424B4 1 form424b4.htm

 

Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-267077

 

PROSPECTUS

 

3,325,000 Ordinary Shares

 

CBL International Limited

 

 

 

This is the initial public offering in the United States of ordinary shares of CBL International Limited, a Cayman Islands company. We are offering 3,325,000 ordinary shares, US$0.0001 par value per share on a firm commitment basis. In addition, our underwriters will have an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 15%, or 498,750 ordinary shares. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares. The initial public offering price is US$4.0 per ordinary share. Our ordinary shares have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (or Nasdaq) under the symbol “BANL”. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to maintain the listing of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq; however, we will not complete this offering unless our ordinary shares remain so listed.

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle International Group Limited (“Banle BVI”), a company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, and its subsidiaries (namely, Banle China, Banle Energy HK, Banle Malaysia, Banle Marketing, Majestic Energy, Majestic Energy (Singapore), Reliance HK), but in August 2022, we completed the Reorganization described in “Our History and Corporate Structure – The Reorganization” pursuant to which Banle BVI became a wholly owned subsidiary of CBL International Limited (“CBL International”), a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability. Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, the terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “our Group” and “our business” refer, prior to the Reorganization discussed below, to Banle BVI and, after the Reorganization, to CBL International, in each case together with its consolidated subsidiaries as a consolidated entity. Where the discussions in the context relate to business operations and/or financial performance, then the terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “our Group” and “our business” refer, both prior to and after the Reorganization, to the business operations and/or financial performance of the Operating Subsidiaries. All specific references in this prospectus to “CBL International” and “Banle BVI” refer to CBL International Limited and Banle International Group Limited respectively, each a holding company with no operation of its own.

 

We are both an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer” as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this and future filings. See “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company” and “Prospectus Summary — Foreign Private Issuer Status.”

 

Investing in our ordinary shares is highly speculative and involves a significant degree of risk. We (CBL International Limited) are not a Chinese operating company but a holding company incorporated in Cayman Islands. As a holding company with no material operations of our own, we conduct our operations through our wholly-owned operating entities established in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Our ordinary shares offered in this prospectus are shares of our Cayman Islands holding company. For risks facing the company and the offering as a result of this structure, see “Risk Factors”, including “— If the Chinese government chooses to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, such action 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,” “— In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business,” “— PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”

 

Our operations are based in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Part of our operations are conducted by our Hong Kong operating subsidiary, namely Banle Energy International Limited (“Banle Energy HK”). We do not conclude and book any transactions in China. All of our transactions for vessel refueling services were concluded in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and our revenue were booked under our subsidiaries established in Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore. Although we deliver our services through our suppliers mainly in China and Hong Kong, nearly all our customers are international container liner operators from outside of China and Hong Kong. Of our five largest customers from whom we generated 92.9% and 83.6% respectively of our total revenue for FY2020 and FY2021, two customers are Taiwanese companies, two are Singaporean companies, and one is a German company; whilst for the six months ended June 30, 2022, the five largest customers who contributed 77% in aggregate of our total revenue consisted of two Taiwanese companies, two Singaporean companies and one Japanese company. We also have a subsidiary that is established in China, namely Majestic Energy (Shenzhen) Co. Limited (“Majestic Energy”), which is currently dormant and does not have operations, and we do not intend to conduct any operation through Majestic Energy in the future. Although we have equity ownership of Banle Energy HK and Majestic Energy (which is dormant) and currently do not have or intend to have any operating subsidiary that is established in China, or any contractual arrangement to establish a variable interest entity structure with any entity in China, we may still be subject to unique risks due to uncertainty about any future actions of the Chinese government or authorities in Hong Kong in relation to business operations in China or Hong Kong, or regulatory oversight of overseas listing of companies with operations in China or Hong Kong.

 

We do not maintain any office in mainland China and our directors and officers are mainly based in Malaysia and Hong Kong. A majority of our directors and officers (including our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our directors Mr. Ramasamy Logeswaran and Dato’ Sri Kam Choy Ho, and three of our independent directors Ms. Karen Yee Lynn Cheah Mr. Koon Liang Ong and Mr. Khai Fei Wong) are permanent residents of Malaysia; Mr. Ulf Lothar Naujeck, our independent director, is a permanent resident of Germany; and Mr. Sing Chung Raymond Chiu, our Chief Financial Officer, is a permanent resident of Hong Kong. However, a major part of our operations are based in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. Although Hong Kong has its own governmental and legal system that is independent from China, it is uncertain whether in the future the Hong Kong government will implement regulations and policies of the Chinese government or adopt regulations and policies of its own that are substantially the same as those of the Chinese government. Moreover, given that changes in policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the Chinese government may be quick with little advance notice, it is also uncertain in the future whether our operations in Hong Kong will be subject to the oversight of the Chinese authorities.

