invested entities that operate in industries specified as either “restricted” or “prohibited” from foreign investment in the Negative List. The Foreign Investment Law provides that foreign-invested entities operating in “restricted” or “prohibited” industries will require market entry clearance and other permissions or approvals from relevant PRC government authorities. On December 27, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission of China (“NDRC”) and the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) jointly issued the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2021 Edition), and the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access in Pilot Free Trade Zones (Negative List) (2021 Edition), effective January 1, 2022. As a company operating its business in automotive after-sales service, insurance intermediation service and technology service, which are not included in the 2021 Negative List, SunCar believes its business is not subject to any ownership restrictions. However, since the Negative List has been adjusted and updated almost on an annual basis in the recent years, we cannot assure you that the aforementioned business segments will continuously be beyond the “prohibited” category, which would likely result in a material change in our operations or in the value of our securities. The PRC government will also establish a foreign investment information reporting system, according to which foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the competent department for commerce concerned through the enterprise registration system and the enterprise credit information publicity system, and a security review system under which the security review shall be conducted for foreign investment affecting or likely affecting the state security.

SunCar may encounter several limitations related to cash transfer among its PRC Operating Entities, the holding company and its investors. Any funds we transfer to the PRC Operating Entities, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to permission and approval by or registration with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign invested enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC Operating Entities are subject to the registration with the State Administration for Market Regulation or its local counterpart and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE. In addition, (i) any foreign loan procured by our PRC Operating Entities is required to be registered with the SAFE or its local branches and (ii) any of our PRC Operating Entities may not procure loans which exceed the difference between its total investment amount and registered capital or, as an alternative, only procure loans subject to the calculation approach and limitation as provided by the People’s Bank of China. As a holding company with no operations, our ability to distribute dividends largely depends on the distribution from our PRC Operating Entities. In addition, if SunCar is determined to be a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide income, which could materially reduce our net income, and we may be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises, including the holders of our Ordinary Shares, and non-resident enterprise shareholders (including our ordinary shareholders) may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of Ordinary Shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within China. An “indirect transfer” of PRC assets, including a transfer of equity interests in an unlisted non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of the underlying PRC assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

SunCar also may face risks relating to the lack of PCAOB inspection on its auditor, which may cause our securities to be delisted from a U.S. stock exchange or prohibited from being traded over-the-counter in the future under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act as amended by the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “AHFCAA”) that was signed into law on December 29, 2022, if the PCAOB has determined it is unable to investigate SunCar’s auditor completely for two consecutive years beginning in 2021. The delisting or the cessation of trading of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted or prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong, respectively, and identifies the registered public accounting firms in China and Hong Kong that are subject to such determinations. SunCar’s auditor is headquartered in Singapore and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis and is therefore not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB announced and signed a Statement of Protocol (the “Protocol”) with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China. The Protocol provides the PCAOB with: (1) sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates, without any involvement of Chinese authorities; (2) procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed; (3) direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced in the 2022 Determination its determination that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, and the PCAOB Board voted to vacate previous determinations to the contrary. Should the PCAOB again encounter impediments to inspections and investigations in mainland China or Hong Kong as a result of positions taken by any authority in either jurisdiction, including by the CSRC or the MOF, the PCAOB will make determinations under the HFCAA as and when appropriate. 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. There is a risk that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely the Company’s auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction or any other reasons, and that the PCAOB may re-evaluate its determinations as a result of any obstruction with the implementation of the Protocol. Such lack of inspection or re-evaluation could cause trading in the Company’s securities to be prohibited under the HFCAA ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist the Company’s securities. In addition, under the HFCAA, as amended by the AHFCAA, our securities may be prohibited from trading on the Nasdaq or other U.S. stock exchanges if our auditor is not inspected by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, and this ultimately could result in our Ordinary Shares being delisted by the Nasdaq.

The structure of cash flows within our organization and a summary of the applicable regulations are as follows: Our equity structure is a direct holding structure. ASGL (as defined below), direct and wholly owned subsidiary of SunCar, controls Haiyan Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd (“Haiyan Trading”, or the “WFOE”) and other domestic operating entities through the Hong Kong company, China Auto Market Group Ltd. (“China Auto HK”). Within our direct holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group is legal and compliant with the current laws and regulations of the PRC. After any non-PRC based investors’ funds enter SunCar at SunCar’s securities offerings outside of China, the funds can be directly transferred to China Auto HK, and then transferred to subordinate operating entities through the WFOE in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of the PRC. To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC/Hong Kong or a PRC/Hong Kong entity, the funds may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC/Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of SunCar or SunCar’s subsidiaries, by the PRC government to transfer cash.

If we intend to distribute dividends, we will transfer the funds to China Auto HK from WFOE in accordance with the laws and regulations of the PRC, and then China Auto HK will transfer the dividends to SunCar, and the dividends will be distributed from SunCar to all shareholders respectively in proportion to the shares they hold, regardless of whether the shareholders are U.S. investors or investors in other countries or regions. In terms of the cash transfer among SunCar and its subsidiaries, subject to the amounts of cash transfer and the nature of the use of funds, requisite internal approval shall be obtained prior to each cash transfer. Specifically, all transactions require the approvals of the financial controllers of the entities involved. As for an internal cash transfer exceeds RMB10,000,000 (approximately $1.5 million), the general manager is also required to conduct review and approval. There are no other cash management policies.

In the reporting periods presented in this prospectus, (1) no cash transfers have occurred between our holding company and its subsidiaries, (2) no dividends nor distributions have been made by the subsidiaries to our holding company, and (3) our holding company has not paid any dividends nor made any distributions to U.S. investors. For further details, please refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” as well as the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, SunCar does not have any cash management policy other than that is stated in the paragraph above. For the foreseeable future, we intend to use the earnings for research and development, to develop new products and to expand its production capacity. As a result, SunCar currently does not have a plan to declare dividends to its shareholders in the foreseeable future.

SunCar’s PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to their respective shareholders only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of each of their registered capitals. These reserves are not distributable In addition, PRC Operating Entities cannot distribute dividends until previous years’ loss has been offset.

To address persistent capital outflows and the RMB’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, have implemented a series of capital control measures in the subsequent months, including stricter vetting procedures for China-based companies to remit foreign currency for overseas acquisitions, dividend payments and shareholder loan repayments. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls and our PRC subsidiaries’ dividends and other distributions may be subject to tightened scrutiny in the future. The PRC government also imposes controls on the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies and the remittance of currencies out of the PRC. Therefore, we may experience difficulties in completing the administrative procedures necessary to obtain and remit foreign currency for the payment of dividends from our profits, if any. Furthermore, if our subsidiaries in the PRC incur debt on their own in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments.

You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information,” carefully before you invest in any of our securities.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 10.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (or the SEC), nor any state or other foreign securities commission has approved nor disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Because there is no minimum number of securities or minimum aggregate amount of proceeds for this offering to close, we may sell fewer than all of the securities offered hereby, and investors in this offering will not receive a refund in the event that we do not sell an amount of securities sufficient to pursue the business goals outlined in this prospectus. This offering may be closed without further notice to you and will terminate on the first date that we enter into a placement agent agreement to sell the securities offered hereby. We expect to close the offering on           , 2023. Because there is no escrow account and there is no minimum offering amount, investors could be in a position where they have invested in our company, but we are unable to fulfill our objectives due to a lack of interest in this offering. Also, any proceeds from the sale of securities offered by us will be available for our immediate use, despite uncertainty about whether we would be able to use such funds to effectively implement our business plan.

We have engaged FT Global Capital, Inc., or FT Global, as our exclusive placement agent in connection with this offering. We refer to FT Global as the “placement agent” in this prospectus. The placement agent has no obligation to purchase and is not purchasing or selling the securities offered by us, and is not required to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of our securities, but will use its reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase the securities offered by this prospectus. The securities will be offered at a fixed price and are expected to be issued in a single closing. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing in this offering, the actual public offering amount, placement agent’s fees, and proceeds to us, if any, are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the total maximum offering amounts set forth above.

Delivery of the securities is expected to be made on or about              , 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

Sole Placement Agent

FT Global Capital, Inc.

The date of this prospectus is           , 2023.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different. We are offering to sell our securities, and seeking offers to buy our securities, only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of our securities.

In this prospectus, “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “SunCar” refer to SunCar Technology Group Inc.

All trademarks or trade names referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this prospectus are referred to without the ® and ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend the use or display of other companies’ trademarks and trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

This prospectus includes statistical, market and industry data and forecasts which we obtained from publicly available information and independent industry publications and reports that we believe to be reliable sources. These publicly available industry publications and reports generally state that they obtain their information from sources that they believe to be reliable, but they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. 

CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS

In this prospectus, unless otherwise stated, references to:

“ASGL” or “Target” are to Auto Services Group Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company;

“Business Combination” or “Mergers” are the mergers contemplated under the Merger Agreement;

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

“Class A Ordinary Shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, each having a nominal value in U.S. dollars of $0.0001 per share;

“Class B Ordinary Shares” are to the Class B ordinary shares of the Company, each having a nominal value in U.S. dollars of $0.0001 per share;

“Closing” are to the consummation of the Business Combination;

“Closing Date” are to May 17, 2023;

“Company,” “SunCar,” “we,” “our” or “us” are to SunCar Technology Group Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company, including its subsidiaries;

“Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;

“FTG” are to FT Global Capital, Inc.;

“GBRG” are to Goldenbridge Acquisition Limited, a British Virgin Islands business company;

“GEM Agreement” are to the Share Purchase Agreement between ASGL, GYBL and GEM Investor, dated November 4, 2022;

“GEM Investor” are to GEM Global Yield LLC SCS;

“GEM Warrant” are to a Warrant the Company issued to GYBL pursuant to the GEM Agreement;

“GYBL” are to GEM Yield Bahamas Ltd;

“Merger Agreement” are to the agreement and plan of merger among SunCar, Goldenbridge, Merger Sub, and certain other parties;

“Merger Sub” are to SunCar Technology Global Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of SunCar;

“Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Capital Market;

“Ordinary Shares” are to the Class A Ordinary Shares together with the Class B Ordinary Shares;

“PA Agreement” are to the placement agency agreement by and between the Company and FT Global Capital, Inc., to be entered into in connection with this offering;

“PRC Operating Entities” are to Anqi Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd (“Anqi Technology”) and its subsidiary, Shanghai Xuanbei Automobile Service Co., Limited (“Shanghai Xuanbei”), Shanghai Chengle Network Technology Co., Limited, Shanghai Qianjing Automobile Service Co., Limited, Shanghai Louduo Technology Co., Limited, Jingning Jiashan Automobile Technology Co., Limited, Beijing Beisheng United Insurance Agency Co., Ltd, Chengdu Shanda Insurance Agency Co., Ltd, Nanjing Xinda New Insurance Agency Co., Ltd, Shanghai Anite insurance Agency Co., Ltd, Shanghai Shengshi Dalian Automobile Service Co., Ltd (“Shengda Automobile”), Shengshi Dalian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. (“SUNCAR Online”), Shanghai Feiyou Trading Co., Limited (“Shanghai Feiyou”);

“RMB” or “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of the PRC;

“SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;

“U.S. Dollars,” “$,” or “US$” are to the legal currency of the United States;

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

“Warrant Agreement” are to the warrant agreement, dated March 1, 2021, by and between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and GBRG.   

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any supplement thereto. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We do not take responsibility for, or provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you.

We may also provide a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement to add information to, or update or change information contained in, this prospectus. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of each document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement together with the additional information to which we refer you in the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

The securities offered by this prospectus are being offered only in jurisdictions where the offer is permitted. We are not making an offer to sell the securities offered hereby in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale thereof is not permitted, nor have we taken any action to permit the possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction other than the United States where action for that purpose is required. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about and observe any restrictions relating to the securities registered by this prospectus and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

On May 17, 2023, SunCar consummated the transactions contemplated by that previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of May 23, 2022, by and among the Company, GBRG, Merger Sub, ASGL (d/b/a SunCar), certain shareholders of ASGL, and Ye Zaichang, an individual as the representative of the shareholders of ASGL. References to “ASGL” contained herein refer to Auto Services Group Limited prior to the Mergers. References to “the Company” or “SunCar” refer to SunCar Technology Group Inc. prior to the Mergers and to the combined company following the Mergers. 

RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this prospectus before making an investment decision with regard to our securities. The statements contained in or incorporated into this prospectus that are not historic facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. In addition, you should consider the risk factors in any prospectus supplement. Such risks are not exhaustive. We may face additional risks that are presently unknown to us or that we believe to be immaterial as of the date of this prospectus. Known and unknown risks and uncertainties may significantly impact and impair our business operations.

General Risks Related to SunCar’s Business

Our historical business growth and profitability may not be indicative of future performance. You should not rely on the results of our operations as an indication of future revenue, profit or growth.

We commenced our insurance intermediation business in May 2007 and launched our automobile after-sales services business in June 2013, both through our operating entities in China. Our revenue and net profit increased continually. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, we generated revenue from continuing operations of $238.9 million, $249.2 million and $282.4 million, respectively. For the same periods, our net profit from continuing operations was $6.62 million, $9.59 million, and net loss from continuing operations of 10.9 million, representing a net profit margin from continuing operations of 2.77%, 3.85% and net loss margin from continuing operation of 3.86% in the respective periods. Our net losses were $9.78 million, $18.09 million and $11.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively, which were due to discontinued operations in our financial leasing business line. Due to the stringent regulations for the financial leasing industry and sluggish economic environment especially impacted by COVID-19, payments receivable from lessees were severely overdue. Accordingly we made significant bad debt provision. In addition, fixed and required basis costs and expenses, including fund cost, personnel expenditure, rental expense and other expense to maintain normal operating activities were stable, and hence, the financial business line was under performance. For the purpose of concentrating on our remaining major business lines, we disposed the financial leasing business line as of March 1, 2022.

However, our historical performance may not be indicative of our future growth or financial results. We cannot assure you that we will be able to deliver similar growth or avoid any decline in the future. Our growth may slow down and our revenue and net profit may decline for a number of possible reasons, including the risk factors set forth in this prospectus. Some of the risks are beyond our control, including declining growth of our overall market or industry, increasing competition, the emergence of alternative business models, decreasing customer base, changes in rules, regulations, government policies or general economic conditions, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors. You should consider our business and prospects in light of these risks, and not unduly rely on our past results of operations or historical growth rate as an indicator of our future performance.

If we fail to maintain cordial relationships with our business partners, our business, results of operations, financial condition and business prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

We are a company working as an intermediary in automobile after-sales services and insurance. Therefore, we depend on our after-sales service providers and insurance companies partners to provide services to our clients and customers. Our success depends on our ability to, among other things, develop and maintain relationships with our existing business partners and attract new business partners. 

Our automobile after-sales services business and insurance intermediation business largely depend on our relationships with our customers. If we cannot maintain good relationships or provide satisfactory services to them, we may lose some of our business.

For our automobile after-sales services business, our after-sales partners are our clients, mainly consisting of banks, insurance companies and other large corporations. We secure service contracts with a substantial number of our enterprise clients through a bidding or centralized procurement process. These contracts generally have a term of one or two years which, upon expiry, we are typically subject to a new round of bidding or centralized procurement process to be awarded a renewed contract. We cannot assure you that we will always be invited to participate in the bidding or procurement process of our existing customers upon expiry of our existing contract terms or potential customers that we strive to establish business relationship with, or that we would be able to succeed in the bidding or procurement processes or maintain comparable success rates in the future. Furthermore, our cooperation with our enterprise clients is subject to their annual budget constraints, which could indirectly affect the growth of our automobile after-sales services business.

For our insurance intermediation business, we provide agency services for major insurance companies in China by distributing primarily automobile insurance products underwritten by them, and receive commissions from these insurance companies. Our relationships with these insurance companies are governed by agreements between the insurance companies and us. These contracts generally provide, among other things, the scope of our authority and our commission rates, and typically have a term of one or three years. Certain of these contracts can also be terminated by the insurance companies with a relatively short notice under certain circumstances. There is no assurance that we would be able to renew any such contracts upon their expiry with terms that are comparable to or better than the existing ones, if at all. Any interruption to or discontinuation of our relationships with these insurance companies may severely and negatively impact our results of operations.

In addition, client and end-consumer recognition is critical for us to remain competitive. Our ability to maintain and enhance client and end-consumer recognition and reputation depends primarily on the quality of the products and services they receive. If we are unable to maintain and further enhance our client and end-consumer recognition and reputation and promote awareness of our product offerings and services, we may not be able to maintain or continue to expand our client base, and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, any negative or malicious publicity relating to our Group, products and services could harm our brand image and in turn materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We rely on our after-sales service providers and external referral sources to operate our business, therefore our relationships with our service providers are crucial to our business. Failure to establish and maintain cordial relationships with them and other supply chain disruptions may adversely affect our results of operations and business prospects.

For our automobile after-sales services business, we rely on our after-sales service providers to deliver a variety of automobile-related services to customers of our enterprise clients. Accordingly, our relationships with the after-sales service providers and their quality of service are crucial for us to continue our business growth and promote our brand and reputation among our customers. If our relationships with them deteriorate, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Similarly, failure of our after-sales service providers to deliver services of satisfactory quality may cause our clients to stop using our services, which could adversely affect our revenue or even jeopardize the business relationship with our customers.

For our insurance intermediation business, we collaborate with various external referral sources to expedite our market penetration and broaden our end consumer base. Our external referral sources are our service providers in the insurance intermediation business. Failure to establish and maintain cordial relationships with our external referral sources may materially and adversely affect our ability to expand our business scale and geographical coverage, which in turn could adversely affect our results of operations and business prospects.

In addition, our contracts with our clients and service providers are typically on a non-exclusive basis, and they may choose to cooperate with our competitors or offer competing services themselves. For example, there is an increasing trend that major insurance companies build their own Internet or mobile channels and strengthen their in-house capabilities to distribute their insurance products, as well as establishing their own insurance intermediation arms. Our after-sales service providers may also choose to work with our competitors or other service platforms, which may offer better terms or bring upon more business volume to them. In any event, there is no assurance that we will be able to continuously maintain positive relationships with our business partners, or continue to work with them on terms favorable to us, or at all. If any of the foregoing occurs, our business growth, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

Moreover, our after-sales service providers depend upon frequent use of auto parts, products, and supplies to perform the services they provide for us. Shortages or interruptions in the supply chain caused by unexpected demand, problems in production or distribution, acts of terrorism, financial or other difficulties of suppliers, labor issues, inclement weather, natural disasters such as floods, drought and hurricanes, outbreak of armed conflicts or disease, such as COVID-19, or other conditions could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of supplies for such products, which could materially and adversely affect the businesses of our after-sales service providers and us. Recent global supply chain disruptions have had minimal direct impacts on our operations, because our business is digitalized and require very little continuous supply of physical materials. Moreover, the labor supply of our after-sales service providers have been affected only minimally, since we source these providers in China locally, close to the locations of our clients service requests. For examples, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have no nexus to our supply chains, so events happening in these locations have minimal effect on our supply chain management or risks.

