in a foreign jurisdiction that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. Consistent with the HFCAA, the interim final rule requires the submission of documentation to the SEC establishing that any such identified issuer is not owned or controlled by a foreign government and also requires disclosure in the issuer’s annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and government influence on, the issuer.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would amend the HFCAA and reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three consecutive years to two consecutive years.
On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a new rule, PCAOB Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. PCAOB Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB’s determinations under the HFCAA that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. The SEC will use the PCAOB’s determination about which firms it is unable to inspect or investigate to identify “covered issuers” subject to the disclosure requirements and potential trading ban discussed above.
We could be delisted if we are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirements in time.
The HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit securities of any foreign companies from being listed on U.S. securities exchanges or traded “over-the-counter” if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. Our independent registered public accounting firm is located in and organized under the laws of the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, and therefore our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.
The enactment of the HFCAA and any additional rulemaking efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information in China could cause investor uncertainty for affected SEC registrants, including us, and the market price of our shares of common stock could be materially adversely affected. Additionally, whether the PCAOB will be able to conduct inspections of our auditors in the next three years, or at all, is subject to substantial uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our control. If we are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement in time, we could be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market and our shares of common stock will not be permitted for trading “over-the-counter” market. Such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our shares of common stock when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our shares. Also, such a delisting would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Our business has been and may continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic. Due to the evolving and highly uncertain nature of this event, we cannot predict at this time the full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will adversely impact our business, results and financial condition. The impact will depend on many factors that are not known at this time. These include, among others, the extent of harm to public health, the continued disruption to operations, and the impact of the global business and economic environment on liquidity and the availability of capital.
As previously reported, we have experienced operational interruptions as a result of COVID-19, including the temporary disruption of operations in China due to a Chinese government mandated quarantine protocol, including mandatory business closures, social distancing measures, and various travel restrictions. Although our operations in China are beginning to normalize, there can be no assurance that such operations will continue to do so or that there will not be a renewed outbreak of COVID-19 or other significant contagious diseases in China or elsewhere. To the extent that such events occur, demand for our