 

Recent statements by the Chinese government have indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investments in China based issuers. Any future action by the Chinese government expanding the categories of industries and companies whose foreign securities offerings are subject to government review could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

 

 
 

 

Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and made a number of public statements on the regulation of business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using a variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. We do not believe that we are directly subject to these regulatory actions or statements, as we do not have a variable interest entity structure and our business does not involve the collection of user data, involve any cybersecurity issues, or involve any other type of restricted industry. Because these statements and regulatory actions are new, however, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies in China will respond to them, or what existing or new laws or regulations will be modified or promulgated, if any, whether these laws and regulations will apply to our operations in Hong Kong or the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operations in Hong Kong or our ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. exchange.

 

The structure of cash flows within our organization, and a summary of the applicable regulations, are as follows:

 

1. Our equity structure is an indirect holding structure, that is, the overseas entity to be listed in the U.S., CBL International, indirectly controls, through Banle BVI our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, namely Banle International Marketing Limited (“Banle Marketing”), Banle Energy HK, Majestic Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd (“Majestic Energy (Singapore)”) and Banle International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“Banle Malaysia”) (collectively, the “Operating Subsidiaries”). We did not have and do not intend to have any cash transfer to or from our dormant PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, other than cash transfer in small amount to pay for administrative expenses. During the six months ended June 30, 2022, there was a one-off cash transfer in the amount of $625 from Banle Energy HK to Majestic Energy for settling administrative expenses.

 

2. Within our holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of the respective jurisdictions where our Operating Subsidiaries are established, namely Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. After foreign investors’ funds enter CBL International at the close of this offering, the funds can be directly transferred to Banle BVI, and then transferred to our Operating Subsidiaries.

 

If CBL International intends to distribute dividends, the Operating Subsidiaries will transfer the dividends to Banle BVI in accordance with the laws and regulations of Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, and then Banle BVI will transfer the dividends to CBL International, and the dividends will be distributed from CBL International 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.

 

3. In the reporting periods presented in this prospectus and up to the date of this prospectus, save for (i) dividend distribution of $600,000 and $800,000 by Banle Energy HK to CBL (Asia) Limited (“CBL (Asia)”), the then sole shareholder of Banle Energy HK, in July 2018 and February 2019, respectively; and (ii) cash transfers among entities of the Group that are made in the ordinary course of business as set forth below, no cash and other asset transfers have occurred among Banle BVI and its subsidiaries or from Banle BVI and its subsidiaries to investors; and no dividends or distributions from any of the subsidiaries has been made to Banle BVI or to investors, or from Banle BVI to any of the subsidiaries or to investors.

 

The following are the aggregate intra-group cash transfers for FY2020 and FY2021 and for the six months ended June 30, 2022:

 

From  To  FY2020   Purpose of transfer  FY2021   Purpose of transfer  For the six months ended June 30, 2022   Purpose of transfer
Banle Energy HK  Banle BVI  $291,000   $290,000 for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI. $1,000 for placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903    Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -
Banle Energy HK  Banle Marketing  $12,100   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903    Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -
Banle Energy HK  Banle China   -   -  $15,000    Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -
Banle Energy HK  Banle Malaysia  $22,000   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -   -
Banle BVI  Banle Marketing  $241   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -   -
Banle BVI  Banle Energy HK  $190,000   Partial repayment of the $290,000 previously provided by Banle Energy HK for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI.   -   -   -   -
Banle Energy HK 

Majestic Energy

(Singapore)

   -   -   -   -  $43,743   Placing initial deposit with banks for account opening and advances to Majestic Energy (Singapore) for operating expenses
Banle Energy HK  Majestic Energy   -   -   -   -  $625   Advance to Majestic Energy for administrative expenses

 

See “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. For the foreseeable future, we intend to use our earnings to further expand our business and as general working capital. As a result, in the foreseeable future, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends.

 

4. Our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, is dormant and does not have operations or assets. Since it has no earnings and profits, it has not distributed and will not distribute any dividends. In general, PRC companies’ ability to distribute dividends is based upon its distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit Majestic Energy to pay dividends to its respective shareholders only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, Majestic Energy 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 its registered capital. This reserve is not distributable as cash dividends, except in liquidation.

 

The Company does not have specific cash management policies that dictate how funds are transferred throughout the organization. See “Prospectus Summary – Our Corporate Structure – Transfer of cash within the organization.