Global inflationary pressures could negatively impact our results of operations and cash flows.

We face two types of possible inflationary pressures: a general pressure from inflation-related economic slowdown, and a specific pressure from inflation of the prices of fuel. First, inflation could slow down the global economy and the economic activity in China in particular, and thus decrease the over amount of automobile usage in China which would impact our business. So far, this risk has not been realized, and we see automobile usage in China continue to steadily grow. Second, since the 2022 inflation episode was triggered by the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting increase in fossil fuel prices, it particularly impacts the automobile industry which still mainly relies on fossil fuel to power the vehicles. Thus, the automotive and related industries, including insurance and after-sales service industries where we operate, would face increased cost of operation even more significant than the global economy as a whole, drive by the increase in fuel prices. Our efforts in developing our NEV (new energy vehicles) business line may not be able to completely offset this risk, since NEV is still a small minority portion of the entire automotive industry.

Increases in labor costs and employee benefits may adversely affect our business and profitability.

Labor costs in China have risen in recent years as a result of social and economic development including the increasing inflation. Average wages in China are expected to continue increasing. We may also need to increase our total compensation packages to attract and retain experienced personnel to achieve our business objectives. In addition, we are required by the PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pension, housing fund, and insurance, to designated government authorities for the benefits of our employees. We may be determined by the relevant government authorities to have failed to make adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, due to the inconsistent implementation or interpretation of the PRC laws and regulations by local authorities or our lack of understanding of the relevant PRC laws and regulations. As a result, we may be subject to late payment fees or other penalties. As of the date of this prospectus, our PRC Operating Entities have not been materially impacted, in part because our labor suppliers, the after-sales service providers, are highly fragmented and not coordinated as US-style labor unions do not exist in the PRC. However, we expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected as a result of any material increase in our labor costs.

We are subject to customer concentration risk. Our growth and revenue could be materially and adversely affected if we lose any significant customer, or if any significant customer fails to cooperate with us at anticipated levels.

For the year 2022, we had two customers each accounting for more than 10% of our revenue for a total of 26%, and three customers each accounting for more than 10% of our accounts receivables for a total of 72%. For the year of 2021, we had one customer accounting for more than 15% of our revenue, and three customers each accounting for more than 10% of our accounts receivables for a total of 46%. For the year 2020, we had one customer accounting for 26% of our revenue, and one customer accounting for 18% of our accounts receivables. None of these major customers is a related party to SunCar or its Directors.

There are a number of factors, other than our performance, that could cause loss of, or decrease in the volume of business from, a customer. We cannot assure you that we will continue to maintain the business cooperation with these customers at the same level, or at all. The loss of business from any of these significant customers, or any downward adjustment of the commission rates paid to us, could materially adversely affect our revenue and profit. Furthermore, if any significant customer terminates its relationship with us, we cannot assure you that we will be able to secure an alternative arrangement with comparable insurance company in a timely manner, or at all. 

We are subject to credit risks from our customers.

We typically grant credit period to our automobile enterprise clients. While they are principally insurance companies and banking institutions, there is no assurance that income receivable by us will not be subject to disputes with our clients and partners. Given the scale of our clients and the negotiating positions they enjoy, in case of dispute we are typically in a less favorable position to succeed in recovering the trade receivables and our financial position and results of operations may be negatively impacted as a result.

Our outstanding accounts receivable are not covered by collateral or credit insurance. While we have procedures to monitor and limit exposure to credit risk on our accounts receivable, which risk is heightened during periods of uncertain economic conditions, there can be no assurance such procedures will effectively limit our credit risk and enable us to avoid losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results. Our net accounts receivable balance was US$85.6 million and US$85.6 million as of December 31, 2021, and December 31, 2022, respectively, and we recognized bad debt expenses of nil, nil, and US$26.0 million during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

We may not be able to facilitate diversified products and services to effectively address our end consumers’ needs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We strive to continuously upgrade our automobile after-sales services by offering more comprehensive service solutions and upgraded experience. We also seek to collaborate with more insurance companies located in our existing and new geographical markets, while maintaining full spectrum insurance product choices. Expansion into new product and service categories and geographies involves new risks and challenges. If we fail to respond to the changing and emerging needs and preferences of our customers and end consumers, or we incorrectly respond to the changing and emerging needs and preferences, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

Any breaches to our security measures, including unauthorized access to our systems, computer viruses and cyber-attacks may adversely affect our database and reduce the use of our services and damage our reputation and brand names.

In connection with our business as a provider of online platform, we collect, host, store, transfer, process, disclose, use, secure and retain and dispose of large amounts of personal and business information about our clients and partners. We focus on ensuring that we safeguard and protect personal and business information and client funds, and we devote significant resources to maintain and regularly update our systems and processes. Nonetheless, the global environment continues to grow increasingly hostile as attacks on information technology systems continue to grow in frequency, complexity and sophistication, and we are regularly targeted by unauthorized parties using malicious tactics, code and viruses.

Any cyberattack, unauthorized intrusion, malicious software infiltration, network disruption, denial of service, corruption of data, theft of non-public or other sensitive information, or similar act by a malevolent party (including our personnel), or inadvertent acts or inactions by our vendors, partners or personnel, could result in the loss, disclosure or misuse of confidential personal or business information or the theft of client, and could have a materially adverse effect on our business or results of operations or that of our clients, result in liability, litigation, regulatory investigations and sanctions or a loss of confidence in our ability to serve clients, or cause current or potential clients to choose another service provider. As the global environment continues to grow increasingly hostile, the security of our operating environment is ever more important to our clients and potential clients. As a result, the breach or perceived breach of our security systems could result in a loss of confidence by our clients or potential clients and cause them to choose another service provider, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business.

As of the date of this prospectus, we believe we are not subject to any material cybersecurity risks. Although we believe that we maintain a robust program of information security and controls and none of the data or cyber security incidents that we have encountered to date have materially impacted us, we cannot guarantee that our measures will always be reliable, a data or cyber security incident could disrupt our continuing service to our customers and their end users, force us in providing inferior services, or delay the completion of our service, and then in turn have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

We face intense competition in the markets we operate in, and some of our competitors may have greater resources or brand recognition than us.

The automobile insurance intermediation market and the integrated automobile after-sales service market in China are highly fragmented and competitive. In our automobile after-sales services business, we primarily compete with a large number of large integrated service providers and other independent after-sales service providers. We compete for customers on the basis of product offerings, pricing, customer services and reputation. In our insurance intermediation business, we face competition from insurance companies that use their in-house sales force, exclusive sales agents, telemarketing, and Internet or mobile channels to distribute their insurance products, and from business entities that distribute insurance products on an ancillary basis, such as commercial banks, postal offices and automobile dealerships, as well as from other professional insurance intermediaries.

Some of our current and future competitors may have greater financial and marketing resources than we do, and may be able to offer services that we do not currently have and may not offer in the future. The disruption of business cooperation with major banks and insurance companies we work with may cause us to lose our competitive advantages in certain areas. If we are unable to compete effectively against and stay ahead of our competitors, we may lose customers and our financial results may be negatively affected.

Our negative net operating cash flows in the past may expose us to certain liquidity risks and could constrain our operational flexibility.

We had negative net operating cash flows in year 2021 and 2022. Our cash flows have been affected by a general mis-match of cash inflow and outlay on the operational level resulting from our significantly longer trade receivables turnover days compared to our trade payables turnover days, as our customers are mostly banks and insurance companies and their respective payment process is generally significantly longer than our payment process to our external referral sources and after-sales service providers.

We cannot assure you that we will not experience net current liabilities or negative net operating cash flows in the future. Our future liquidity, ability to make necessary capital expenditures, the payment of trade and other payables, as and when they become due, will primarily depend on our ability to maintain adequate cash inflows from our operating activities and adequate external financing. Our ability to generate adequate cash inflows from operating activities may be affected by our future operating performance, prevailing economic conditions, our financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Also, we may not be able to renew or refinance our existing bank borrowings or secure additional external financing on a timely basis or on acceptable terms, or at all. The occurrence of any of the foregoing may cause us not to have sufficient cash flow to fund our operating costs and constrain our operational flexibility and, in that event, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our latest business growth strategy may negatively impact our financial results and profit margins in the short run.

To better fit into the development of current vehicle industry pioneer in the new energy vehicles (“NEVs”) market and transform to the sustainable growth strategy, we plan to focus on several marketing points to further increase the revenue of SunCar. Our growth strategy includes the following: (1) expanding customers base with market trends; (2) under the electrification of the vehicles, and population of NEVs, SunCar is working to provide digitalized, online services; (3) coordinating with multiple insurance companies, and design new insurance plans for NEV drivers which will be sold exclusively through SunCar; and (4) increasingly monetize the management tech (SaaS) we provide for small business partners. Although we do not expect our profit margin to decrease as a result of our latest business growth strategy, given that the strategy does not require a significant increase in capital expenditures, we may not succeed in achieving one or more of the goals under our growth strategy and it may cost us more expenses to achieve them than we anticipate. If we incur substantial expenses for implementing the plan without being able to achieve the anticipated business growth and expansion, our operating and financial results and our business prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our business is subject to seasonality.

In our insurance intermediation business, our revenue (i.e., commissions from insurance companies) is subject to quarterly fluctuations as a result of, among other factors, the seasonality of our business, the timing of policy renewals of individual policy owners and the net effect of new and lost business. During any given year, our revenue derived from distribution of insurance products is generally lower during the first quarter. The factors that cause such quarterly variations are not within our control. Specifically, change of end-consumer demand, timing of renewals, cancellations of insurance policies would cause seasonal fluctuations in our results of operations. On the other hand, revenue derived from our after-sales service business in any given year also exhibits seasonality generally, and is generally highest in the second quarter and the fourth quarter, mainly resulting from the expiry of reward points in our enterprise clients’ reward programs or customer loyalty programs and the promotional activities launched by our major customers in June and December of each year. In addition, changes in certain of our expenses do not necessarily correspond with such fluctuations. For example, we spend on marketing activities, staff recruitment and training, and product development throughout the year, and we pay rent for our facilities based on the terms of the lease agreements. We may also incur significant costs for our information technology systems and enhancements and upgrades of our apps from time to time in support of our business developments. We expect to continue to experience seasonal fluctuations in our revenue and results of operations. These fluctuations could result in volatility in our results of operations. As a result, you may not be able to rely on quarterly comparisons of our operating results as an indication of our future performance.

Any significant disruption in services on our apps, websites or computer systems, including events beyond our control, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.

Our business is highly dependent on the ability of our information technology systems to timely process a large number of transactions across different markets and products at a time when the volume of such transactions is growing rapidly. We are also increasingly relying on our apps to facilitate the business process of both our insurance intermediation and our automobile after-sales services. Usability of our apps as perceived by users can influence customer satisfaction. The proper functioning and improvement of our apps, our accounting, customer database, customer service and other data processing systems, together with the communication systems between our various branches and our principal executive office in Shanghai, is critical to our business and to our ability to compete effectively. We cannot assure you that our business activities would not be materially disrupted in the event of a partial or complete failure of any of these primary information technology or communication systems, which could be caused by, among other things, software malfunction, computer virus attacks or conversion errors due to system upgrading. In addition, a prolonged failure of any of our information technology systems could damage our reputation and materially and adversely affect our operations and profitability.

Our business model and our planned business developments are dependent on the proper function of our IT systems and infrastructure and our ability to continuously improve our IT systems and infrastructure and adopt advancing technologies. Breakdown of any of our major IT systems or failure to keep up with technological developments would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and future prospects.

Our proprietary technology and technological capabilities are critical to the development and maintenance of our IT systems and infrastructure underlying our apps and platforms, which in turn is vital to our business operations and planned developments. We need to keep abreast of the fast evolving IT developments, and continuously invest in significant resources, including financial and human capital resources to maintain, upgrade and expand our IT systems and infrastructure in tandem with our business growth and developments. However, research and development activities are inherently uncertain, and investments in information technologies and development of proprietary technologies may not always lead to commercialization or monetarization, or lead to increased business volume and/or profitability. The fast evolving IT developments may also render our existing systems and infrastructure and those that are newly developed and implemented obsolete before we are able to reap sufficient benefits to recover their investment costs, and may lead to substantial impairments which would adversely affect our results of operations. Obsolescence in our proprietary technology, IT systems and infrastructure may also significantly impair our ability to conduct and grow our business and compete effectively, which could materially and adversely impact our results of operations and business prospects. On the other hand, any significant breakdown of our IT systems and infrastructure may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, reputation and business prospects, and may even subject us to potential claims or even litigations, particularly as parts of our IT systems and infrastructure are linked to or connected with IT systems and infrastructure of our insurance company partners and enterprise clients, who are mostly sizeable and reputable financial institutions whom themselves are subject to stringent regulatory supervision. As we rely heavily on our apps and our IT systems and infrastructure to facilitate and conduct our business, any prolonged breakdown of systems and infrastructure could also materially impact our business and results of operations.

Failure to ensure and protect the confidentiality of the personal data of end consumers could subject us to penalties, negatively impact our reputation and deter end consumers from using our platforms.

In providing our services, a challenge we face is the secured collection, storage and transmission of confidential information. We acquire certain private information about end consumers, such as name, personal identification number, address and telephone number during the course of our business. We also obtained certain personal data from our insurance company partners and enterprise clients pursuant to the collaboration agreements with them, such as the vehicle registration number and registration date, the engine number, the make and model of the automobile and information about the current insured status of the automobile of a potential insurance purchaser. We are required to collect and use such information in accordance with relevant PRC laws and not to disclose or use such information without consent from the respective consumers.

While we have taken steps to protect the personal data that we have access to, our security measures could be breached. Any accidental or willful security breaches or other unauthorized access to our system could cause confidential personal data to be stolen and used for criminal purposes, and could also expose us to liability related to the loss of information, time-consuming and expensive litigation and negative publicity. If security measures are breached or if we fail to protect confidentiality of the personal data of end consumers otherwise, our insurance company partners, our enterprise clients as well as end consumers may be deterred from choosing us, which could result in significant loss of business and we could incur significant liability, and our business and operations could be adversely affected.

We may fail to attract or retain an experienced management team and qualified personnel.

Our continued success depends on our ability to attract and retain an experienced management team and other employees with the requisite expertise and skills. Our ability to do so is influenced by a variety of factors, including the structure of the compensation package that we formulate and the competitive market position of our overall compensation package. Our management team and skilled employees may leave us or we may terminate their employment at any time. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain our management team and skilled employees or find suitable or comparable replacements on a timely basis. Moreover, if any of our management team or skilled employees leaves us or joins a competitor, we may lose customers. In addition, former employees may request certain compensation arising from their resignation or retirement, which we typically negotiate on a case-by-case basis. However, if we are unable to reach a mutually acceptable resolution with such employees, they may take other actions including, but not limited to, initiating legal proceedings. Such legal proceedings may require us to pay damages, divert our management’s attention cause us to incur costs and harm our reputation. In particular, our business operations and development crucially depend on key persons, including our Chairman and CEO Mr. Ye Zaichang and our CTO Mr. Lei Zhunfu, the loss or departure of whom would materially impact our business. Each of these foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our business has grown substantially since our inception, and we expect continued growth in the scale of our business and our operations. We have significantly expanded branch establishment, our headcount and office facilities, and we anticipate further expansion in certain areas and geographies. This expansion increases the complexity of our operations and may cause strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources. We must continue to hire, train and effectively manage new employees. If our new hires perform poorly or if we are unsuccessful in hiring, training, managing and integrating new employees, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially harmed.

In addition, as we pursue our business growth and strive to expand our customer base, we endeavor to establish presence in new geographical markets, introduce new insurance products and types of automobile after-sales services, and work with a variety of additional business partners, including banks, insurance companies, external referral sources and after-sales service providers, to address the evolving needs of the end consumers. We may have limited or no experience for certain new product and service offerings, and our expansion into these new product and service offerings may not achieve broad acceptance among our customers or end consumers. These offerings may present new and difficult technological or operational challenges, and we may be subject to claims if end consumers do not have satisfactory experiences in general. To effectively manage the expected growth of our business and operational scale, we will need to continue improving our transaction processing, technological, operational and financial systems, policies, procedures and controls. All of these endeavors involve risks and will require significant management, financial and human resources. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage our growth or to implement our strategies successfully. If we are not able to manage our growth effectively, or at all, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain whether the reduced disclosure 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 JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions and relief from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.” In particular, while we are an “emerging growth company” (1) we will not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (2) we will be exempt from any rules that may be adopted by the PCAOB requiring mandatory audit firm rotations or a supplement to the auditor’s report on financial statements, (3) we will be subject to reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (4) we will not be required to hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation or shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We currently intend to take advantage of the reduced disclosure requirements regarding executive compensation, including the exemptions from the advisory vote requirements and executive compensation disclosures under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Customer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, and the exemption from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards, meaning that the company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We may remain an “emerging growth company” until the fiscal year-end following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this initial public offering, though we may cease to be an “emerging growth company” earlier under certain circumstances, including (1) if we become a large accelerated filer, (2) if our gross revenue exceeds $1.235 billion in any fiscal year or (3) if we issue more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible notes in any three year period. The exact implications of the JOBS Act are still subject to interpretations and guidance by the SEC and other regulatory agencies, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to take advantage of all of the benefits of the JOBS Act. In addition, investors may find our ordinary shares less attractive if we rely on the exemptions and relief granted by the JOBS Act. 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 decline and/or become more volatile.

We may not be able to use certain of our leased properties due to defects related to these properties. And failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations on leased property may expose us to potential fines and negatively affect our ability to use the properties we lease.

As of the date of this prospectus, we operated our business primarily through one owned property in Shanghai and 37 leased properties across China. For some leased properties, the landlords have not provided ownership certificates, or where the landlords are not the owners, consent letters from the property owners for leasing or sub-leasing the properties. We believe that lessors are not entitled to lease properties if they do not have ownership of such properties or consent from the property owners authorizing the lease. If our lessors are not the owners of the properties or they have not obtained consents from the owners or their lessors or permits from the relevant government authorities, our leases could be invalidated. If any third party raises claims against the ownership or leasing rights of such properties, our leasing of such properties may be affected.