 

The Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax at a rate of 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless reduced under treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and the governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are tax resident. Pursuant to the tax agreement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a PRC enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise may be reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10%. However, if the relevant tax authorities determine that our transactions or arrangements are for the primary purpose of enjoying a favorable tax treatment, the relevant tax authorities may adjust the favorable withholding tax in the future. Accordingly, in the very unlikely scenario that Majestic Energy distributes dividends, there is no assurance that the reduced 5% withholding rate will apply to dividends received by our Hong Kong subsidiary from Majestic Energy. This withholding tax will reduce the amount of dividends we may receive from Majestic Energy.

 

As of the date of this prospectus, there were no cash flows between CBL International or Banle BVI and our subsidiaries. However, to the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China – In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business” on page 32 and “– To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets” on page 33.

 

 
 

 

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or other securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S.. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would amend the HFCAA and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three. Pursuant to the HFCAA, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) the People’s Republic of China because of a position taken by one or more authorities in mainland China; and (2) Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in Hong Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified the specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our registered public accounting firm, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, is not headquartered in China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the PCAOB is not able to fully conduct inspections of our auditor’s work papers in China or Hong Kong, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection which could result in the limitation or restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets and trading of our securities may be prohibited under the HFCAA. See “Risk Factor – Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor. In that case, Nasdaq would delist our securities. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections may deprive our investors with the benefits of such inspections.

 

Moreover, our principal executive offices are located in Malaysia and Hong Kong, and a majority of our executive officers and directors may be located in or have significant ties to Malaysia and/or Hong Kong. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States on our Company, executive officers and directors, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our Company, executive officers and directors.

 

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 17 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered before making a decision to purchase our ordinary shares.

 

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

   Per Share   Total 
Public offering price  $4.0   $13,300,000 
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)(2)  $0.28   $931,000 
Proceeds, before expenses, to us  $3.72   $12,369,000 

 

(1) Represents underwriting discount and commissions equal to 7% per share, which is the underwriting discount we have agreed to pay on investors in this offering introduced by the underwriters.
(2) Does not include a non-accountable expense allowance equal to 1% of the gross proceeds of this offering, payable to the underwriters, or the reimbursement of certain expenses of the underwriters. For a description of the compensation payable to the underwriters, see “Underwriting.”

 

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than 3,325,000 ordinary shares in this offering, the underwriters have a 45-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of 498,750 additional ordinary shares from us at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts.

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the ordinary shares against payment on or about March 27, 2023.

 

Sole Book-Running Manager

 

 

Pacific Century Securities, LLC

 

Co-Manager

 

 

Spartan Capital Securities LLC

 

Prospectus dated March 22, 2023

 

 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  Page
Prospectus Summary 1
Summary Consolidated Financial Data 14
Risk Factors 17
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Industry Data 42
Use of Proceeds 43
Dividend Policy 43
Capitalization 44
Dilution 45
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities 46
Our History and Corporate Structure 48
Selected Consolidated Financial Data 51
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 52
Industry 60
Business 62
Regulations 78
Management 85
Principal Shareholders 90
Related Party Transactions 91
Description of Share Capital 92
Shares Eligible for Future Sale 106
Taxation 107
Underwriting 115
Expenses Related to this Offering 120
Legal Matters 120
Experts 120
Where You Can Find More Information 120
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements F-1

 

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent as to anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell, and we are seeking offers to buy, only the ordinary shares offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the ordinary shares.

 

Neither we nor the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or the possession or distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where other action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the ordinary shares and the distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus outside of the United States.

 

Until April 16, 2023 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus.

 

i
 

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

This summary highlights selected information contained in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our ordinary shares. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, including “Risk Factors” and the financial statements, before making an investment decision. This prospectus contains information from an industry report prepared by Frost & Sullivan Limited, or Frost & Sullivan, an independent industry consultant, to provide information regarding our industry. We refer to this report as the “F&S Report.”

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle International Group Limited (“Banle BVI”), a company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with registered number 2039076, and its subsidiaries, but in August 2022, we completed the Reorganization described in “Our History and Corporate Structure – The Reorganization” pursuant to which Banle BVI became a wholly owned subsidiary of CBL International Limited (“CBL International”), an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and restated from time to time (the “Companies Act”). Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, the terms the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “our Group” and “our business” refer, prior to the Reorganization discussed below, to Banle BVI and, after the Reorganization, to CBL International, in each case together with its consolidated subsidiaries as a consolidated entity. Where the discussions in the context relate to business operations and/or financial performance, then the terms “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company,” “our Group” and “our business” refer, both prior to and after the Reorganization, to the business operations and/or financial performance of the Operating Subsidiaries. All specific references in this prospectus to “CBL International” and “Banle BVI” refer to CBL International Limited and Banle International Group Limited respectively, each a holding company with no operation of its own.

 

Presentation of Financial Information

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle BVI and its subsidiaries. CBL International has not commenced operations and has nominal assets and liabilities. Upon completion of the Reorganization in August 2022, Banle BVI became a subsidiary of CBL International. Our financial statements present the financial position and results of operations of CBL International and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Banle BVI and its subsidiaries.

 

Overview

 

We are an established marine fuel logistics company providing a one-stop solution for vessel refueling, which is referred to as bunkering facilitator in the bunkering industry, in the Asia Pacific. We purchase and arrange our suppliers to actually deliver marine fuel to our customers, some of which we provide certain credit term of payment while we also receive payment credit from our suppliers. We rely on the permits and licenses of our suppliers for the actual delivery of marine fuel at each port. Since the establishment of our Group in 2015, container liner operators have been identified as our target customers. Container liner operators provide liner services which operate on a schedule with a fixed port rotation and fixed frequency, which is similar to bus operation under which buses go on fixed routes and calling at fixed stops for passengers to board and alight. Knowing the nature of the business of our target customers, we continually look to broaden our operations by (a) expanding our servicing network to cover more ports; and (b) providing more value-added services to tailor for our customers’ growing demands with respect to vessel refueling.

 

Our operations are based in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. We do not conclude and book any transactions in China. All of our transactions for vessel refueling services were concluded in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and our revenue were booked under our subsidiaries established in Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore. Although we deliver our services through our suppliers mainly in China and Hong Kong, nearly all our customers are international container liner operators from outside of China and Hong Kong. Of our five largest customers from whom we generated 92.9% and 83.6% respectively of our total revenue for FY2020 and FY2021, two customers are Taiwanese companies, two are Singaporean companies, and one is a German company; whilst for the six months ended June 30, 2022, the five largest customers who contributed 77% in aggregate of our total revenue consisted of two Taiwanese companies, two Singaporean companies and one Japanese company.

 

We act as a bunkering facilitator and leverage on our close business relationships with parties amongst our supply network in the value chain to provide one-stop solution for vessel refueling. Our services mainly involve (i) making vessel refueling options available to our customers at various ports along their voyages in the Asia Pacific; (ii) arranging vessel refueling activities at competitive pricing (iii) coordinating vessel refueling to meet our customers’ schedule during their various port visits in the Asia Pacific; (iv) providing trade credit to our customers in relation to vessel refueling; (v) arranging local physical delivery of marine fuel to meet our customers’ schedule; (vi) handling unforeseeable circumstances faced by our customers and providing contingency solutions to our customers in a timely manner; (vii) fulfilling special requests from our customers in relation to vessel refueling; and (viii) handling disputes, mainly in relation to quality and quantity issues on marine fuel, if any.

 

As of the date of this prospectus, as advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we and our subsidiaries (including our dormant PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, and all other non-PRC subsidiaries) (1) are not required to obtain permissions from any PRC authorities to operate or issue our securities to foreign investors, (2) are not subject to permission requirements from the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) or any other entity that is required to approve of our operations in China, and (3) have not received or were denied such permissions by any PRC authorities. However, if (1) we are required to but do not receive or maintain approvals from the PRC authorities, or (2) we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required, or (3) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change such that we are required to obtain approval in the future, we may be subject to investigations by competent regulators, fines or penalties, ordered to suspend our relevant operations and rectify any non-compliance, prohibited from engaging in relevant business or conducting any offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations, 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.

 

 

1
 

 

Our Business

 

We have an estimated market share of approximately 4.9%, 11.7% and 36.4% respectively in terms of volume of fuel oil supplied to international container liner operators in the Asia Pacific, China and Hong Kong in 2021, and ranked second amongst bunkering facilitators in both China and Hong Kong. The Asia Pacific is one of the key regions of marine fuel consumption with a market share of approximately 46.8% of the global fuel consumption volume in 2021 driven by its significant share in the global trade and frequent business activities. By utilizing working capital resources available to us, we have been able to achieve continuous business growth since our inception in 2015. Despite the COVID-19 impact during 2020, we recorded an increase in revenue from approximately $234.3 million in FY2020 to approximately $326.5 million in FY2021, representing an increase of approximately 39.4%, which was primarily attributable to the increase in average market price per ton of marine fuel. Our sales volume decreased slightly by 5.6% from 655,660 metric tons in FY2020 to 618,695 metric tons in FY2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, our revenue increased by 47.9% from approximately $159.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 to approximately $235.7 million.