Pursuant to the Administrative Measures for Commodity Housing Leasing, parties to a lease agreement are required to file the lease agreements for registration and obtain property leasing filing certificates for their leases. Our leasehold interests in leased properties have not been registered with the relevant PRC government authorities as required by PRC law, which may expose us to potential fines if we fail to remediate after receiving any notice from the relevant PRC government authorities. As of the date of this prospectus, we believe that failure to complete the lease registration will not affect the legal effectiveness of our lease agreements according to PRC law, but the real estate administrative authorities may require the parties to the lease agreements to complete lease registration within a prescribed period of time, and the failure to do so may subject the parties to fines from RMB1,000 to RMB10,000 for each of such lease agreements. There can be no assurance that legal disputes or conflicts concerning such leases and tenancies will not arise in the future.

As of the date of this prospectus, we are not aware of any actions, claims or investigations threatened against us or our lessors with respect to the defects in our leasehold interests. However, if any of our leases is terminated as a result of challenges by third parties or governmental authorities for lack of title certificates or proof of authorization to lease, we do not expect to be subject to any fines or penalties, but we may be forced to relocate the affected offices and incur additional expenses relating to such relocation. Any dispute or claim in relation to the titles of the properties that we occupy, including any litigation involving allegations of illegal or unauthorized use of these properties, could require us to relocate our business operations occupying these properties.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights and proprietary information, we may lose our competitive edge and our brand, reputation and operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our corporate name, trademarks and other intellectual properties are essential to our business. We believe our reputation and brand are associated with our corporate name in Chinese “Sheng Shi Da Lian” and SunCar, and our trademarks, and that this association has contributed to the success of our business. Our corporate name may be damaged if it is used by third parties whose reputation or brand is not associated with quality, or if such third parties are otherwise the subject of any adverse publicity. In addition, other parties may use or register trademarks that look similar to our registered trademarks under certain circumstances, and may cause confusion among consumers. Policing unauthorized use of our corporate name and trademarks can be difficult and expensive. If any of the foregoing happens, the value of our trademarks and customer recognition of our brand may be adversely affected.

In addition, litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trademarks or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Such litigation may be costly and may divert management’s attention away from our business. An adverse determination in any such litigation would impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation. Enforcement of judgments in China is uncertain, and even if we are successful in litigation, it may not provide us with an effective remedy. In addition, we have no insurance coverage against litigation costs and would have to bear all costs arising from such litigation to the extent we are unable to recover them from other parties. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations by third parties, which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

Our current businesses in insurance intermediation and after-sales service are largely depending on our online platforms. Our online platforms are established based on large amounts of softcopies. In particular, leading companies in the software own large number of softcopies, which they may use to assert claims against us. From time to time, third parties holding such intellectual property rights, including companies, competitors, patent holding companies, customers and/or non-practicing entities, may assert softcopies or other intellectual property claims against us, our customers and partners, and those from whom we license technology and intellectual property.

Although we believe that our platforms do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third parties, we cannot be certain that our operations do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate intellectual property rights or other rights held by third parties. Even if there is no infringement, due to the uncertainty and inferiority of Chinese Intellectual Property Laws, we may be from time to time in the future subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights or other rights of third parties, some even without merit. If we are forced to defend against any infringement or misappropriation claims, whether they are with or without merit, are settled out of court, or are determined in our favor, we may be required to expend significant time and financial resources on the defense of such claims. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, such a claim could adversely impact our brand and business. Any such assertions may require us to enter into royalty arrangement or result in us being unable to use certain intellectual property. Infringement assertions by third parties may involve patent holding companies or other patent owners who have no relevant product revenue, and therefore our own issued and pending patents may provide little or no deterrence to these patent owners in bringing intellectual property right claims against us. Furthermore, an adverse outcome of a dispute may require us to pay damages, potentially including treble damages and attorney’s fees, if are found to have willfully infringed a party’s intellectual property; case making, licensing or using our solutions that are alleged to infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property of others; expend additional development resources to redesign our solutions’ enter into potentially unfavorable royalty or license agreements in order to obtain the right to use necessary technologies or works; and to indemnify our partners, customers and other third parties. Any of these events could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Additionally, there may be third-party intellectual property rights or other rights that are infringed by our products, services or other aspects of our business without our awareness. To the extent that our employees or consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related know-how and inventions or other proprietary assets. If any third-party infringement claims are brought against us, we may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these claims, regardless of their merits.

The application and interpretation of China’s intellectual property laws and the procedures and standards for granting trademarks, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights in China, and the laws governing personal rights are still evolving and remain uncertain, and we cannot assure you that PRC courts or regulatory authorities would agree with our analysis. If we were found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property or relevant contents, and we may incur licensing or usage fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. As a result, our reputation may be harmed and our business and financial performance may be materially and adversely affected.

Our operations depend on the performance of the Internet and mobile Internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China, which may not be able to support the demands associated with our continued growth.

Almost all access to the Internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT. Moreover, we primarily rely on a limited number of telecommunications service providers to provide us with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with the Internet infrastructure or the telecommunications networks in China. We cannot assure you that these infrastructures will be able to support the demands associated with the continued growth in usage.

With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our facilities, technology, operational and information technology infrastructure to keep up with our business growth, which may require substantial investment. In addition, we may need to devote significant resources to creating, supporting and maintaining our mobile APPs, given the increasing trend of accessing the Internet through smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices and the continual release of new mobile devices and mobile platforms. However, we may not be able to effectively develop or enhance these technologies on a timely basis or at all, which may decrease end consumers’ satisfaction and efficiency of our business process. Our failure to keep pace with rapid technological changes may impact our ability to retain or attract end consumers of our products and services or generate income, and have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our limited insurance coverage could expose us to significant costs and business disruption.

We believe we maintain insurance policies covering risks in line with industry standards. We maintain limited business liability, litigation and property insurance. We maintain no liability insurance coverage over our major assets and facilities and do not plan to carry such insurance. This is consistent with our digitalized and online business model which is light on tangible assets (approximately 5% of our total assets consist of property, plant and equipment). We do not have any business interruption insurance. Any uninsured occurrence of business disruption, litigation or natural disaster, or significant damages to our uninsured equipment or facilities could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. We do not maintain key-man life insurance either. The insurance companies in China currently offer limited business-related insurance products. As such, currently we may not be able to insure certain risks related to our assets or business even if we desire to. If we were to incur substantial losses or liabilities due to natural disaster, disruption in our network infrastructure or business operations, or any material litigation, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Our current insurance coverage may not be sufficient to prevent us from any loss, and we may not be able to successfully claim our losses under our current insurance policies on a timely basis, or at all. If we incur any loss beyond the coverage of our insurance policies, or the amount indemnified is significant less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.

Our business has been and may continue to be adversely affected by the outbreak of COVID-19.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has already adversely affected our business. Our car after-sale has been severely affected. Insurance carriers and other business partners have been gradually recovering from the general shutdown and delay in commencement of operations in China since the beginning of March 2020 but still may be subject to be hit by resurgence. Even though our business is currently operational, our operating efficiency and capacity may still be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic mainly due to the necessity to comply with disease control protocols in business facilities and hospitals. The global spread of COVID-19 pandemic in major countries of the world may also result in global economic distress, and the extent to which it may affect our results of operations will depend on future developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are highly uncertain and difficult to predict. There may be potential impacts on our results of operations if the pandemic and the resulting disruption were to extend over a prolonged period.

We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

In addition to the impact of COVID-19, our business could be materially and adversely affected by natural disasters, health epidemics or other public safety concerns affecting China. Natural disasters may give rise to server interruptions, breakdowns, system failures, technology platform failures or internet failures, which could cause the loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware as well as adversely affect our ability to operate our platform and provide services and solutions. In recent years, there have been outbreaks of epidemics in China and globally, such as H1N1 flu, avian flu or another epidemic. Our business operations could be disrupted by any of these epidemics. In addition, our results of operations could be adversely affected to the extent that any health epidemic harms the Chinese economy in general. A prolonged outbreak of any of these illnesses or other adverse public health developments in China or elsewhere in the world could have a material adverse effect on our business operations. Such outbreaks could significantly impact the insurance industry, which could severely disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our headquarters are located in Beijing, where most of our management and employees currently reside. Consequently, if any natural disasters, health epidemics or other public safety concerns were to affect Beijing, our operation may experience material disruptions, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to SunCar’s Insurance Services

We participate in the business as an insurance intermediary, therefore, we only obtained necessary licenses for the sale of insurance, but these insurances do not allow us to create/modify insurance products either.

We are the leading online auto insurance platform in China, and help customers to apply for insurance quickly and easily. Insurance industry is a highly-regulated industry in China, participating the sale, even resale of insurance requires certain permission or approval by PRC regulatory authorities. As a platform provider, we need to obtain such permission or approval for sale of insurance, and we are holding valid license, but we are not allowed to create or modify insurance products. Currently, we believe such limitation will not pose any influences or difficulties for SunCar to keep providing platform services, however, if SunCar decides to start providing insurance directly, or any regulations change to require us to hold other additional permissions or approvals to keep being a platform provider, SunCar may have to spare costs and time to get the license and to be qualified, if which there can be no assurance.

Our business is subject to regulation and administration by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and other government authorities, and failure to comply with any applicable regulations and rules by us could result in financial losses or harm to our business.

We are subject to the PRC Insurance Law, Regulatory Provisions on Professional Insurance Agencies, and related rules and regulations. Our businesses in automobile insurance and other insurance areas are extensively regulated by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (“CBIRC“), which has been given wide discretion in its administration of these laws, rules and regulations as well as the authority to impose regulatory sanctions on us. Under the amendments to the PRC Insurance Law promulgated in 2009, the CBIRC has been granted greater regulatory oversight over the PRC insurance industry, in part to afford policyholders more protection.

The terms and premium rates of the insurance products we carry, the commission rates we earn, as well as the way we operate our insurance intermediation businesses, are subject to regulations. Changes in these regulations may affect our profitability on the products we sell. For example, the CBIRC promulgated a series of regulations and implementation directives to strengthen the regulation of the premium and commission rates for commercial motor vehicle insurance since February 2015. In July 2017, the CBIRC’s Notice to Overhaul Chaotic Auto Insurance Market was promulgated, aiming to strengthen regulation of the automobile insurance market. Such regulation prohibits, among other things, insurance intermediaries from giving inappropriate rebates to the insured when promoting insurance products, and imposes various restrictions on insurance companies in relation to risk management and cooperation with third-party insurance intermediaries. In January 2019, the CBIRC promulgated the “Notice on Further Strengthening Regulation on Auto Insurance” to further regulate automobile insurance market conducts including, among other things, charging commissions. As recent as September 2, 2020, CBIRC released guidance of The Implementation of Comprehensive Reform of Auto Insurance (CBIRC Supervision and Development No. 41 2020, hereinafter referred to as “No. 41 2020 Guidance”), which took effect on September 19, 2020, and set phased goals for insurance companies to “reduce price, increase insurance policy volume, and improve quality”, which significantly reduced premium and commission rates. Any tightening of regulations or administrative measures on insurance premiums or insurance agency commissions could have material adverse impact on the revenue and profitability of our insurance intermediation business, if we are not able to increase our insurance business volume sufficiently to compensate for the reduced revenue generated from automobile insurance commission, or pass on any downward impact on our commission rates to our external referral sources.

Regardless, failure to comply with any of the laws, rules and regulations to which we are subject could result in fines, restrictions on business expansion, which could materially and adversely affect us. The laws, rules and regulations under which we are regulated may change from time to time, and there is uncertainty associated with their interpretation and application. We cannot assure you that future legislative or regulatory changes would not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Misconduct of the external referral sources we engaged to promote our insurance intermediation services is difficult to detect and deter and could harm our reputation or lead to regulatory sanctions or litigation costs.

We promote insurance products through external sales representatives. In addition, we also engage them to deepen our market penetration and broaden end consumer reach. The activities and regulatory compliance of these sales and marketing forces associated with our insurance intermediation business are subject to the terms of the agreements we entered into with them and subject to applicable PRC laws. Misconduct of any of them could result in violation of law by us, regulatory sanctions, litigation or serious reputational or financial harm. Misconduct could include:

On April 24, 2015, the PRC Insurance Law was amended and consequently on February 1, 2018, the CBIRC amended the Provisions on the Supervision of Insurance Brokerages and the Provisions on the Supervision of Insurance Claims Adjusting Firms. Furthermore, on November 12, 2020, the CBIRC promulgated the Regulatory Provisions on Insurance Agents, which became effective 1 January 2021, repealing the Provisions on the Supervision of Professional Insurance Agencies. These amendments have made a number of significant changes to the regulatory regime, including eliminating the requirement for insurance agent to obtain a qualification certificate issued by the CBIRC. The elimination of the certificate requirement may result in an increase in misconduct by persons engaged in promoting insurance products, in particularly sales misrepresentation. We have set up in contractual terms to deter misconduct by external sales representatives and referral sources. However, the measures and precautions we take to prevent and detect these activities may not be effective in all cases, and even effective, may be delayed under certain circumstances. We cannot assure you, therefore, that misconduct by any of the external sales representatives or our external referral sources may not occur, whether unintentional or otherwise, which may negatively impact our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, the general increase in misconduct in the industry could potentially harm the reputation of the industry and have an adverse impact on our business.

Examinations and investigations by the PRC regulatory authorities may result in fines and/or other penalties that may have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

From time to time, the CBIRC carries out comprehensive evaluations and inspections of the internal control and financial and operational compliance of PRC insurance intermediation companies in China. As a participant in the insurance intermediation industry in China, we are subject to periodic or ad hoc examinations and investigations by various PRC regulatory authorities in respect of our compliance with PRC laws and regulations, which may impose fines and/or other penalties on us. There is no assurance that we will be able to meet all applicable regulatory requirements and guidelines, or comply with all applicable regulations at all times, or that we will not be subject to fines or other penalties in the future as a result of regulatory inspections.

Consumers may increasingly decide to purchase insurance directly from insurance companies, which would have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The advancement of financial technologies, or FinTech, and the emergence of Internet insurance products allow insurance companies to directly access to a broader customer base at a low cost, and consumers may increasingly decide to purchase insurance directly from insurance companies. A rising number of traditional insurance companies have established their own online platforms to sell Internet insurance products directly to consumers. More recently, the advent of a few online-only Internet insurance companies, such as ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co., Ltd., is regarded as an emerging force to further disintermediate China’s insurance industry. The process of eliminating agencies as intermediaries, known as “disintermediation,” could place us at a competitive disadvantage and reduce the need for our products and services. Disintermediation could also result in significant decrease in business volume and loss of commission income from our insurance intermediation business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Because the commission revenue we earn on the sale of insurance products is based on premium and commission rates set by insurance companies, any decrease in these premiums or commission rates, or increase in the referral fees we pay to our external referral sources, may have an adverse effect on our results of operation.

We derive a majority of our revenue from our insurance intermediation business by earning commissions from insurance companies we cooperate with. The commissions we receive from insurance companies on the insurance policies sold are generally calculated as a percentage of the insurance premiums paid by the insured. Our revenue and results of operations are thus directly affected by the size of insurance premiums and the commission rates for such policies.

Insurance premiums and commission rates can change based on the prevailing economic, regulatory, taxation-related and competitive factors that affect insurance companies and end consumers. These factors, many of which are not within our control, include insurance companies’ expectation on profits, consumer demand for insurance products in the market, the availability and pricing of comparable products offered by other insurance companies, and the end consumers themselves. In addition, premium rates for certain automobile insurance products that each automobile owner in the PRC is legally required to purchase, are tightly regulated by the CBIRC. As a result, we may experience downward pressure on our commissions from time to time.

On the other hand, we engage external referral sources in different geographical areas to promote insurance products, and pay referral fees to them for referring end consumers to us. We may adjust the rates of referral fees at our discretion, depending on the competitive landscape and market conditions in the respective geographical markets. Accordingly, any increase in such rates would reduce our profit margin.

Because we do not determine, and cannot predict, the timing or extent of premium or commission rate changes, we cannot predict the effect any of these changes may have on our operations. Any decrease in premiums or commission rates we receive, and/or any increase in the rates of referral fees we pay to our external referral sources, could significantly affect our profitability. In addition, our capital expenditures and other expenditures may be disrupted by unexpected decreases in revenue caused by decreases in premiums or commission rates, thereby adversely affecting our operations and business plans.

The insurance business is historically cyclical in nature, and there may be periods with excess underwriting capacity and unfavorable premium rates, which may negatively affect SunCar’s overall revenues. SunCar also plans to further develop new insurance products narrowly tailored to the new trend in the car industry, but there is no guarantee that such innovation will receive positive feedback from the market or bring more revenues to SunCar.

The insurance business is historically cyclical in nature. Such fluctuations in our operating results could be due to a number of other factors, many of which may be outside of our control, including the severe control from CBIRC, competition between insurance companies, frequency, and severity of catastrophic events, levels of capacity, adverse litigation trends, regulatory constraints, general economic conditions, and other factors. The supply of insurance is related to prevailing prices, the level of insured losses, and the level of capital available to the industry that, in turn, may fluctuate in response to changes in rates of return on investments being earned in the insurance industry. As a result, the auto insurance business historically has been a cyclical industry characterized by periods of intense price competition due to excessive underwriting capacity, as well as periods when shortages of capacity increased premium levels. Since the fluctuation of insurance premiums are periodic and are now set at a very low level, therefore, SunCar anticipates the insurance intermediation services to be profitable again after such period. However, there is no guarantee that SunCar’s estimation is correct, or the CBIRC will raise the set rate, if the CBIRC does not raise the premium rate, or such a low-level period prolonged, insurance intermediation service business may negatively impact SunCar’s ability to generate profit and indirectly influence the price of our Ordinary Shares.