 

Our business is built on a customer-oriented culture and focuses on providing marine fuel according to the required international standards with competitive prices and timely delivery services at ports agreed between our customers and our Group. Over the years, with our experienced management team, we have established an extensive supply network to provide our customers with more options and flexibility in fulfilling their vessel refueling requirements. Our supply network, which focuses on expanding our localities of services, is currently covering 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including but not limited to, three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand. Going forward, we intend to allocate more resources to further expand our supply network, targeting at continual market share enhancement.

 

For FY2020, FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022, our customer mix in terms of number of customers and revenue concentration remained relatively stable.  Most of our revenue is generated from international container liner operators whose vessels, by nature of their business, are sailing on regular routes and having stable and recurring demand for marine fuel in respect of quantity, quality and delivery timing. The vessels of international container liner operators may sail on regular routes, such as the Intra-Asia route, Euro-Asia route and Trans-Pacific route and we focus on providing vessel refueling services in the Asia Pacific. Our services covered the majority of the ports in the Asia Pacific along our customers’ sailing routes along the Intra-Asia route, Euro-Asia route and Trans-Pacific route.

 

According to the F&S Report, among the top 10 international container liner operators (ranked by fleet capacity as in February 2022) which, in aggregate, accounted for approximately 85% of the global container fleet capacity, five of them are our customers during the two years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the six months ended June 30, 2022. Our revenue generated from international container liner operators amounted to approximately US$223.2 million, US$297.2 million and US$200.9 million for FY2020 FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, representing approximately 95.3%, 91.0% and 85.2% of our total revenue in FY2020, FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively.  

 

As a demand aggregator, we are able to benefit from the economies of scale based on our customers’ aggregated orders, which, in turn, allow us to negotiate bulk purchase with our suppliers at favorable terms instead of our customers transacting with a large number of suppliers on an individual transaction basis. We derive our revenue mainly from the supply of marine fuel to our customers. For FY2020, we handled 790 vessels refueling with approximately 655,660 metric tons of marine fuel supplied while for FY2021, we handled 811 vessels refueling with approximately 618,695 metric tons of marine fuel supplied. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, we handled 487 vessels refueling with approximately 293,583 metric tons of marine fuel supplied.

 

2
 

 

 

Our Competitive Strengths

 

Flexible and integrated services through our supply network
Our economy of scale to negotiate on bulk purchase with our suppliers at favorable terms
Strong presence in major ports in the Asia Pacific
Effective treasury management system
Sustainable growth with minimal fixed asset investment
Experienced management team with extensive industry expertise

 

Our Business Strategies

 

Enlarging the number of local suppliers in Singapore and South Korea markets
Increasing our market share in our existing markets
Establishing financing facilities with financial institutions to strengthen the financial resources available to us
Procuring and developing a centralized management information system in order to enhance our daily management control and treasury management

 

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic

 

An outbreak of a respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 and has had a global effect. Despite the decline of trading and slowdown of economic growth during the first half of 2020 as a result of COVID-19 outbreak, the business and financial performance of major international container liner operators have improved since the third quarter of 2020 according to the F&S Report. Attributable to the factors such as (i) significant growth in the price of shipping due to the fact that shipping demand outweighed the limited vessel capacity when the vessel operation is disrupted by containment measures of the COVID-19 outbreak; and (ii) decline of bunker prices due to the slump in crude oil prices during the first half of 2020, the profitability of international container liner operators has seen significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

According to Alphaliner, a database tailor-made for the liner shipping industry, and as quoted in the F&S Report, the global container traffic in the Asia Pacific is expected to have a year-over-year increase of approximately 1.0% for the year ending December 31, 2022. Our Group also benefitted from such growth from international container liner operators as most of our revenue is generated from international container liner operators. Given the nature of our business of providing refueling services through our extensive supply network, we enjoyed the flexibility to respond to emergencies that occurred in individual ports, and thus we were not severely affected by COVID-19 in the fulfillment of our contractual obligations. Besides, we can always provide assistance to our customers when they experience port disturbance by re-arranging refueling of the vessel to the next feasible port in accordance with the request of our customers under our extensive supply network of 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand. Port disturbance includes, among others, adverse weather condition, port congestion, change in government regulations and temporary port closure due to COVID-19.

 

Our revenue increased from approximately $234.3 million for FY2020 to approximately $326.5 million for FY2021 whilst our sales volume decreased slightly by 5.6% from 655,660 metric tons in FY2020 to 618,695 metric tons in FY2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, our revenue increased by 47.9% from approximately $159.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 to approximately $235.7 million. The COVID-19 pandemic has not created any imminent or adverse impact on our business, as well as our financial position. We may arrange the vessels of our customers to get refueled in other neighborhood ports should the originally designated port not be available for bunkering due to COVID-19.

 

 

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Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

 

As more stringent criteria have been imposed by the SEC and the PCAOB recently, our securities may be prohibited from trading if our auditor cannot be fully inspected. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”), was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or other securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S.. 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 reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two.

 

On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (i) China, and (ii) Hong Kong. Our auditor, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, headquartered in New York, is an independent registered public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess Wei, Wei & Co., LLP’s compliance with applicable professional standards. The PCAOB currently has access to inspecting the working papers of our auditor. Our auditor is not headquartered in China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination.

 

See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in the Jurisdictions We Operate – Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor. In that case, Nasdaq would delist our securities. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections may deprive our investors with the benefits of such inspections.

 

Summary of Risk Factors

 

An investment in our ordinary shares is subject to a number of risks, including risks relating to our business and industry, risks relating to doing business in jurisdictions we operate, risks relating to doing business in China and risks relating to this offering. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in the ordinary shares. The following list summarizes some, but not all, of these risks. Please read the information in the section entitled “Risk Factors” for a more thorough description of these and other risks.

 

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

 

  Our business scale largely depends on the trade credit provided by our suppliers. Any reduction or termination of trade credit from our suppliers would adversely affect our business.
     
  We are dependent on our five largest customers during FY2020 and FY2021 and loss of any of them would adversely affect our business, results of operations and profitability.
     
  We are susceptible to the fluctuations in marine fuel price. Any significant increase in marine fuel prices may adversely affect our working capital requirements and financial condition.
     
  We are exposed to the risk that our competitors may undercut marine fuel prices, which would adversely affect our Group’s business and financial results.
     
  Our Group does not enter into long-term agreements with our customers. We cannot assume that our customers will continue to use our vessel refueling services, nor can we accurately forecast future orders from our customers.
     
  We are currently dependent on our five largest suppliers for marine fuel and the loss of any of them would adversely affect our business, results of operation and profitability.
     
  We may be exposed to the credit risks of our customers while we remain subject to satisfying payment obligations to our suppliers, which would adversely affect our financial condition and cash flow requirements.
     
  Certain requests from our customers to refuel at designated ports is out of our control, which may affect our working capital, business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  We may fail to arrange delivery of marine fuel timely to our customers, which would adversely affect our Group’s reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  We may fail to aggregate sufficient demand from our customers and this would adversely affect our Group’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  Material disruptions in the availability or supply of marine fuel would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  If the marine fuel we purchase from our suppliers fail to meet the contractual quality specifications we have agreed to supply, it would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  We are exposed to inventory risk and this could adversely affect our Group’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  Significant change in container liner schedules would have an adverse effect on our business.

 

 

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  Any failure to maintain the license to carry on an international commodity trading business in the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia may adversely affect our business, operations and profitability.
     
  Our historical financial condition and results of operations may not be indicative of our future growth and results of operations.
     
  We may experience net operating cash outflows.
     
  We may not be able to implement our business development strategies or expansion plans successfully.
     
  Negative publicity or damage to our Group’s business reputation may have a potential adverse impact on our business.
     
  We may be involved in disputes and/or legal proceedings arising from our operations from time to time and may face significant legal liabilities as a result.
     
  Our insurance may not provide adequate coverage for all potential losses and claims relating to our business operations and/or assets, and any uninsured losses incurred, may be substantial and therefore adversely affect our operations and financial results.
     
  Failure to adapt to market trends in the bunkering industry would adversely affect our business.
     
  Changes in regulations requiring our suppliers and customers to obtain various permits and/or licenses could adversely affect our business.
     
  Information technology failures and data security breaches would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
     
  We operate in a highly competitive industry, and failure to compete efficiently would adversely affect our operations and financial results.
     
  Global economic development and the level of international trade are critical factors affecting the demand for marine fuel, and a decline in international trade would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Risks Relating to Doing Business in Jurisdictions We Operate

 

  Economic, political and other risks associated with operations in countries which we operate may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations.
     
  The HFCAA Act, together with recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, Nasdaq rule changes, a determination by the PCAOB that they are unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments add uncertainties to our offering.
     