The NEV Market has been undergoing rapid growth all over the world, with Chinese NEV market experiencing an explosive expansion. In recent years, Chinese government has issued different kinds of policies to stimulate more and more companies to manufacture the NEV vehicles and motivate the customer to purchase of the NEV vehicles. Therefore, SunCar plans to directly cooperate with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) so that we can have higher margin in providing the services and products. At the same time, SunCar will also very actively negotiate with insurance companies partnered with us for customized insurance for NEV owners. However, as mentioned, we are not an insurance provider, but an insurance intermediary, therefore, we have no control regarding the time to release a new product. In addition, The product development and filing process can be itself challenging and expensive, and our insurance partners may shift partial costs to us through lowering the commission. The process can also be delayed. Moreover, there could be an inability to obtain regulatory approval on a product filing. The nature of the product development and filing cycles may cause us to experience delays between the time we incur expenses associated with pushing forward the research and development and the time we generate revenues, if any, from the new products. If we spend a significant amount of resources on driving the research and development, and our efforts do not lead to the successful introduction or improvement of products that are competitive in the marketplace, this could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, there could be a change in the anticipated customer demand for a product we are developing before the product is released. Customer demand could decrease after the development cycle has begun. A decrease in customer demand for a new or improved product could cause us to fall short of our sales targets, and we might not be able to avoid the substantial costs associated with the product’s development or improvement. If we are unable to complete product development and filing cycles successfully, in a timely manner, that meets customer demand for new or improved products, and generate revenues from these future products, the growth of our business could be harmed.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as regulatory policies, significantly affect the overall economic growth of China, which could reduce the demand for our services, and materially and adversely affect our competitive position.

We are a holding company and all of our operating entities are incorporated and operated in China. Accordingly, our financial condition and results of operations are subject to the economic, political and legal developments in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While China’s economy has experienced significant growth in the past few decades, growth has been uneven across different regions and economic sectors and we cannot assure you that such growth is sustainable, especially under the current COVID-19 Pandemic. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures benefit the overall PRC economy, but may negatively affect us. For example, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by the following factors:

In addition, an unfavorable financial or economic environment in recent years, including as a result of continued global financial uncertainties and the rising tension over trade between China and the U.S., have had and may continue to have an adverse impact on investors’ confidence and financial markets in China. Moreover, concerns over capital market volatility, issues of liquidity, inflation, geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit and concerns about the rate of unemployment have resulted in adverse market conditions in China, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in the economic, political and social conditions or the relevant policies of the PRC government, such as changes in laws and regulations (or the interpretation thereof) or restrictive financial measures, could have an adverse effect on the overall economic growth of the PRC, which could subsequently hinder our current or future business, growth strategies, financial condition and results of operations.

A severe or prolonged downturn in Chinese or global economy could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

COVID-19 had a severe and negative impact on the Chinese economy in the first quarter of 2022, and the Chinese economy has still not fully recovered. Whether this will lead to a prolonged downturn in the economy is still unknown. Gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the global macroeconomic environment was facing numerous challenges. The growth rate of the Chinese economy had already been slowing since 2010. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies which had been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China, even before 2020. Unrest, terrorist threats and ongoing and potential wars may increase market volatility across the globe. In particular, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine may continue its damaging effect on the global supply chains, in particular that of oil and gas, which in turn could affect automobile usage in China and thus negatively impact our business. There have also been concerns about the relationship between China and other countries, including the surrounding Asian countries, which may potentially have economic effects. In particular, there is significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and China with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs. Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, as well as changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

PRC regulations relating to investments in offshore companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC Operating Entities to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC Operating Entities or limit the ability of our PRC Operating Entities to increase their registered capital or distribute profits.

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

Any loans we extend to our PRC Operating Entities, 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 State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”).

In July 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, which replaces the previous SAFE Circular 75. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents, including PRC individuals and PRC corporate entities, to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE Circular 37 is applicable to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may be applicable to any offshore acquisitions that we may make in the future.

Under SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who make, or have prior to the implementation of SAFE Circular 37 made, direct or indirect investments in offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, are required to register such investments with SAFE or its local branches. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an SPV, is required to update its registration with the local branch of SAFE with respect to that SPV, to reflect any material change. Moreover, any subsidiary of such SPV in China is required to urge the PRC resident shareholders to update their registration with the local branch of SAFE to reflect any material change. If any PRC resident shareholder of such SPV fails to make the required registration or to update the registration, the subsidiary of such SPV in China may be prohibited from distributing its profits or the proceeds from any capital reduction, share transfer or liquidation to the SPV, and the SPV may also be prohibited from making additional capital contributions into its subsidiaries in China. In February, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13. Under SAFE Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound direct investments, including those required under SAFE Circular 37, must be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE. Qualified banks should examine the applications and accept registrations under the supervision of SAFE. We have used our best efforts to notify PRC residents or entities who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and who are known to us as being PRC residents to complete the foreign exchange registrations. However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents or entities holding direct or indirect interest in our company, nor can we compel our beneficial owners to comply with SAFE registration requirements. We cannot assure you that all other shareholders or beneficial owners of ours who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make, obtain or update any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE regulations, or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC Operating Entities, could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, and limit our PRC Operating Entities’ 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 and outbound investment related regulations are 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 investments and 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. We cannot assure you that we have complied or will be able to comply with all applicable foreign exchange and outbound investment related regulations. 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.

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 permissions or approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to the PRC Operating Entities or future capital contributions by us to our PRC Operating Entities. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such permissions or approvals, our ability 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.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress approved the PRC Foreign Investment Law, which took effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced three existing laws on foreign investments in China, namely, the PRC Equity Joint Venture Law, the PRC Cooperative Joint Venture Law and the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The PRC Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic invested enterprises in China. The PRC Foreign Investment Law establishes the basic framework for the access to, and the promotion, protection and administration of foreign investments in view of investment protection and fair competition.

According to the PRC Foreign Investment Law, “foreign investment” refers to investment activities directly or indirectly conducted by one or more natural persons, business entities, or otherwise organizations of a foreign country (collectively referred to as “foreign investor”) within China, and the investment activities include the following situations: (i) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, establishes a foreign-invested enterprise within China; (ii) a foreign investor acquires stock shares, equity shares, shares in assets, or other like rights and interests of an enterprise within China; (iii) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, invests in a new project within China; and (iv) investments in other means as provided by laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council.

According to the PRC Foreign Investment Law, the State Council will publish or approve to publish the “negative list” for special administrative measures concerning foreign investment. The PRC Foreign Investment Law grants national treatment to foreign-invested entities, or FIEs, except for those FIEs that operate in industries deemed to be either “restricted” or “prohibited” in the “negative list”. On December 28, 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce publicly released the Directory of Industries to Encourage Foreign Investment (Encouraged Catalogue) (2020 Edition). On December 27, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission of China (“NDRC”) and the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) jointly issued the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2021 Edition), and the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access in Pilot Free Trade Zones (Negative List) (2021 Edition), effective January 1, 2022. As per these policies, the national negative list of foreign investment access was reduced from 33 to 31, and the negative list of foreign investment access in the FTZ was reduced from 30 to 27. Industries listed in the 2020 Encouraged Catalogue are the encouraged industries. On the other hand, industries listed in the 2021 Negative List are subject to special management measures. For example, establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises is generally allowed in industries outside of the 2021 Negative List. Also, foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries that are expressly prohibited in the 2021 Negative List. The industries that are not expressly prohibited in the Negative List are still subject to government approvals and certain special requirements.

As a company operating its business in automotive after-sales service, insurance intermediation service and technology service, which are not included in the 2021 Negative List, SunCar believes its above main business is not subject to any ownership restrictions. However, in the event the 2021 Negative List is amended in the future to include any of the business SunCar is operating, our ownership structure could be subject to change to the extent our structure is not given any “grandfather” protection.

The PRC government will also establish a foreign investment information reporting system, according to which foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the competent department for commerce concerned through the enterprise registration system and the enterprise credit information publicity system, and a security review system under which the security review shall be conducted for foreign investment affecting or likely affecting the state security.

Furthermore, the PRC Foreign Investment Law provides that foreign invested enterprises established according to the existing laws regulating foreign investment may maintain their structure and corporate governance within five years after the implementing of the PRC Foreign Investment Law.

In addition, the PRC Foreign Investment Law also provides several protective rules and principles for foreign investors and their investments in the PRC, including, among others, that a foreign investor may freely transfer into or out of China, in Renminbi or a foreign currency, its contributions, profits, capital gains, income from disposition of assets, royalties of intellectual property rights, indemnity or compensation lawfully acquired, and income from liquidation, among others, within China; local governments shall abide by their commitments to the foreign investors; governments at all levels and their departments shall enact local normative documents concerning foreign investment in compliance with laws and regulations and shall not impair legitimate rights and interests, impose additional obligations onto FIEs, set market access restrictions and exit conditions, or intervene with the normal production and operation activities of FIEs; except for special circumstances, in which case statutory procedures shall be followed and fair and reasonable compensation shall be made in a timely manner, expropriation or requisition of the investment of foreign investors is prohibited; and mandatory technology transfer is prohibited.

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

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.

As such, SunCar’s business segments may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. SunCar could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. SunCar may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. The Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time with little advance notice, which could result in a material change in our operations and in the value of our ordinary shares. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over transaction that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

Furthermore, it is uncertain when and whether SunCar will be required to obtain permission or approval from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission or approval is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded. Although SunCar is currently not required to obtain permission from any of the PRC government to obtain such permission or approval and has not received any denial to list on the U.S. exchange, our operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to its business or industry. As a result, our ordinary shares may decline in value dramatically or even become worthless should we become subject to new requirement to obtain permission or approval from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchange 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 on Severe and Lawful Crackdown on Illegal Securities Activities, which was available to the public on July 6, 2021. These 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. As these opinions were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of the opinions remain unclear in several respects at this time. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will remain fully compliant with all new regulatory requirements of these opinions or any future implementation rules on a timely basis, or at all.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system, including uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws, and sudden or unexpected changes in laws and regulations in China could adversely affect us and limit the legal protections available to you and us.

The PRC Operating Entities were formed under and are governed by the laws of the PRC. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference, but have limited precedential value. In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general, such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation and trade. As a significant part of our business is conducted in China, our operations are principally governed by PRC laws and regulations. However, since the PRC legal system continues to evolve rapidly, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to us. Uncertainties due to evolving laws and regulations could also impede the ability of a China-based company, such as our company, to obtain or maintain permits or licenses required to conduct business in China. In the absence of required permits or licenses, governmental authorities could impose material sanctions or penalties on us. In addition, some regulatory requirements issued by certain PRC government authorities may not be consistently applied by other PRC government authorities (including local government authorities), thus making strict compliance with all regulatory requirements impractical, or in some circumstances impossible. For example, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce the legal protection that we enjoy either by law or contract. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to predict the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, 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 and may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Furthermore, if China adopts more stringent standards with respect to environmental protection or corporate social responsibilities, we may incur increased compliance costs or become subject to additional restrictions in our operations. Intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in China may also not be as effective as in the United States or other countries. In addition, we cannot predict the effects of future developments in the PRC legal system on our business operations, including the promulgation of new laws, or changes to existing laws or the interpretation or enforcement thereof. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to us and our investors, including you. Moreover, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources and management attention.

The PRC government has significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene or influence our operations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. The PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over securities offerings and other capital markets activities that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.

We may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity, and data protection. We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information.

We may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity, and data protection. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws. In particular, there are numerous laws and regulations regarding privacy and the collection, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other user data. Such laws and regulations often vary in scope, may be subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions.

We expect to obtain information about various aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees and third parties. We also maintain information about various aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees. The integrity and protection of our customer, employee and company data is critical to our business. Our employees expect that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security measures to safeguard such information.

The PRC Criminal Law, as amended by its Amendment 7 (effective on February 28, 2009) and Amendment 9 (effective on November 1, 2015), prohibits institutions, companies and their employees from selling or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information obtained during the course of performing duties or providing services or obtaining such information through theft or other illegal ways. On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress issued the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or Cyber Security Law, which became effective on June 1, 2017.

Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, network operators must not, without users’ consent, collect their personal information, and may only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their services. Providers are also obliged to provide security maintenance for their products and services and shall comply with provisions regarding the protection of personal information as stipulated under the relevant laws and regulations.

The Civil Code of the PRC (issued by the PRC National People’s Congress on May 28, 2020 and effective from January 1, 2021) provides main legal basis for privacy and personal information infringement claims under the Chinese civil laws. PRC regulators, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, MIIT, and the Ministry of Public Security have been increasingly focused on regulation in the areas of data security and data protection.

The PRC regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity are constantly evolving. For instance, various regulatory bodies in China, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Public Security and the SAMR, have enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with varying and evolving standards and interpretations. In April 2020, the Chinese government promulgated Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on June 1, 2020. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.

In November 2016, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed China’s first Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”), which became effective in June 2017. The CSL is the first PRC law that systematically lays out the regulatory requirements on cybersecurity and data protection, subjecting many previously under-regulated or unregulated activities in cyberspace to government scrutiny. The legal consequences of violation of the CSL include penalties of warning, confiscation of illegal income, suspension of related business, winding up for rectification, shutting down the websites, and revocation of business license or relevant permits. In April 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China and certain other PRC regulatory authorities promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective in June 2020. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.

On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the NPC promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law sets forth the data security protection obligations for entities and individuals handling personal data, including that no entity or individual may acquire such data by stealing or other illegal means, and the collection and use of such data should not exceed the necessary limits The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, CSL and any other cybersecurity and related laws may limit the use and adoption of our products and services and could have an adverse impact on our business.

On July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) issued a revised draft of the Measures for Cybersecurity Review for public comments. Further, on January 4, 2022, thirteen PRC regulatory agencies, namely, the CAC, the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the Ministry of Finance, MOFCOM, SAMR, CSRC, the People’s Bank of China, the National Radio and Television Administration, National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the National Cryptography Administration, jointly adopted and published the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021), which will become effective on February 15, 2022. The Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) authorized the relevant government authorities to conduct cybersecurity review on a range of activities that affect or may affect national security, and required that, among others, in addition to “operator of critical information infrastructure”, any “operator of network platform” holding personal information of more than one million users which seeks to list in a foreign stock exchange should also be subject to cybersecurity review. The Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) further elaborated the factors to be considered when assessing the national security risks of the relevant activities, including, among others, (i) the risk of core data, important data or a large amount of personal information being stolen, leaked, destroyed, and illegally used or exited the country; (ii) the risk of critical information infrastructure, core data, important data or a large amount of personal information being affected, controlled, or maliciously used by foreign governments if going public; and (iii) the risks of network information security. The cybersecurity review will also look into the potential national security risks from overseas IPOs. 

On November 14, 2021, the CAC published the Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments), or the Draft Regulations on Network Data Security, which reiterates that data processors that process the personal information of more than one million users intends to list overseas should apply for a cybersecurity review. In addition, data processors that process important data or are listed overseas shall carry out an annual data security assessment on their own or by engaging a data security services institution, and the data security assessment report for the prior year should be submitted to the local cyberspace affairs administration department before January 31 of each year. As of the date of this prospectus, the Draft Regulations on Network Data Security has been released for public comment only, and its implementation provisions and anticipated adoption or effective date remains substantially uncertain and may be subject to change. We do not know what regulations will be adopted or how such regulations will affect us and our continued listing on Nasdaq.

Based on the understanding of the Company’s legal department, if it is adopted into law, our PRC Operating Entities likely will be required to perform annual data security assessment either by itself or retaining a third-party data security service provider and submit such data security assessment report to the local agency if we provide personal information overseas or are treated as data processor for important data as Draft Regulations on Network Data Security applying to the data process activities by the utilization of the network, as well as the supervision and administration of cybersecurity in PRC. Upon the effectiveness of the Draft Regulations on Network Data Security, we may have to retain a third-party data security service provider to conduct annual data security assessment, which may incur additional cost to the operations of our PRC Operating Entities. We cannot guarantee that our PRC Operating Entities will be able to timely submit such annual data security assessment report as needed, which may be subject to fines or penalties.

As of the date of this prospectus, our PRC Operating Entities have obtained all the requisite permissions and approvals required for our operations under the relevant PRC laws and regulations in the PRC. In the event that the applicable laws, regulations or interpretations change such that we are subject to any mandatory cybersecurity review and other specific actions required by the CAC, we cannot guarantee whether we can complete the process in a timely manner, or at all. If we inadvertently conclude that such permission or approval is not required, fail to obtain and maintain such permissions or approvals, licenses or permits required for our business or respond to changes in the regulatory environment, we could be subject to liabilities, penalties and operational disruption, which may materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and the value of our ordinary shares, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006 and amended in 2009, and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established complex procedures and requirements for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, including requirements in some instances that the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (“MOFCOM”), be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress, which became effective in 2008 requires that transactions which are deemed concentrations and involve parties with specified turnover thresholds must be cleared by MOFCOM before they can be completed. In addition, the security review rules issued by MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. On December 19, 2020, the Measures for the Security Review for Foreign Investment was jointly issued by National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and MOFCOM and took effect from January 18, 2021. The Measures for the Security Review for Foreign Investment specified provisions concerning the security review mechanism on foreign investment, including the types of investments subject to review, review scopes and procedures, among others.

In the future, we may pursue potential strategic acquisitions that are complementary to our business and operations. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval or clearance from MOFCOM or its local counterparts or other relevant governmental authorities, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

The permission or approval of, or filing to, the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in future offerings or financings, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such permission or approval, or timely clear the filing requirements.

The M&A Rules require overseas special purpose vehicles controlled by PRC companies or individuals formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic interests using shares of such special purpose vehicles or held by its shareholders as considerations to obtain the permission or approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. SunCar’s management believes that, based on its understanding of the current PRC laws and regulations, our corporate structure and arrangements are not subject to CRSC’s approval under the M&A Rules because Haiyan Trading was incorporated as a wholly foreign owned enterprise which is mainly controlled by a HK individual. However, there remains uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and listing the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on the daily business operation of the PRC Operating Entities. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. The PRC regulatory authorities may in the future promulgate laws, regulations or implementing rules that requires SunCar and its subsidiaries, including the PRC Operating Entities, to obtain regulatory permission or approval from Chinese authorities to continue listing in the U.S. If it is determined that CSRC permission or approval is required for the continuous listing on the Nasdaq, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to obtain or delay in obtaining CSRC permission or approval. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in China, limitations on our operating privileges in China, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our subsidiaries in China, 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. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their permissions or approvals for the continuous listing on the Nasdaq, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such permission or approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver, which may cause delay or even inability to execute the Transaction.

On December 24, 2021 CSRC published the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comment) (the “Draft Provisions”), and the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comment) (the “Draft Measures”, collectively with the Draft Provisions, the “Draft Rules”) for public comments. The Draft Rules lay out specific filing requirements for overseas listing and offering by PRC domestic companies and include unified regulation management and strengthening regulatory coordination.

On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Trial Measures”), which took effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures supersede the Draft Rules and clarified and emphasized several aspects, which include but are not limited to: (1) comprehensive determination of the “indirect overseas offering and listing by PRC domestic companies” in compliance with the principle of “substance over form” and particularly, an issuer will be required to go through the filing procedures under the Trial Measures if the following criteria are met at the same time: a) 50% or more of the issuer’s operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year is accounted for by PRC domestic companies, and b) the main parts of the issuer’s business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China; (2) exemptions from immediate filing requirements for issuers that a) have already been listed or registered but not yet listed in foreign securities markets, including U.S. markets, prior to the effective date of the Trial Measures, and b) are not required to re-perform the regulatory procedures with the relevant overseas regulatory authority or the overseas stock exchange, and c) whose such overseas securities offering or listing shall be completed before September 30, 2023, provided however that such issuers shall carry out filing procedures as required if they conduct refinancing or are involved in other circumstances that require filing with the CSRC; (3) a negative list (the “Trial Measures Negative List”) of types of issuers banned from listing or offering overseas, including but not limited to (a) issuers whose listing or offering overseas have been recognized by the State Council of the PRC as possible threats to national security, (b) issuers whose affiliates have been recently convicted of bribery and corruption, (c) issuers under ongoing criminal investigations, and (d) issuers under major disputes regarding equity ownership; (4) issuers’ compliance with web security, data security, and other national security laws and regulations; and (5) issuers’ filing and reporting obligations (the “Trial Measures Filing Obligations”), such as obligation to file with the CSRC after it submits an application for initial public offering to overseas regulators, and obligation after offering or listing overseas to report to the CSRC material events including change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer.

The Trial Measures provide the CSRC with power to warn, fine, and issue injunctions against both PRC domestic companies, their controlling shareholders, and their advisors in listing or offering securities (collectively, the “Subject Entities”), as well as individuals directly responsible for these Subject Entities (the “Subject Individuals”). For failure to comply with the Trial Measures Negative List or the Trial Measures Filing Obligations, or materially false or misleading statements in the filing and reporting required by the Trial Measures: (1) PRC domestic companies, and their controlling shareholders if the controlling shareholders induced the PRC domestic companies’ failure to comply, severally, may face warnings, injunctions to comply, and fines between RMB 1 million and 10 million (approximately $145,647 and $1,456,473); the Subject Individuals in these entities may severally, face warnings and fines between RMB 0.5 million and 5 million (approximately $72,824 and $728,237). (2) Advisors in listing or offering securities that failed to dutifully advise the PRC domestic companies and their controlling shareholders in complying with the Trial Measures and caused such failures to comply can face warnings and fines between RMB 0.5 million and 5 million (approximately $72,824 and $728,237); the Subject Individuals in these advisor entities may, severally, face warnings and fines between RMB 0.2 million and 2 million (approximately $29,129 and $291,295).

As a China-based issuer, SunCar and its PRC Operating Entities are not required to comply with the Trial Measures Filing Obligations in connection with its Nasdaq initial listing as SunCar has obtained clearance from the SEC on the registration statement on Form F-4 before March 31, 2023 and had its securities listed on the Nasdaq prior to September 30, 2023. However, SunCar and its PRC Operation Entities will be required to comply with the Trial Measures Filing Obligations upon any future offerings, such as this offering. There is no assurance that SunCar will be able to meet all applicable Trial Measures Filing Obligations and guidelines of the CSRC, or comply with all applicable regulations at all times. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such filing or completing such procedures for this listing, or a rescission of any such filing obtained by SunCar, would subject SunCar, as well as SunCar’s controlling shareholder and advisors in listing and offering securities, if they caused SunCar’s failure, to sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities as described above.

Lastly, any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over transaction that are conducted overseas could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to complete our business combination transaction, delisting from the Nasdaq stock market even after listing and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

On February 24, 2023, the CSRC, the Ministry of Finance, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the National Archives Administration jointly issued the Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Confidentiality and Archives Provisions, which took effect from March 31, 2023. The Confidentiality and Archives Provisions specify that during the overseas securities offering and listing activities of domestic companies, domestic companies and securities companies and securities service institutions that provide relevant securities business shall, by strictly abiding by the relevant laws and regulations of the PRC and this Confidentiality and Archives Provisions, institute a sound confidentiality and archives administration systems, take necessary measures to fulfill confidentiality and archives administration obligations, and shall not divulge any national secrets, work secrets of governmental agencies and harm national and public interests. Confidentiality and Archives Provisions provides that it is applicable to initial public offerings as well as other types of securities listing of PRC domestic enterprises, including de-SPAC transactions such as SunCar’s Business Combination, and any future issuance of securities and listing activities after the initial listing. Working papers generated in the PRC by securities companies and securities service providers that provide relevant securities services for overseas issuance and listing of securities by domestic companies shall be kept in the PRC. Confidentiality and Archives Provisions provide no explicit definition of working papers. In practice, the securities companies’ working papers usually refer to various important information and work records related to the securities business obtained and prepared by the securities companies and securities service providers and their representatives in the whole process of the securities businesses, such as due diligence work. Without the approval of relevant competent authorities, such as CSRC, MOF PRC National Administration of State Secrets Protection, and National Archives Administration of China, depending on the nature and transmission method of secrets, it shall not be transferred overseas. Where documents or materials need to be transferred outside of the PRC, it shall be subject to the approval procedures in accordance with relevant PRC regulations. The relevant competent authorities, such as, CSRC, MOF, PRC National Administration of State Secrets Protection, and National Archives Administration of China will regulate, supervise and inspect pursuant to their respective statutory mandates over matters of Confidentiality and Archives Administration concerning overseas offering and listing by domestic companies. As Confidentiality and Archives Administration is newly promulgated, there is substantial uncertainty regarding their specific requirements. If we fail to comply with related laws and regulation, we may be subject to fine, confiscation, blocking transmission or criminal offense. We have taken measures to adopt management systems for the compliance of Confidentiality and Archives Provisions. We believe our listing does not involve in national secrets, work secrets of governmental agencies and undermine national and public interests. There is no assurance that we will be able to meet all applicable regulatory requirements and guidelines, or comply with all applicable regulations at all times, or that we will not be subject to fines or other penalties in the future as a result of regulatory inspections.

Based on the understanding of Company’s legal department, neither SunCar, nor any of its subsidiaries, including all the PRC Operating Entities are currently required to obtain any permissions or approvals from Chinese authorities, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, or Cybersecurity Administration Committee, or CAC, to list on U.S. exchanges or issue securities to foreign investors. We have not been denied any permissions or approvals either as of the date of this prospectus. However, if we were required to obtain any requisite permissions or approvals in the future and were denied permission or approval from Chinese authorities to list on U.S. exchanges, we will not be able to continue listing on any U.S. exchange, which would materially affect the interest of the investors. It is uncertain when and whether SunCar will be required to obtain any requisite permissions or approvals from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission or approval is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded. Although SunCar is currently not required to obtain permission or approval from any of the PRC government and has not received any denial to list on the U.S. exchange, our operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to its business or industry.

Because our business is conducted in RMB and the price of our ordinary shares is quoted in United States dollars, changes in currency conversion rates may affect the value of your investments. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenue and financial condition. Changes in the conversion rate between the United States dollar and the RMB will affect the amount of proceeds we will have available for our business.

Our business is conducted in the PRC, our books and records are maintained in RMB, which is the only lawful currency of the PRC, and the financial statements that we file with the SEC and provide to our shareholders are presented in United States dollars. Changes in the exchange rate between the RMB and dollar affect the value of our assets and the results of our operations in United States dollars. The value of the RMB against the United States dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in the PRC’s political and economic conditions and perceived changes in the economy of the PRC and the United States. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenue and financial condition. Further, our ordinary shares offered by this prospectus are offered in United States dollars, we will need to convert the net proceeds we receive into RMB in order to use the funds for our business. Changes in the conversion rate between the United States dollar and the RMB will affect that amount of proceeds we will have available for our business.

The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions in China and by China’s foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. dollar, and the Renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. In 2010, the People’s Bank of China decided to move to further reform the RMB exchange rate regime to enhance the flexibility of the RMB exchange rate. Since June 2010, the Renminbi has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. On November 30, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the regular five-year review of the basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right, or the SDR, and decided that with effect from October 1, 2016, Renminbi is determined to be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the Renminbi depreciated significantly in the backdrop of a surging U.S. dollar and persistent capital outflows of China.

This depreciation halted in 2017, and the RMB appreciated approximately 7% against the U.S. dollar during this one-year period. The Renminbi in 2018 depreciated approximately by 5% against the U.S. dollar. Starting from the beginning of 2019, the Renminbi has depreciated significantly against the U.S. dollar again. In early August 2019, the PBOC set the Renminbi’s daily reference rate at RMB7.0039 to US$1.00, the first time that the exchange rate of Renminbi to U.S. dollar exceeded 7.0 since 2008. For RMB against U.S. dollar, there was appreciation of approximately 6.3% and 2.3% during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively and depreciation of approximately 8.2% during the year ended December 31, 2022. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system, and we cannot assure you that the Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future, depending on the market supply and demand with reference to a basket of currencies.

There remains significant international pressure on the Chinese government to adopt a flexible currency policy to allow the Renminbi to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. Significant revaluation of the Renminbi may have a material and adverse effect on your investment. Substantially all of our revenues and costs are denominated in Renminbi. Any significant revaluation of Renminbi may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ordinary shares in U.S. dollars.  

A significant depreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares, and if we decide to convert Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making dividend payments on our ordinary shares, strategic acquisitions or investments or other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.

Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The PRC government’s control over foreign currency conversion may limit our foreign exchange transactions, including dividend payment to holders.

Currently, Renminbi still cannot be freely converted into any foreign currency, and conversion and remittance of foreign currencies are subject to PRC foreign exchange regulations. There is no assurance that, under a certain exchange rate, we will have sufficient foreign exchange to meet our foreign exchange requirements. Under the current PRC foreign exchange control system, foreign exchange transactions under the current account conducted by us, including the payment of dividends following the completion of the Transaction, do not require advance permission or approval from the SAFE, but we are required to present documentary evidence of such transactions and conduct such transactions at designated foreign exchange banks within the PRC that have the requisite licenses to carry out foreign exchange business. Foreign exchange transactions under the capital account conducted by us, however, must be approved in advance by SAFE.

Under existing foreign exchange regulations, following completion of the Transaction, we will be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies without prior permission or approval from SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, we cannot assure you that these foreign exchange policies regarding payment of dividends in foreign currencies will continue in the future. In addition, due to the restriction resulting from government foreign exchange regulations and influence of foreign exchange shortage, any insufficiency of foreign exchange may restrict our ability to obtain sufficient foreign exchange for dividend payments to investors of our Ordinary Shares or to satisfy any other foreign exchange requirements.

It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within China.

Shareholder claims or regulatory investigations that are common in the United States generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles in providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigation initiated outside China. Although the authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States may not be efficient in the absence of a mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, or Article 177, which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. While detailed interpretation or implementation of rules under Article 177 have yet to be promulgated, the inability for an overseas securities regulator to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within China may further increase difficulties faced by you in protecting your interests.

If SunCar is classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and ordinary shareholders.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with “de facto management body” within China is considered a “resident enterprise” and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control and overall management over the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In 2009, the State Administration of Taxation, or SAT, issued the Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Relating to Identification of PRC-Controlled Overseas Registered Enterprises as Resident Enterprises in Accordance with the De Facto Standards of Organizational Management, or SAT Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” text should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in China; (ii) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to permission or approval by organizations or personnel in China; (iii) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in China; and (iv) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in China.

We believe none of our entities outside of China is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” If the PRC tax authorities determine that SunCar is a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide income, which could materially reduce our net income, and we may be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises, including the holders of our ordinary shares. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including our ordinary shareholders) may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within China. Furthermore, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends payable to our non-PRC individual shareholders (including our ordinary shareholders) and any gain realized on the transfer of ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20% (and such PRC tax may be withheld at source in the case of dividends). Any PRC income tax liability may be reduced under applicable tax treaties. However, it is unclear whether in practice non-PRC shareholders of SunCar would be able to obtain the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the ordinary shares.

Failure to obtain any preferential tax treatments or the discontinuation, reduction or delay of any of the preferential tax treatments that may be available to us in the future could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Under the EIT Law effective from January 1, 2008, as amended in February 2017, domestic companies are subject to a unified income tax rate of 25%. Various favorable income tax rates are, however, available to qualified enterprises in certain encouraged sectors of the economy. Enterprises qualified as “new high-tech enterprise” are entitled to a preferential tax rate of 15%. Accreditation of the “new high-tech enterprise” status is valid for three years. Shengshi Dalian Automobile, and Shanghai Chengle Network Technology Co., Limited, both key subsidiaries of SunCar, each qualified as a “new high-tech enterprise” and was entitled to a preferential tax rate of 15% from 2018 through 2021, and successfully renewed the qualification in December 2021, which will be effective for another 3 years.

Qualification as a “new high-tech enterprise” is subject to review by relevant authorities in China every three years, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to qualify for preferential tax treatment. For illustration purposes only, the tax benefit we had as a result of such preferential tax treatment, calculated as the difference between our actual income tax expenses and the amount of tax expenses we would have incurred had we not been entitled to the reduced corporate tax rate during the same period. In the unlikely event of a failure to renew the “new high-tech enterprise” status after its expiration, we will be subject to the unified corporate income tax rate of 25% starting from the year of expiration and will thus incur increased income tax, which may have a material adverse effect on our net income and results of operations.

We may not be able to recover all or part of our deferred tax assets.

We recognize deferred tax assets for deductible temporary differences, the carryforward of unused tax credits and any unused tax losses. Our deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against the deductible temporary differences, the carryforward of unused tax credits and unused tax losses that can be utilized, subject to certain exceptions. The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at the end of the relevant periods and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available to allow all or part of the deferred tax asset to be utilized. Unrecognized deferred tax assets are reassessed at the end of the relevant periods and are recognized to the extent that it has become probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available to allow all or part of the deferred tax asset to be recovered.

As of December 31, 2021, and 2022, our deferred tax assets amounted to $12.1 million and $13.1 million, respectively. It is uncertain that we will be able to recover all or part of our deferred tax assets and in such case, our net income and results of operations may have a materially adversely affected.

We face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.

We face uncertainties regarding the reporting on and consequences of previous private equity financing transactions involving the transfer and exchange of shares in our company by non-resident investors. In February 2015, the SAT issued the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non PRC Resident Enterprises, or Bulletin 7. Pursuant to Bulletin 7, an “indirect transfer” of PRC assets, including a transfer of equity interests in an unlisted non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of the underlying PRC assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. Bulletin 7 also introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity securities through a public securities market. On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or Bulletin 37, which came into effect on December 1, 2017. The Bulletin 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of nonresident enterprise income tax.

We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences of future private equity financing transactions, share exchanges or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities may pursue such non-resident enterprises with respect to a filing or the transferees with respect to withholding obligation, and request our PRC Operating Entities to assist in the filing. As a result, we and non-resident enterprises in such transactions may become at risk of being subject to filing obligations or being taxed under Bulletin 7 and Bulletin 37, and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with them or to establish that we and our non-resident enterprises should not be taxed under these regulations, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay us from using the proceeds of future offerings to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC Operating Entities, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Any funds we transfer to and from the PRC Operating Entities, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital or dividend distributions, are subject to permission or approval by or registration with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign invested enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC Operating Entities are subject to the registration with the State Administration for Market Regulation or its local counterpart and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE. In addition, (i) any foreign loan procured by our PRC Operating Entities is required to be registered with the SAFE or its local branches and (ii) any of our PRC Operating Entities may not procure loans which exceed the difference between its total investment amount and registered capital or, as an alternative, only procure loans subject to the calculation approach and limitation as provided by the People’s Bank of China. Additionally, any medium or long-term loans to be provided by us to the PRC Operating Entities must be registered with the National Development and Reform Commission and SAFE or its local branches. We may not be able to obtain these government permissions or approvals or complete such registrations in a timely manner, or at all, with respect to future capital contributions or loans by us to our PRC Operating Entities. If we fail to receive such permissions or approvals or complete such registration or filing, our ability to use the proceeds of future offerings to capitalize our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business. In addition, the PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. The majority of the SunCar subsidiaries’ income is received in RMB and shortages in foreign currencies may restrict our ability to pay dividends or other payments, or otherwise satisfy our foreign currency denominated obligations, if any. 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 permission or approval from The State Administration of the Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) in the PRC as long as certain procedural requirements are met. However, permission or approval from appropriate government authorities is required if Renminbi is converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC/Hong Kong or a PRC/Hong Kong entity, the funds may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC/Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of SunCar or SunCar’s subsidiaries, by the PRC government to transfer cash. The PRC government may, at its discretion, impose restrictions on access to foreign currencies for current account transactions and if this occurs in the future, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including U.S. investors.

Our failure to fully comply with PRC labor-related laws may expose us to potential penalties.

Companies operating in China are required 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 have been paying and will continue to pay social security and housing fund contributions in strict compliance with the relevant PRC regulations for and on behalf of our employees. However, we may be subject to penalties for our failure to make payments in accordance with the applicable PRC laws and regulations should any regulations change in the future, in which case, we may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as to pay late fees and fines. If we are subject to fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, and the related regulations are evolving quickly. Further implementations and interpretations of our amendments to the HFCAA or the related regulations, or a PCAOB’s determination of its lack of sufficient access to inspect our auditor, might pose regulatory risks to and impose restrictions on us because of our operations in mainland China that PCAOB may not be able to inspect or investigate completely such audit documentation and, as such, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection and our ordinary share could be delisted from the stock exchange pursuant to the HFCAA.

On April 21, 2020, SEC released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or have substantial operations in emerging markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets.

On May 18, 2020, Nasdaq filed three proposals with the SEC to (i) apply minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in “Restrictive Market”, (ii) adopt a new requirement relating to the qualification of management or board of director for Restrictive Market companies, and (iii) apply additional and more stringent criteria to an applicant or listed company based on the qualifications of the company’s auditors.

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act requiring a foreign company to certify it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive years, the issuer’s securities are prohibited to trade on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. On December 18, 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law.

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 the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or AHFCAA, which proposes to reduce the period of time for foreign companies to comply with PCAOB audits from three to two consecutive years, thus reducing the time period before the securities of such foreign companies may be prohibited from trading or delisted. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the “CAA”), which the AHFCAA forms a part, was signed into law, and it officially reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two, thus, would reduce the time before an applicable issuer’s securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted.