  Certain PRC regulations establish more complex procedures for acquisitions conducted by foreign investors that could make it more difficult for us to grow through acquisitions.
     
  You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing original actions in Malaysia or Hong Kong, based on United States or other foreign laws, against us, our directors, executive officers or the expert named in this prospectus.
     
  Changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government might adversely affect our business.
     
  Our Group may be subject to tax audit and investigation in Malaysia.

 

 

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Risks Relating to Doing Business in China

 

  Chinese government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - Depending on the needs of our target customers whose sailing routes cover different ports worldwide, we need to provide marine fuel logistic services through ports in the PRC. Therefore, our business may be subject to complex and rapidly evolving laws and regulations there. The Chinese government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities.” on page 29.
     
  If the Chinese government chooses to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, such action 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. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - If the Chinese government chooses to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, such action 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.” on page 29.
     
  China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business.” on page 30.
     
  There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China – There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations.” on page 31.
     
  The CSRC has released for public consultation the draft rules for China-based companies seeking to conduct initial public offerings in foreign markets, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares to investors and could cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless. See “Risk Factors - Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - The CSRC has released for public consultation the draft rules for China-based companies seeking to conduct initial public offerings in foreign markets. While such rules have not yet gone into effect, the Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares to investors and could cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless.” on page 32.
     
  Limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.” on page 32.
     
  To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.” on page 33.
     
  PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.” on page 33.
     
  Any requirement to obtain prior approval under the M&A Rules and/or any other regulations promulgated by relevant PRC regulatory agencies in the future could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors outside China and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China – Any requirement to obtain prior approval under the M&A Rules and/or any other regulations promulgated by relevant PRC regulatory agencies in the future could delay this offering and failure to obtain any such approvals, if required, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and reputation as well as the trading price of our ordinary shares, and could also create uncertainties for this offering and affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors outside China,on page 34.
     
  Certain PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - Certain PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.” on page 35.
     
  U.S. regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our operations in China. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China - U.S. regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries.” on page 36.

 

 

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Risks Relating to the Initial Public Offering in the U.S.

 

  An active trading market for the ordinary shares on Nasdaq might not develop or be sustained, their trading prices might fluctuate significantly and the liquidity of our ordinary shares would be materially affected.
     
  The trading price of the ordinary shares may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to you.
     
  We may experience extreme stock price volatility unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our ordinary shares.
     
  We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which could cause our stock price to decline.
     
  If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the ordinary shares and trading volume could decline.
     
  Because the offering price is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per ordinary share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution
     
  Our management has significant discretion over use of proceeds of this offering.
     
  We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, will not be subject to U.S. proxy rules and will be subject to more lenient and less frequent Exchange Act reporting obligations than a U.S. issuer.
     
  We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company.”
     
  We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.
     
  As an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements.
     
  You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, conduct substantially all of our operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong and all of our directors and officers reside outside the United States.
     
  Cayman Islands law differs from the laws in effect in the United States and may afford less protection to shareholders.
     
  As a company incorporated in Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.

 

Our History and Corporate Structure

 

We were incorporated on February 8, 2022 in the Cayman Islands under the name “CBL International Limited”. Pursuant to the Reorganization in August 2022, CBL International Limited became the holding company of Banle BVI and its operating subsidiaries, which are located in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our founder and Chairman, has over 15 years of experience in petroleum management related activities from his past employment with companies principally involved in oil and gas related industries where he gained extensive experience in bunkering operations. Our history can be traced back to 2015 when Banle Energy HK was incorporated in August 2015 which carries on the business of marine fuel logistics in the Asia Pacific.

 

With the insight of our founder and the joint effort of our management team, despite our relatively short history, our Group managed to expand our vessel refueling services in the Asia Pacific rapidly and we have provided services in 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand.

 

Upon completion of the Reorganization described below, our Group comprises our Company, Banle BVI, Banle Energy HK, Reliance HK, Banle Marketing, Banle Malaysia, Banle China, Majestic Energy and Majestic Energy (Singapore).

 

The Reorganization

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle BVI, incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with registered number 2039076, and its subsidiaries. On February 8, 2022, we formed CBL International Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the Companies Act, for purposes of effectuating this offering.

 

In August 2022, we completed a reorganization of our corporate structure pursuant to which Banle BVI became a wholly owned subsidiary of CBL International. To effect the Reorganization, the existing shareholders of Banle BVI, namely CBL (Asia) and Straits Energy Resources Berhad (“Straits”), Banle BVI and CBL International entered into a sale and purchase agreement, pursuant to which CBL International acquired the entire issued share capital of Banle BVI from CBL (Asia) and Straits, in consideration of which CBL International allotted and issued ordinary shares to CBL (Asia) and Straits representing 62% and 38%, respectively, of its total issued share capital. Existing shares of CBL International were surrendered and cancelled for no consideration following such sale and purchase. In this prospectus, we refer to all of these events as the “Reorganization”.