On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable 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. The final amendments are effective on January 10, 2022. The SEC will begin to identify and list Commission-Identified Issuers on its website shortly after registrants begin filing their annual reports for 2021.

On December 16, 2021, PCAOB announced the PCAOB Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act determinations (the “2021 PCAOB Determinations”) relating to the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China of the PRC or Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in the PRC or Hong Kong.

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 previous auditor, Marcum Asia CPAs LLP (formerly, Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP) (“Marcum Asia”), and our current auditor, Enrome LLP (“Enrome”), the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and firms registered with the PCAOB, are both subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess the auditors’ compliance with the applicable professional standards. Marcum Asia is headquartered in Manhattan, New York, and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection in 2020. Enrome is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis and can be inspected by PCAOB. As of the date of this prospectus, neither of previous and current auditors is among the firms listed on the PCAOB Determination List issued in December 2021, the latest list publicly available.

On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB announced and signed a Statement of Protocol (the “Protocol”) with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China. The Protocol provides the PCAOB with: (1) sole discretion to select the firms, audit engagements and potential violations it inspects and investigates, without any involvement of Chinese authorities; (2) procedures for PCAOB inspectors and investigators to view complete audit work papers with all information included and for the PCAOB to retain information as needed; (3) direct access to interview and take testimony from all personnel associated with the audits the PCAOB inspects or investigates.

The PCAOB reassessed the 2021 PCAOB Determinations that the positions taken by PRC authorities prevented the PCAOB from inspecting and investigating in mainland China and Hong Kong completely. The PCAOB sent its inspectors to conduct on-site inspections and investigations of firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong from September to November 2022.

On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced in the 2022 Determination its determination that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, and the PCAOB Board voted to vacate previous determinations to the contrary. Should the PCAOB again encounter impediments to inspections and investigations in mainland China or Hong Kong as a result of positions taken by any authority in either jurisdiction, including by the CSRC or the MOF, the PCAOB will make determinations under the HFCAA as and when appropriate. 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. There is a risk that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely the Company’s auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction or any other reasons, and that the PCAOB may re-evaluate its determinations as a result of any obstruction with the implementation of the Protocol. Such lack of inspection or re-evaluation could cause trading in the Company’s securities to be prohibited under the HFCAA ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist the Company’s securities. In addition, under the HFCAA as incorporated into the CAA, our securities may be prohibited from trading on the Nasdaq or other U.S. stock exchanges if our auditor is not inspected by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, and this ultimately could result in our ordinary shares being delisted by an exchange.

Such recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and we cannot assure you whether the SEC, the PCAOB, Nasdaq, or other 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 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 (including a national securities exchange or over-the-counter stock market). In addition, 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, and we could be delisted if we and our auditor are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement or being required to engage a new audit firm, which would require significant expense and management time. If trading in our ordinary shares is prohibited under the CAA in the future because the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, Nasdaq may determine to delist our ordinary shares. If our ordinary shares are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our ordinary shares when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with a potential delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our ordinary shares.

Our auditor, Enrome LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards and was not identified in the Determination Report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s Determination. Enrome LLP is headquartered in Singapore, and can be inspected by the PCAOB.

However, we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we are listed on 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 our audit. In addition, our Ordinary Shares may be delisted in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm within two years.

The current tension in international trade, particularly with regard to U.S. and China trade policies, may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Although cross-border business may not be an area of our focus, if we plan to expand our business internationally in the future, any unfavorable government policies on international trade, such as capital controls or tariffs, may affect the demand for our services, impact our competitive position, or prevent us from being able to conduct business in certain countries. If any new tariffs, legislation, or regulations are implemented, or if existing trade agreements are renegotiated, such changes could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Recently, there have been heightened tensions in international economic relations, such as the one between the United States and China. The U.S. government has recently imposed, and has recently proposed to impose additional, new, or higher tariffs on certain products imported from China to penalize China for what it characterizes as unfair trade practices. China has responded by imposing, and proposing to impose additional, new, or higher tariffs on certain products imported from the United States. Following mutual retaliatory actions for months, on January 15, 2020, the United States and China entered into the Economic and Trade Agreement Between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China as a phase one trade deal, effective on February 14, 2020.

Although the direct impact of the current international trade tension, and any escalation of such tension, on the industries in which we operate is uncertain, the negative impact on general, economic, political and social conditions may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Ownership of SunCar’s Securities

Payment of dividends is subject to restrictions under PRC laws. There is no assurance whether and when we will pay dividends.

On October 26, 2021, Shengshi Dalian Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. (“SUNCAR Online”), one of SunCar’s majority-owned subsidiary listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations Co., Ltd. (the “NEEQ”) declared and paid dividend of US$15,859,000, among which US$6,620,000 was paid to non-controlling shareholders of SUNCAR Online. The remaining dividends were paid to 100% owned subsidiaries of SunCar.

Under applicable PRC laws, dividends may be paid only out of distributable profits. Distributable profits mean, as determined under PRC GAAP or U.S. GAAP, whichever is lower, our net profits for a period, plus the distributable profits or net of the accumulated losses, if any, at the beginning of such period, less appropriations to transaction risk reserve, statutory surplus reserve (determined under PRC GAAP) and discretionary surplus reserve (as approved by our shareholders’ meeting). As a result, we may not have sufficient profit to enable us to make future dividend distributions to our shareholders, even if one of our financial statements prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP or U.S. GAAP indicates that our operations have been profitable. After the completion of the Transaction, we may distribute dividends in the form of cash or by other means permitted by our Articles of Association. Any proposed distribution of dividends shall be formulated by our Board and will be subject to approval of our Shareholders. A decision to declare or to pay any dividends in the future, and the amount of any dividend, will depend upon a number of factors, including our earnings and financial condition, operating requirements, capital requirements, business prospects, statutory, regulatory and contractual restrictions on our declaration and payment of dividends, and any other factors that our Directors may consider important. Any history dividends distribution cannot be regarded as any form of indication of either the amount or the time we will distribute dividends. We cannot assure you that our dividend policies will not change in the future.

SunCar is 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 parent company expenses or pay dividends to holders of our ordinary shares.

SunCar is a holding company and conduct substantially all of our business in China through our PRC Operating Entities. We may rely on dividends to be paid by our PRC Operating Entities 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 Operating Entities incur debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us, and in turn affect our ability to pay dividends to our investors.

Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC Operating Entities may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our subsidiaries in China are required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. Each of such entity in China is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at the discretion of its board of directors. Although the statutory reserves can be used, among other ways, to increase the registered capital and eliminate future losses in excess of retained earnings of the respective companies, the reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of liquidation. If our PRC Operating Entities cannot generate enough revenues in the future, their abilities to pay dividends or make other distributions to us may be restricted, and in turn affect our ability to pay dividends to our investors.

Our PRC Operating Entities generates 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 our PRC Operating Entities to use their 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 Operating Entities 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 Operating Entities 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.

Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on the Class A Ordinary Share for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Class A Ordinary Share for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

SunCar intends to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and there are no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of the Class A Ordinary Share will be at the sole discretion of SunCar’s board of directors. SunCar’s board of directors may take into account general and economic conditions, the SunCar’s financial condition and results of operations, SunCar’s available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax, and regulatory restrictions, implications on the payment of dividends by SunCar to its stockholders or by its subsidiaries to it and such other factors as SunCar’s board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, SunCar’s ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants of SunCar’s existing and outstanding indebtedness and may be limited by covenants of any future indebtedness SunCar incurs. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in SunCar’s Class A Ordinary Share unless you sell SunCar’s Class A Ordinary Share for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

If SunCar fails to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls to remediate its material weaknesses over financial reporting, SunCar may be unable to accurately report its results of operations, meets its reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of SunCar’s ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.

Prior to the Business Combination, SunCar was a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address SunCar’s internal controls and procedures. Neither SunCar nor its independent registered public accounting firm undertook a comprehensive assessment of SunCar’s internal control under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for purposes of identifying and reporting any material weakness in SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting. Had SunCar performed a formal assessment of SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting or had SunCar’s independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting, material weakness or control deficiencies may have been identified. Upon completion of the Business Combination, SunCar has become subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, requires that SunCar include a report from management on the effectiveness of SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting in SunCar’s annual report on Form 20-F beginning with SunCar’s annual report in SunCar’s second annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company. In addition, once SunCar ceases to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, SunCar’s independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, even if SunCar’s management concludes that SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting is effective, SunCar’s independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting if it is not satisfied with SunCar’s internal controls or the level at which SunCar’s controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from SunCar. In addition, after SunCar becomes a public company, SunCar’s reporting obligations may place a significant strain on SunCar’s management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. SunCar may be unable to timely complete its evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing SunCar’s internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, SunCar may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in SunCar’s internal control over financial reporting. If SunCar fails to maintain the adequacy of its internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented, or amended from time to time, SunCar may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that it has effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Generally speaking, if SunCar fails to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, it could result in material misstatements in SunCar’s financial statements and could also impair SunCar’s ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, SunCar’s businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the ordinary shares, may be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose SunCar to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject SunCar to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which SunCar lists, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. SunCar may also be required to restate its financial statements from prior periods. SunCar will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

Upon completion of the Business Combination, SunCar has become a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses. For example, as a result of being a public company, SunCar has adopted policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. Operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for it to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and SunCar may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage, or SunCar may not be able to obtain appropriate director and officer liability insurance at all. In addition, SunCar will incur additional costs associated with its public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for SunCar to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on its Board of Directors, board committees or as executive officers due to the lack of director and officer insurance coverage that mitigates the risk and loss of the personal assets of directors and officers. SunCar’s inability to obtain appropriate director and officer insurance policies could cause a substantial business disruption, adverse reputational impact and regulatory scrutiny and, as a result, could have a material adverse effect on SunCar’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

After SunCar is no longer an “emerging growth company,” SunCar may incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.

Future sales or perceived sales of substantial amounts of our securities in the public market could have a material adverse effect on the prevailing market price of our Ordinary Shares and our ability to raise capital in the future, and may result in dilution of your shareholdings.

The market price of our Ordinary Shares could decline as a result of future sales of substantial amounts of our Ordinary Shares or other securities relating to our Ordinary Shares in the public market or the issuance of new Ordinary Shares or other securities, or the perception that such sales or issuances may occur, especially given our limited public float as a result of the majority of our Ordinary Shares being held by affiliates including our largest shareholder. Future sales, or perceived sales, of substantial amounts of our securities, including any future offerings, could also materially and adversely affect our ability to raise capital in the future at a time and at a price which we deem appropriate. In addition, our Shareholders may experience dilution in their holdings to the extent we issue additional securities in future offerings.

We may have conflicts of interest with our largest shareholder and may not be able to resolve such conflicts on favorable terms for us.

The largest shareholder has a fair amount of the voting rights of SunCar and substantial influence over our business with respect to material matters requiring voting rights, and we cannot assure you that any of our controlling shareholders will act in the best interest of our company should any conflict arise. For example, they may make strategic decisions with respect to us or that affect our business in ways that favor themselves and therefore their own shareholders, which may not coincide with the interests of our other shareholders. We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts, and even if we do so, the resolution may be less favorable to us than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated party.

The issuances of additional our Class A Ordinary Shares under the GEM Agreement and the GEM Warrant may result in dilution of our shareholders and have a negative impact on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

From time to time, and although we have no current plans to, we may draw on the GEM Agreement following the effectiveness of the registration statement of the resale of the GEM Shares. If and to the extent this occurs, it could impose significant dilution on the our shareholders.

We are entitled to draw down up to $125 million of gross proceeds from GEM Investor in exchange for our Class A Ordinary Shares at a price equal to 90% of the average closing bid price of our Class A Ordinary Share on Nasdaq for a 30 trading day period, subject to meeting the terms and conditions of the GEM Agreement. As a result of this, the GEM Investor will potentially be purchasing these shares at a price below the market price at the end of the 30 trading day period, and thus realize a potential profit in selling these shares not available to other public investors, and the GEM Investor may be incentivized to sell these shares when other public investors are not as incentivized to sell their shares. For illustrative purposes, for example, for the 30 trading day period ending on August 7, 2023, the average closing bid price of our Class A Ordinary Share on Nasdaq was $17.02, which would result in a share price of $15.32 for the Class A Ordinary Shares issued in a hypothetical draw down priced using this 30 trading day pricing period.

This equity line facility is available for a period of 36 months from the closing date of the Business Combination, or May 17, 2023. The limitations on the amount and frequency of the draws that we can make under the GEM Agreement, which include the requirement that (i) there be an effective registration statement covering the shares to be issued under the GEM Agreement and (ii) offering size restrictions relating to our trading volume, may affect the ability to draw under the GEM Agreement. Therefore, the proceeds under the GEM Agreement may be less than anticipated.

In addition, the closing of the Business Combination entitled the GEM Investor to receive a warrant granting the GEM Investor the right to purchase 2,839,951 of our Class A Ordinary Shares at an exercise price per share equal $11.50 per share. Thus the GEM Investor may experience a greater potential profit than public investors can from the sale of the shares underlying the Warrant, and may be incentivized to sell these shares when public investors are not as incentivized to sell their shares.

Issuances of Class A Ordinary Share pursuant to the GEM Agreement and the GEM Warrant would result in dilution of our future shareholders and could have a negative impact on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Share and our ability to obtain additional financing.

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Securities and this Offering

Our management team will have immediate and broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively. 

We currently intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including planned and future acquisitions of target companies, possible in licensing of additional intellectual property and product candidates, and next generation product development. See “Use of Proceeds.” However, our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds. Our shareholders may not agree with the manner in which our management chooses to allocate the net proceeds from this offering. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income. The decisions made by our management may not result in positive returns on your investment and you will not have an opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial or other information upon which our management bases its decisions.

We will need additional capital in the future. Raising additional capital by issuing securities may cause dilution to existing shareholders.

We have incurred losses in each year since our inception. If we continue to use cash at our historical rates of use we will need significant additional financing, which we may seek through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings and collaborations and strategic and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of any such offerings may include liquidation or other preferences that may adversely affect then existing shareholders rights. Debt financing, if available, would result in increased fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions such as incurring debt or making capital expenditures. If we raise additional funds through collaboration, strategic alliance or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. 

You will experience immediate dilution in book value of any Class A Ordinary Shares you purchase.

Because the price per Class A Ordinary Share being offered is substantially higher than our net tangible book value per Class A Ordinary Share, you will suffer substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of any Class A Ordinary Shares you purchase in this offering. To the extent outstanding options or warrants are exercised, you will incur further dilution. See “Dilution” on page 49 for a more detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur in connection with this offering.

Class A Ordinary Shares representing a substantial percentage of our outstanding shares may be sold in this offering, which could cause the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares to decline. 

We may sell in this offering 3,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, or approximately 8.35%, of our outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares, prior to this offering, as of October 23, 2023. This sale and any future sales of a substantial number of Class A Ordinary Shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, could materially adversely affect the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of those Class A Ordinary Shares or the availability of those Class A Ordinary Shares for sale will have on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

This is a reasonable “best efforts” offering, in which no minimum number or dollar amount of securities is required to be sold, and we may not raise the amount of capital we believe is required for our business plans.

The placement agent has agreed to use its reasonable “best efforts” to solicit offers to purchase the securities in this offering. The placement agent has no obligation to buy any of the securities from us or to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of the securities. There is no required minimum number of securities that must be sold as a condition to completion of this offering, and there can be no assurance that the offering contemplated hereby will ultimately be consummated. Even if we sell securities offered hereby, because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to the closing of this offering, the actual offering amount is not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amount set forth above. We may sell fewer than all of the securities offered hereby, which may significantly reduce the amount of proceeds received by us. Thus, we may not raise the amount of capital we believe is required for our operations in the short-term and may need to raise additional funds, which may not be available or available on terms acceptable to us. 

There is no public market for the Common Warrants being offered in this offering.

There is no established public trading market for the Common Warrants being offered in this offering, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply to list the Common Warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system. Without an active market, the liquidity of the Common Warrants will be limited.

Holders of our Common Warrants will have no rights as holders of Class A Ordinary Shares until such warrants are exercised.

Until you acquire Class A Ordinary Shares upon exercise of your Common Warrants, you will have no rights with respect to Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of your Common Warrants. Upon exercise of your Common Warrants, you will be entitled to exercise the rights of a holder of Class A Ordinary Shares only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.

The Common Warrants may not have any value.

Each Common Warrant has an exercise price per Class A Ordinary Share equal to 125% of the combined public offering price per Class A Ordinary Share and Common Warrant. Each Common Warrant has a 5-year term commencing from the issue date. In the event the market price per our Class A Ordinary Shares do not exceed the exercise price of the Common Warrants during the period when the Common Warrants are exercisable, the Common Warrants may not have any value. 

Inflation could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

While inflation in the United States and global markets has been relatively low in recent years, during 2021 and 2022, the economy in the United States and global markets encountered a material increase in the level of inflation. The impact of COVID-19, geopolitical developments such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and global supply chain disruptions continue to increase uncertainty in the outlook of near-term and long-term economic activity, including whether inflation will continue and how long, and at what rate. Increases in inflation raise our costs for commodities, labor, materials and services and other costs required to grow and operate our business, and failure to secure these on reasonable terms may adversely impact our financial condition. Additionally, increases in inflation, along with the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, geopolitical developments and global supply chain disruptions, have caused, and may in the future cause, global economic uncertainty and uncertainty about the interest rate environment, which may make it more difficult, costly or dilutive for us to secure additional financing. A failure to adequately respond to these risks could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains or may contain forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that involve significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include information about our possible or assumed future results of operations or our performance. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intends”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “should”, “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this prospectus, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include:

The risk factors and cautionary language referred to in this prospectus provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in our forward-looking statements, including among other things, the items provided under “Risk Factor Summary” in this prospectus.

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $27.5 million, after deducting the estimated placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us, based on an assumed public offering price of $10.00 per Share, as described on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $10.00 per Share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting the estimated placement agent discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, by $2.75 million, assuming that the number of Class A Ordinary Shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. We may also increase or decrease the number of Shares we are offering. An increase (decrease) of 100,000 in the number of Shares we are offering would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting the estimated placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us, by $91.67 thousands, assuming the assumed public offering price stays the same.

We currently expect to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include operating expenses, research and development, working capital, planned and future acquisitions of target Companies in China and the United States, and general capital expenditures. 

The amounts and schedule of our actual expenditures will depend on multiple factors including the progress of our negotiation with potential targets for acquisition, and the overall regulatory environment. Therefore, our management will retain broad discretion over the use of the proceeds from this offering. We may ultimately use the proceeds for different purposes than what we currently intend. Pending any ultimate use of any portion of the proceeds from this offering, if the anticipated proceeds will not be sufficient to fund all the proposed purposes, our management will determine the order of priority for using the proceeds, as well as the amount and sources of other funds needed.

Pending our application of the net proceeds from this offering, we plan to invest such proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities and depositary institutions.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our board of directors has discretion on whether to distribute dividends. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. In either case, all dividends are subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that the company may only pay dividends if the value of our assets exceeds our liabilities and we are able to pay our debts as they become due. Even if we decide to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.

We do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our Class A Ordinary Shares in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in China for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. PRC regulations may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. If we pay any dividends on our Ordinary Shares, As a holding company, we will be dependent on receipt of funds from the subsidiaries. Cash dividends on our Ordinary Shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and our capitalization as of June 30, 2023:  

You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and other financial information contained in this prospectus.

The number of the Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued and outstanding immediately after this offering as shown above assumes that all of the Class A Ordinary Shares offered hereby are sold, and is based on [35,909,255] Class A Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. This number excludes up to 2,839,951 of our Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued to GYBL upon the exercise of the GEM Warrant, and up to 12,500,000 of our Class A Ordinary Shares we may sell to GEM Investor from time to time over approximately the 36 months after the Closing Date, at our sole discretion, in accordance with the GEM Agreement.

DILUTION

If you invest in our Class A Ordinary Shares in this offering, your interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per Share in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per Class A Ordinary Share after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the public offering price per Share is substantially in excess of the net tangible book value per Class A Ordinary Share. As of June 30, 2023, we had a historical positive net tangible book value of $53.89 million, or positive $1.49 per Class A Ordinary Share. Our net tangible book value per share represents total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the number of Class A Ordinary Shares outstanding on June 30, 2023.

After giving effect to the sale of Class A Ordinary Shares in this offering at an assumed public offering price of $10.00 per Share (assuming the sale of the maximum offering amount), and after deducting commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value at June 30, 2023 would have been $2.08 per share. This represents an immediate increase in as adjusted net tangible book value of $0.58 per share to existing shareholders and immediate dilution of $7.92 per Class A Ordinary Share to new investors.

The following table illustrates this dilution per Class A Ordinary Share in this offering: 

To the extent that outstanding options are exercised, new options or warrants are issued or we issue additional Class A Ordinary Shares in the future, there will be further dilution to new investors. We may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our equity holders.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $10.00 per Share, would increase (decrease) our net tangible book value per Class A Ordinary Share after this offering by $3.27 million and the dilution per Class A Ordinary Share to new investors by $0.92, assuming the number of Shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, after deducting the estimated placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We may also increase or decrease the number of Shares we are offering.

An increase (decrease) of 100,000 Shares in the number of Shares offered by us, would increase (decrease) our net tangible book value after this offering by approximately $0.93 million and would increase (decrease) the net tangible book value after this offering by $0.02 per Class A Ordinary Share and would decrease (increase) the dilution per Class A Ordinary Share to new investors by $0.02, after deducting estimated placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The information discussed above is illustrative only and will adjust based on the actual public offering price and other terms of the offering determined at pricing.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion and analysis of SunCar’s financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the section entitled “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and SunCar’s consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this registration statement. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. SunCar’s actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this registration statement. “We”, “our”, “us” in this section refer to SunCar.

Business Overview

We are a leading provider of digitalized enterprise automotive after-sales services and online auto insurance intermediary in China. We generate our revenue from automotive after-sales service business, insurance intermediation business and technology service business.

We operate our automotive after-sales services business through offering customized service solutions to our enterprise clients (our “after-sales partners”), who are major banks, insurance companies and other enterprises who have end customers demanding automotive services. The after-sales service includes regular maintenance as well as reserved services. Those services are ultimately provided to end-customers of our enterprise clients by after-sales service providers we engage through our online platform.

For insurance intermediation business, we facilitate the sales of automobile insurance products underwritten by major insurance companies in China. We receive commissions from these insurance companies, typically a percentage of the premium paid by insurance purchasers. We implement, automate and streamline the insurance purchasing process on our proprietary, fully online digital apps, integrating full spectrum products from leading insurers in China.

We operate our technology service business by providing technical software and consulting related to automobile services and insurance. We have built modular online management tools such as customer relationship management (CRM), order management, finance management and visual analysis systems, based on our proprietary hybrid cloud platform. All of our automotive after-sales service providers and insurance sales partners use all or some of these online tools to manage their daily work, allowing the opportunity to monetize the online software we built.

Significant Factors Impacting Financial Results

Relationship with customers

For automobile after-sales services business, after-sales partners are clients of us, mainly comprising of banks, insurance companies, telecoms companies, airlines and other large corporations. For insurance intermediation business, we distribute primarily automobile insurance products on behalf of well-known insurance companies in China. It is critical for us to maintain good relationship and obtain recognition from both our enterprise clients and their end consumers. We need to keep growing our business, building our brand influence and improving our quality of service to attract new clients, solidify relationships with existing clients, and bring satisfactory service experience to end consumers. Positive feedback from end consumers encourages our clients to deepen their business relations with us. 

Cooperation with service providers

For automobile after-sales services business, we rely on after-sales service providers to deliver a variety of automobile-related services to the customers of our after-sales partners. Positive feedback from end consumers depends on the quality of service provided by our service providers. If our relationships with our service providers deteriorate, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

For insurance intermediation business, we collaborate with various external referral sources to expand our market penetration and broaden our end consumer base. We build up a business network of external sales partners, including offline after-sales networks with frequent exposure to car owners, major online platforms with significant user traffic, and emerging NEV OEMs and service providers. Our good relationships with external referral sources are crucial for We to attract end customers for our insurance intermediation business.

Operating efficiency of our business

While we expect our operating costs and expenses to increase as our business grows, we also expect them to decrease as a proportion of our revenues as we improve our operating efficiency and achieve greater economies of scale.

The cross-utilizations and interconnections between our automotive after-sales service and insurance intermediation business lines enable positive feedback loops between them and symbiotic growth of both. While we are developing our nation-wide automotive service provider network, these service providers become our sales partners of our insurance intermediation business. Conversely, when we engage with insurance companies to sell their insurance products, we also engage them as clients of our after-sales services.

Our business is built on a cloud-based, multi-tenant digital platform to which we have continued to integrate both our client base as well as our service and sales network. We are in the process of digitalizing all our internal workflow as well as the related business processes of our partners, empowering them with efficient and user-friendly tools and systems. We continue to adopt more cutting-edge technologies in AI, big data and Robotics Process Automation (“RPA”) to iteratively upgrade our digital platform for new features and better performance.

Regulations

Our automobile insurance intermediation business, like all insurance-related business in China, are extensively regulated by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (“CBIRC”), under regulations including but not limited to PRC Insurance Law, Regulatory Provisions on Professional Insurance Agencies. Aspects of our insurance intermediation business so regulated include terms and premium rates of the insurance products we distribute for major insurance companies, the commission rates we earn, as well as the way we operate our insurance intermediation businesses generally. Regulations or administrative measures further restricting or reducing insurance premiums or insurance agency commissions could have material adverse impact on the revenue and profitability of our insurance intermediation business, if we are not able to increase our business volume and efficiency to compensate for the effect of such regulatory changes, or pass on any downward impact on our revenue to external participants in the insurance supply chain.

On September 2, 2020, CBIRC released guidance of The Implementation of Comprehensive Reform of Auto Insurance (CBIRC Supervision and Development No. 41 2020, hereinafter referred to as “No. 41 2020 Guidance”), and set phased goals for insurance companies to “reduce price, increase insurance policy volume, and improve quality”, which reduced premium rate limits by 20% and reduced commission rate limits by roughly half from 20% to 10.5% (as its insurance-related revenue primarily comes from commissions, the effects of these two reductions on SunCar are multiplicative). This rate reduction adversely affected its insurance intermediation service revenue in 2021 and 2022. Such reduced rate continues to affect the Company’s insurance intermediation service revenues in the year of 2022.

Impact of COVID-19 and Other Global Disasters

The effect of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has significantly impacted the global economy. COVID-19 and the measures taken by countries, particularly China, have adversely affected and could in the future materially adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition. The pandemic has resulted in government implementing numerous measures such as travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place orders, and factory and office shutdowns. Specifically, in 2022, a wave of infections caused by the Omicron variants emerged in Shanghai in early 2022, which led to shut-down and quarantine for an extended period in spring. Throughout 2022, several resurgences of COVID-19 infections have emerged in various regions of China from time to time. In addition, the weakness in the overall financial markets may cause us difficult in securing additional financing, and the weakened financial conditions of our clients, suppliers, and business partners may prevent them from honoring their obligations to us. During the severe pandemic time, some of the customers suffered debt crisis under the pressure of cash flow under the pressure of cash flow, were unable to pay on time and then extended the payment schedule for our accounts receivable. We considered the collectability of the accounts receivable based on the cautious estimation, and continued to keep close monitor to the collection of our accounts receivable, and manage the bad debt.

In December 2022, Chinese government declared to treat COVID-19 as Category B disease, and authorities dropped quarantine measures against people infected with COVID-19 and stopped designating high-risk and low-risk areas. The macroeconomic in China and the financial performance of our customers are recovering as of the date of this Report.

However, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 and other global disasters on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows is dependent on future developments, including natural forces and government responses which are uncertain and beyond our prediction at this time. We will pay close attention to the development of these macroeconomic risks, assess and take measures to minimize their impacts. 

Impact of Global Inflationary Pressures

We face two types of possible inflationary pressures: a general pressure from inflation-related economic slowdown, and a specific pressure from inflation of the prices of fuel. First, we consider the impact of inflation on the business is immaterial as the operations are in China, and China’s inflation rates have been relatively stable in the last three and a half years: approximately 2.5% in 2020, 0.9% in 2021, 2.0% in 2022 and 0.7% in the first half year of 2023. Second, since the 2022 inflation episode was triggered by the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting increase in fossil fuel prices, it particularly impacts the automobile industry which still mainly relies on fossil fuel to power the vehicles. Thus, with the increasing fuel price, people may drive less, and less people may choose to buy cars, the automotive and related industries, including insurance, after-sales service and technology service industries where we operate, would also be adversely impacted. However, we anticipate the pressure to be limited, since we have been working with car manufactures directly and indirectly request the insurance company to develop insurance products designed for NEVs. We believe as the NEVs become more and more popular, insurance for NEVs can effectively increase our revenues and offset the adverse impact brought by the increase fuel prices.

Impact of Supply Chain Disruptions

Outbreak of COVID-19 since the beginning of March 2020 has adverse impact on our supply chain, which led to general shutdown of cities, and weaken the financial conditions of our service providers. However, it did not lead to severe supply chain disruptions, because that (1) our automotive after-sales service business, our service providers recover quickly from the impact of COVID-19 to provide more service due to the uptrend of vehicle usage post COVID-19, and we have a large after-sales service provider network to confront with the situation that some of our service provider could not provide service temporarily due to the adverse impact of COVID-19; (2) our insurance intermediation business does not encounter any supply chain disruption as our external referral sources could expand our market penetration and broaden our end consumer base both online and offline. SunCar continuously pays close attention to the supply chain impact of COVID-19, performs further assessment and takes relevant measures to minimize the impact. Except for the impact of COVID-19, there is no any other interruptions that led to supply chain disruptions that would affect our business.

Therefore, as of the date of this prospectus, supply chain disruptions do not materially affect our outlook or business goals, nor have it materially impacted our results of operations or capital resources.

Critical Accounting Estimates

We prepare our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or results of operations would be affected. We base our estimates and assumptions on our own historical data and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable after taking account of our circumstances and expectations for the future based on available information. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis.

Our expectations regarding the future are based on available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable and accurate, which together form our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.

The critical accounting policies, judgments and estimates that we believe to have the most significant impact on our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are described below, which should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and other disclosures included in this Report. When reviewing our financial statements, you should consider:

We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (i) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (ii) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. We consider our critical accounting estimates include (i) revenue recognition; (ii) allowance for doubtful accounts; (iii) valuation allowances of deferred tax assets; and (iv) useful lives of software and equipment. 

Revenue Recognition

Revenues of continuing operations of us are mainly generated from providing automotive after-sales service, insurance intermediation service and technology service.

Automotive after-sales service

We define enterprise clients as our customers and we sell automotive after-sales service coupons to enterprise clients, which each coupon represents one specific automotive after-sales service. There are various service types including vehicle washing, waxing, maintenance, driving service and road assistance, and we only provide one specific service among various service types for each specific service coupon. We identify each specific service coupon as a contract that establishes enforceable rights and obligations for each party. We charge the service fee at a fixed price per service when the service is performed. For service coupons with limited duration, we either charge the service fee at a fixed price per service when the service is performed or when the coupon expires, whether or not the service has been performed. We consider each service coupon is a distinct service that is capable of providing a benefit to the customer on its own according to ASC 606-10-25-14(a). Therefore, we identify only one performance obligation under a contract, which is to provide a specific service or to stand-ready to perform a specific service within a limited duration. We act as a principal as we control the right to services before the services are provided to customers and we have the ability to direct other parties to provide the services to customers on our behalf. Specifically, we has the ability to choose service providers, is primarily responsible for the acceptability for the service meeting customer specifications, bears inventory risk after transfer of control of services to customers, and has the discretion in establishing the price with customers and with service providers and bears credit risk. We recognize revenue in the gross amount of consideration at a point of time when the service is provided, or when the service coupon expires. We do not provide refunds to customers when a coupon is expired but not used.

Insurance intermediation service

We provide insurance intermediation service distributing primarily automobile insurance on behalf of the insurance companies and charges insurance companies for intermediation service commissions. Insurance intermediation services are considered to be rendered and completed, and revenue is recognized, at the time an insurance policy becomes effective, that is, when the signed insurance policy is in place and the premium is collected from the insured. We have satisfied the performance obligation to recognize revenue when the premiums are collected by the respective insurance companies and not before, because collectability is not ensured until receipt of the premium. Accordingly, we do not accrue any insurance intermediation service commission and fees prior to the receipt of the related premiums. No allowance for cancellation has been provided for intermediation services as cancellation of policies rarely occurs.

Technology service

We provide technology service including technical software and consulting related to automobile services and insurance, such as customer relationship management (CRM), order management, finance management and visual analysis systems. We charge service fee based on fixed price per month for service provided, and recognize revenue over time during the service period.  

Allowance for doubtful accounts

We review the accounts receivable on a periodic basis and makes general and specific allowances when there is doubt as to the collectability of individual balances. We consider many factors in assessing the collectability of our receivables, such as the age of the amounts due, the customer’s payment history, credit-worthiness and other specific circumstances related to the accounts. An allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded in the period in which a loss is determined to be probable. Accounts receivable balances are written off after all collection efforts have been exhausted.

Adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13: Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This replaces the existing incurred loss model and is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost. We adopted ASU 2016-13 from January 1, 2023 using modified-retrospective transition approach with a cumulative-effect adjustment to shareholders’ equity amounting to US$0.5 million recognized as of January 1, 2023.

We recognized bad debt expense of US$0.2 million and reversed bad debt expense of US$3.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The reversal of bad debt expense was mainly due to the adoption of ASC 326. A 10% increase in our bad debt provision would have decreased our net income from continuing operations by nil and 10% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023.

Valuation allowance of deferred tax assets

Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We consider positive and negative evidence when determining whether a portion or all of our deferred tax assets will more likely than not be realized. This assessment considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of current and cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the duration of statutory carry-forward periods, our experience with tax attributes expiring unused, and our tax planning strategies. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income within the carry-forward periods provided for in the tax law and during the periods in which the temporary differences become deductible. When assessing the realization of deferred tax assets, we have considered possible sources of taxable income including (i) future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, (ii) future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carry-forwards, (iii) future taxable income arising from implementing tax planning strategies, and (iv) specific known trend of profits expected to be reflected within the industry.

For the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023, we recognized valuation allowance of deferred tax assets of US$5.4 million and US$1.3 million, respectively. A 10% increase in our valuation allowance of deferred tax assets would have decreased our net income from continuing operations by 8.5% and 6% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, SunCar recognized valuation allowance of deferred tax assets of US$1.4 million, US$0.2 million and US$5.4 million, respectively. A 10% increase in its valuation allowance of deferred tax assets would have decreased its net income, or increase its net loss from continuing operations by 2%, nil, and 5% respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022. 

Useful lives of software and equipment

The estimated useful lives of the software and equipment are based on the management’s best estimation, which were as follows:

Key Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

Revenues of us are derived from automotive after-sales service, insurance intermediation service and technology service. The following table sets forth the breakdown of our total revenues, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total revenues, for the periods indicated.

Automotive after-sales service. We provide/offer customized automobile after-sales services, ultimately provided to end-customers of our enterprise clients. These services include regular maintenance as well as reserved services such as car wash, oil change, tire repair, car beautification, road assistance, flight pickup, designated driving, VIP lounge, etc. We charge the service fee either based on the number of service items completed at a fixed price per item, or, charges for the service coupons with limited duration term sold, no matter whether services have been performed. We act as a principal as we control the right to services before providing them to end customers. Therefore, we recognize revenue in the gross amount of consideration at the point of time when the service is provided, or when the service coupons with limited duration term expired.

Insurance intermediation service. We provide insurance intermediation service distributing automobile insurance products on behalf of insurance companies. Insurance intermediation services are considered to be rendered and completed and revenue is recognized at the time an insurance policy becomes effective, i.e. when the signed insurance policy is in place and the premium is collected from the insured. We recognize revenue when the premiums are collected by the respective insurance companies, because collectability is not ensured until receipt of the premium. Accordingly, We do not accrue any commission and fees prior to the receipt of the relevant premiums.

Technology service. We operate our technology service business by providing technical software and consulting related to automobile services and insurance, including modular online management tools such as customer relationship management, order management, finance management and visual analysis systems. For use of our technology services, we charge technology service fees based on fixed prices per service period (usually one month) for service provided, and recognize revenue over time during the service period.

Operating costs and expenses

The following table set forth our operating costs and expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues, for the periods indicated.

Integrated service cost. The integrated service cost primarily consists of service fees paid to automotive after-sales service providers to provide customized service for end consumers of our enterprise clients. The service fee is determined based on and recognized in the period of the actual services rendered.

Promotional service expenses. Promotional service expenses represent (i) promotional service fee to explore extensive networks of automotive after-sales service and insurance intermediation; and (ii) service fees we pay to promotion channels, including but not limited to offline after-sales networks, online platforms, and emerging NEV OEMs and service providers. Promotional service expenses are recognized in the period incurred.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses primarily consists of (i) salaries and employment benefits for employees who work in service line; (ii) promotional service fee; (iii) communication and travel expenses, and (iv) depreciation expenses related to sales. Depreciation expenses are calculated based on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of (i) staff costs, rental and depreciation expenses related to general and administrative personnel; (ii) share-based compensation expenses; and (iii) other corporate expenses.

Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses primarily consist of payroll and employee benefits for research and development employees, rental expenses, utilities and other related expenses related to design, develop and maintain technological service platform to support our internal and external businesses.

Results of Operations

Six months ended June 30, 2023 compared with six months ended June 30, 2022

The following table sets forth a summary of unaudited condensed consolidated results of operations for the period indicated. This information should be read together with unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Report. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared with year ended December 31, 2021

The following table sets forth a summary of audited consolidated results of operations for the period indicated. This information should be read together with audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

Revenue

Total revenue increased by 28% from US$124.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$159.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Automotive after-sales service. Automotive after-sales service revenue increased by 10% from US$89.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$98.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase was driven by the increase of service orders in 2023. Extensive service network we developed served more enterprise clients, and completed more automotive after-sales services orders in 2023.

Insurance intermediation service. Insurance intermediation service revenue increased by 63% from US$29.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$47.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, which was driven by the increasing number of insurance policy sold for the six months ended June 30, 2023. We ranked first in terms of auto insurance premium facilitated for NEVs in China. NEVs’ sales have increased sharply in recent years, and thus, our insurance intermediation business expanded rapidly. Therefore, while average commission for the six months ended June 30, 2023 decreased by 20% compared with the period of 2022 due to the regulation requirement and normal market fluctuation, such decrease was offset by the increase in the number of insurance policy by 118% compared with those for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Technology service. Technology service revenue increased by US$7.3 million from US$5.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$12.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Technology service is a new business focus of us starting from 2021 and the increase is due to our continuous expansion in new business to acquire more market share. The increase is also due to our improved IT infrastructure to expand this business line. Through the application of Private Cloud Platform, the development process was simplified, and we can easily obtain various tools for software development, testing, operation and maintenance to strengthen software platform to increase business capacity and better serve the customers.

Operating costs and expenses. Operating costs and expenses increased by 33% from US$118.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$158.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Integrated service cost. Integrated service cost increased by 15% from US$76.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$87.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase of integrated service cost was in line with the increase in our automotive after-sales service revenue.

Promotional service expenses. Promotional service expenses increased by 75% from US$28.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$49.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The increase of promotional service was in line with the increase of revenue in our insurance intermediation service.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 88% from US$6.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$12.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to the increase in the promotion expense of US$5.1 million for freebie provided to customers in technology service business.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased by 19% from US$4.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$4.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to the bad debt reversal of US$3.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 since the adoption of ASC326, offset by (i) the increase of profession service expense of US$2.0 million due to the public listing, (ii) the increase of staff costs related to general and administration personnel of US$0.8 million due to the salary adjustment to normal after COVID-19, and (iii) the increase of expenses related to business trip of US$0.6 million due to the public listing.

Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses increased by 108% from US$1.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to US$4.0 million for six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to more research expenditures on the software used in the insurance intermediation service and technology service.

Discontinued operations

On March 1, 2022, we entered into a share purchase agreement with Jiachen Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“Jiachen”), an affiliate of Mr. Ye Zaichang, to transfer the total equity of Shengda Group at a nominal consideration of RMB1. The disposal transaction was completed as of March 1, 2022. As the disposal of Shengda Group was under common control, no gain or loss was recorded as the result of the disposal, and instead impacts were charged to additional paid in capital.

Total revenue of SunCar increased by 13% from US$249.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$282.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Automotive after-sales service. Automotive after-sales service revenue increased by 6% from US$187.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$199.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was driven by the increase of service orders in 2022. Extensive service network SunCar developed served more enterprise clients, and completed more automotive after-sales services orders in 2022.

Insurance intermediation service. Insurance intermediation service revenue increased by 19% from US$56.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$67.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was driven by the increasing number of insurance policy sold for the year ended December 31, 2022. SunCar ranked first in terms of auto insurance premium facilitated for NEVs in China. NEVs’ sales have increased sharply in recent years, and thus, SunCar’s insurance intermediation business expanded rapidly. Therefore, while average commission for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by 30% compared with the year of 2021 due to the regulation requirement and normal market fluctuation, such decrease was offset by the increase in the number of insurance policy by 77% compared with those for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Technology service. Technology service revenue increased by US$10.9 million from US$4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$15.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Technology service is a new business focus of SunCar starting from 2021 and the increase is due to SunCar’s continuous expansion in new business to acquire more market share. The increase is also due to SunCar’s improved IT infrastructure to expand this business line. Through the application of Private Cloud Platform, the development process was simplified, and SunCar can easily obtain various tools for software development, testing, operation and maintenance to strengthen software platform to increase business capacity and better serve the customers. 

Operating costs and expenses. Operating costs and expenses increased by 23% from US$238.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$295.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Integrated service cost. Integrated service cost increased by 6% from US$156.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$166.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of integrated service cost was in line with the increase in its automotive after-sales service revenue.

Promotional service expenses. Promotional service expenses increased by 19% from US$55.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$65.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of promotional service was in line with the increase of revenue in its insurance intermediation service.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 29% from US$12.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$16.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to the increase in the promotion expense of US$4.4 million for freebie provided to customers in technology service business.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 262% from US$10.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$37.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to the bad debt provision of US$26.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 considering the collectability of accounts receivables with long aging was remote since some customers suffered great pressure of cash flow due to the impact of COVID-19 in 2022.

Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses increased by 132% from US$3.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 to US$8.5 million for year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to more research expenditures on the software used in the insurance intermediation service and technology service.

Discontinued operations

On March 1, 2022, SunCar entered into a share purchase agreement with Jiachen Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (“Jiachen”), an affiliate of Mr. Ye Zaichang, to transfer the total equity of Shengda Group at a nominal consideration of RMB1. The disposal transaction was completed as of March 1, 2022. As the disposal of Shengda Group was under common control, no gain or loss was recorded as the result of the disposal, and instead impacts were charged to additional paid in capital.

Year ended December 31, 2021 compared with year ended December 31, 2020

The following table sets forth a summary of audited consolidated results of operations for the year indicated. This information should be read together with audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The operating results in any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.

Revenue

Total revenue of SunCar increased by 4% from US$238.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$249.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Automotive after-sales service. Automotive after-sales service revenue increased by 22% from US$154.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$187.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was driven by the increase of service orders in 2021. In fiscal year 2021, SunCar expanded further its extensive service network to serve more enterprise clients in the south area of mainland China, and completed more automotive after-sales services orders.

Insurance intermediation service. Insurance intermediation service revenue decreased by 33% from US$84.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$56.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was primarily driven by the No. 41 2020 Guidance of CBIRC. The regulation-driven decrease of insurance premiums and commission rates accounted for most of the decrease of insurance intermediation service revenue. In 2021, the average commission decreased by 32% and the number of insurance policy sold decreased slightly by 7% compared with those in 2020.

Technology service. Technology service revenue increased from US$0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Technology service is new business focus of SunCar. SunCar provides technology service including technical software and consulting related to automobile services and insurance, such as customer relationship management (CRM), order management, finance management and visual analysis systems. SunCar is improving its market share and its business capacity in this business line.

Operating costs and expenses

Operating costs and expenses increased slightly from US$231.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$238.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Integrated service cost. Integrated service cost increased by 19% from US$131.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$156.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase of integrated service cost was in line with the increase in its automotive after-sales service revenue.

Promotional service expenses. Promotional service expenses decreased by 31% from US$79.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$55.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Affected by the Guidance of CBIRC in 2021, SunCar decreased the promotional service fee paid to promotion channels accordingly, which resulted in the decrease of promotional service expenses.

Selling expenses. Selling expenses increased by 86% from US$6.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$12.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to the increase in depreciation expense of US$2.3 million for the software and equipment purchased at the end of 2020, which was for sales department’s use to store sales information, and the increase in the promotion expense of US$3.6 million for freebie provided to customers in technology service business.

General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 34% from US$7.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$10.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily due to the increase of share-based compensation expense. On September 9, 2020, SunCar approved the 2020 Share Incentive Plan to grant eligible employees 2,500,000 of restricted ordinary shares of Shanghai Shengshi Dalian Automobile Service Co. Limited, one of its subsidiaries. The restricted ordinary shares are subject to an annual vesting schedule that vests 20% of granted restricted shares over the next five years as the employees are required to provide service for a total of 60 months to earn the award. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, SunCar recognized US$0.5 million and US$1.7 million of share-based compensation expense, respectively.

Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses decreased by 27% from US$5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$3.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. SunCar relied more on outsourcing technical services in 2020 while in turn relied more on its employees in 2021 to improve cost efficiency, which resulted in the decrease of personnel expenditure of research and development expenses. 

Discontinued operations and net loss from discontinued operations

In December 2021, board of directors of Shanghai Feiyou approved to dispose Shengda Automobile Service Group Co., Limited and its subsidiaries (“Shengda Group”), primarily operating in financial leasing business, for the purpose of concentrating on its remaining major business lines. Therefore, SunCar presented the Shengda Group and its subsidiaries as discontinued operations in the current and comparative period financial statements. Net loss from the operations of the discontinued operations increased by 69% from US$16.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 to US$27.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was primarily led by: (1) the increased income tax expense of US$9.2 million due to the gain from transferring equity interest of Shanghai Shengshi Dalian Automobile Service Co. Limited to SunCar, (2) the decreased contracting business of financial leasing of US$1.4 million, and (3) the increased bad debt provision provided of US$2.2 million. On March 1, 2022, SunCar transferred all the equity of Shengda Group to Jiachen, an affiliate of Mr. Ye Zaichang, who is also the largest shareholder of SunCar, for the nominal consideration as Shengda Group are in a position of net liability position as of the disposal date, and instead impacts were charged to additional paid in capital.

Taxation

Cayman Islands

Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to tax on income or capital gain. Additionally, upon payments of dividends to the shareholders, no Cayman Islands withholding tax will be imposed.

British Virgin Islands

Our subsidiaries incorporated in the BVI are not subject to taxation in the British Virgin Islands.

Hong Kong

According to Tax (Amendment) (No. 3) Ordinance 2018 published by Hong Kong government, form April 1, 2018, under the two-tiered profits tax rates regime, the profits tax rate for the first HKD2 million of assessable profits will be lowered to 8.25% (half of the rate specified in Schedule 8 to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO)) for corporations, and the remaining profits will continue to be taxed at the existing tax rate, 16.5%. No provision for Hong Kong profits tax had been made to China Auto Market Group Ltd., a subsidiary of us, during the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023 as it did not have assessable profit during the periods presented.

PRC

Generally, our subsidiaries, which are considered PRC resident enterprises under PRC tax law, are subject to enterprise income tax on their worldwide taxable income as determined under PRC tax laws and accounting standards at a rate of 25%.

EIT grants preferential tax treatment to High and New Technology Enterprises (“HNTEs”) at a rate of 15%, subject to a requirement that they re-apply for HNTE status every three years. The Group’s subsidiaries, Shengda Automobile and Shanghai Chengle Network Technology Co., Ltd. were approved as a HNTE and is entitled to a reduced income tax rate of 15% beginning November 2018 and is valid till December 2024.

Dividends paid by our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to our intermediary holding companies in Hong Kong will be subject to a withholding tax rate of 10%, unless they qualify for a special exemption. If our intermediary holding companies in Hong Kong satisfy all the requirements under the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income and receive approval from the relevant tax authority, then dividends paid to them by our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China will be subject to a withholding tax rate of 5% instead.

If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of China were deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on our worldwide income at a rate of 25%.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity have been cash provided from bank borrowings, equity financing from private placement, and revenue generated from our business operation. As of June 30, 2023, we had US$35.5 million in cash, and US$2.7 million restricted cash, of which almost all of the cash was denominated in Renminbi. Most of the cash and restricted cash were held at banks located in China. As of December 31, 2022, SunCar had US$21.2 million in cash, and US$2.7 million restricted cash, of which almost all of the cash was denominated in Renminbi. Most of the cash and restricted cash were held at banks located in China.

We believe that our current cash on hand, short-term investments and cash provided by equity security will be sufficient to meet the current and anticipated needs for general corporate purposes for at least the next 12 months. We may, however, need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments. On November 4, 2022, SunCar entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with GEM Global Yield LLC SCS and GEM Yield Bahamas Limited relating to a share subscription facility up to US$125 million. On May 19, 2023, SunCar Technology Group Inc. entered into a Share Subscription Agreement with a certain non-U.S. person, Anji Zerun Private Equity Investment Partnership related to private placement 2,173,657 Class A Ordinary Shares at a total consideration of US$21.7 million. We may also need additional cash resources in the future if we find and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. If we determine that the cash requirements exceed the amount of cash on hand, we may seek to issue equity or equity linked securities or obtain debt financing. The issuance and sale of additional equity would result in further dilution to the shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could result in operating covenants that would restrict our operations.

We expect that substantially all of our future revenues will be denominated in RMB. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval as long as certain routine procedural requirements are fulfilled. Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries are allowed to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior SAFE approval by following certain routine procedural requirements. However, approval from or registration with competent government authorities is required where the 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 at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future.

SunCar’s prospectus dated March 30, 2023 that was part of the registration statement on Form F-4 (File 333-269295) included information about projections for SunCar for the years ending December 31, 2022 through December 31, 2026. As disclosed in such prospectus, such projections were prepared on July 8, 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 lockdowns that took place in China during 2022, SunCar has not met its original projections for 2022. It is possible that SunCar’s actual results over the remaining time periods and under the scenarios covered by the projections would be materially different and should not be relied upon. SunCar has not updated its projections at this time and, as disclosed in the prospectus, does not intend to do so in the future. Given SunCar’s Share Purchase Agreement with GEM Global Yield LLC SCS and GEM Yield Bahamas Limited relating to a share subscription facility up to US$125 million, as well as SunCar’s Share Subscription Agreement with Anji Zerun Private Equity Investment Partnership related to private placement for a total consideration of US$21.7 million, SunCar believes that no significant additional risks to its financial position, business operations and liquidity has resulted from SunCar not meeting its original projections for 2022.

Given the exercise price of SunCar’s warrants is $11.50 per share, and the option for the holders to exercise the warrants on a cashless basis in the event there is no effective registration statement registering the issuance of the warrant shares, it is possible that SunCar will receive no significant proceeds from the exercise of any or all of the warrants. However, since the terms of the warrants, including their exercise mechanism and price, had been disclosed to and expected by the public since the original issuance of the public and private warrants of Goldenbridge Acquisition Limited pursuant to its initial public offering in March 2021, and was again disclosed in the registration statement on Form F-4 for the SunCar’s business combination with Goldenbridge Acquisition Limited, declared effective by the SEC on March 30, 2023, SunCar expects no significant impact of the exercise of the warrants or the sales of the shares underlying the warrants on any future financing or on SunCar’s financial position, business operations and liquidity.

SunCar expects that substantially all of its future revenues will be denominated in RMB. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval as long as certain routine procedural requirements are fulfilled. Therefore, PRC subsidiaries of SunCar are allowed to pay dividends in foreign currencies to SunCar without prior SAFE approval by following certain routine procedural requirements. However, approval from or registration with competent government authorities is required where the 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 at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future.

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was US$20.5 million, as compared to net income from continuing operations of US$1.1 million. The difference between net income and net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase of prepaid expenses and other current assets of US$38.8 million due to the increase of advances to suppliers, offset by an increase of accounts payable of US$7.6 million, primarily due to the growth of SunCar’s automobile after-sales business, and a decrease of accounts receivable, net of US$10.4 million due to the acceleration of collection of the accounts receivable post pandemic.

Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2022 was US$20.5 million, as compared to a net income from continuing operations of US$6.7 million. The difference between net income and net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase of US$13.9 million in accounts receivable and a decrease of US$17.7 million in accounts payable. The increase of accounts receivables was primarily due to the growth of SunCar’s automobile after-sales business. The decrease of accounts payable was due to the situation that cash flow and financial results of operations of some after-sale service providers were adversely affected by the COVID-19, and hence, the Group settled the amounts payable to these after-sale service providers timely to help them recover from the impact of COVID-19.

Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 was US$16.1 million, as compared to net loss from continuing operations of US$10.9 million. The difference between net loss and net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase of accounts receivable, net of US$32.6 million, an increase of prepaid expenses and other current assets of US$3.9 million, and a decrease of accounts payable of US$5.0 million, offset by the provision of doubtful accounts of US$26.0 million, and depreciation and amortization of US$5.1 million.

Net cash used in operating activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 was US$19.1 million, as compared to a net income from continuing operations of US$9.6 million. The difference between net income and net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase of US$35.1 million in accounts receivable and a decrease of US$15.0 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, offset by an increase of US$13.6 million in accounts payable, and depreciation and amortization of US$4.1 million. The increase of accounts receivables and accounts payable was primarily due to the growth of SunCar’s automobile after-sales business. The decrease of accrued expenses and other current liabilities was due to the fact that the settlement of payable of purchasing software has completed within the year ended December 31, 2020.

Net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 was US$11.5 million, as compared to a net income from continuing operations of US$6.6 million. The difference between net income and net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to share-based compensation of US$0.5 million, an increase of US$8.4 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, an increase of accounts receivable of US$1.5 million, and an increase of tax payable of US$1.6 million, offset by an increase of prepaid expense and other current asset of US$4.1 million, a decrease of US$2.4 million in deferred revenue and an increase of US$2.3 million in deferred tax assets.

Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities of continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was US$0.9 million, primarily consisting of US$3.3 million in non-current assets purchase, and proceeds from sale of short-term investment of US$4.8 million.

Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations for the six months ended June 30, 2022 was US$1.2 million, consisting primarily of US$1.1 million in purchase of software and equipment.

Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 was US$5.4 million, primarily consisting of US$4.4 million in software and equipment purchase, and US$1.2 million in purchase of other non-current assets.

Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 was US$20.1 million, consisting primarily of US$9.8 million in purchasing short-term investment, US$9.0 million in purchase of construction in progress, and US$1.3 million in purchase of software and equipment.

Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 was US$29.0 million, consisting primarily of US$9.5 million in purchase of software and equipment, US$10.1 million in purchasing short-term investment, and US$9.2 million in purchase of construction in progress.