 

 

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Our Corporate Structure

 

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure following the Reorganization but immediately prior to the consummation of this offering.

 

 

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure following the consummation of this offering.

 

 

(1) CBL (Asia) Limited is a limited liability company incorporated in Hong Kong which is owned as to 51% by Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 44% by Ms. Xiaoling Lu and 4% by Mr. Yuan He.
   
(2) Straits Energy Resources Berhad, or Straits, is a Malaysian company whose shares are listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (stock code: 0080). As at 13 April 2022, Dato’ Sri Kam Choy Ho and Sturgeon Asia Ltd are the shareholders holding not less than 5% of the issued shares of Straits, which own approximately 7.78% and 6.51% of the issued shares of Straits respectively.

 

 

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Transfer of cash within the organization

 

Upon completion of the Reorganization, the structure of cash flows within our organization, and a summary of the applicable regulations, are as follows:

1. Our equity structure is an indirect holding structure, that is, the overseas entity to be listed in the U.S., CBL International, indirectly controls, through Banle BVI our wholly-owned Operating Subsidiaries. We did not have and do not intend to have any cash transfer to or from our dormant PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, other than cash transfer in small amount to pay for administrative expenses. During the six months ended June 30, 2022, there was a one-off cash transfer in the amount of $625 from Banle Energy HK to Majestic Energy for settling administrative expenses.

2. Within our holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of the respective jurisdictions where our Operating Subsidiaries are established, namely Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. After foreign investors’ funds enter CBL International at the close of this offering, the funds can be directly transferred to Banle BVI, and then transferred to our Operating Subsidiaries.

If CBL International intends to distribute dividends, the Operating Subsidiaries will transfer the dividends to Banle BVI in accordance with the laws and regulations of Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, and then Banle BVI will transfer the dividends to CBL International, and the dividends will be distributed from CBL International 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.

3. In the reporting periods presented in this prospectus and up to the date of this prospectus, save for (i) dividend distribution of $600,000 and $800,000 by Banle Energy HK to CBL (Asia), the then sole shareholder of Banle Energy HK, in July 2018 and February 2019, respectively; and (ii) cash transfers among entities of the Group that are made in the ordinary course of business as set forth below, no cash and other asset transfers have occurred among Banle BVI and its subsidiaries or from Banle BVI and its subsidiaries to investors; and no dividends or distributions from any of the subsidiaries has been made to Banle BVI or to investors, or from Banle BVI to any of the subsidiaries or to investors.

 

The following are the aggregate intra-group cash transfers for FY2020 and FY2021 and for the six months ended June 30, 2022:

 

From  To  FY2020   Purpose of transfer  FY2021   Purpose of transfer  For the six months ended June 30, 2022   Purpose of transfer 
Banle Energy HK  Banle BVI  $291,000   $290,000 for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI. $1,000 for placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle Marketing  $12,100   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle China   -   -  $15,000   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle Malaysia  $22,000   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -    - 
Banle BVI  Banle Marketing  $241   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -    - 
Banle BVI  Banle Energy HK  $190,000   Partial repayment of the $290,000 previously provided by Banle Energy HK for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI.   -   -   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Majestic Energy (Singapore)   -   -   -   -  $43,742.72    Placing initial deposit with banks for account opening and advances to Majestic Energy (Singapore) for operating expenses 
Banle Energy HK  Majestic Energy   -   -   -   -  $625    Advance to Majestic Energy for administrative expenses 

 

See “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. For the foreseeable future, we intend to use our earnings to further expand our business and as general working capital. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends.

 

4. Our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, is dormant and does not have operations or assets. Since it has no earnings and profits, it has not distributed and will not distribute any dividends. In general, Majestic Energy’s ability to distribute dividends is based upon its distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit Majestic Energy to pay dividends to its respective shareholders only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, Majestic Energy 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 its registered capital. This reserve is not distributable as cash dividends, except in liquidation.

The Company does not have specific cash management policies that dictate how funds are transferred throughout the organization. It is the Company’s general policy to minimize unnecessary cash transfers among entities and keep funds within the entities where they are raised or generated in order to support the local entity’s operations. For example, if the funds are generated in a subsidiary in Hong Kong, then the Company’s general approach will be to use those funds to support the Hong Kong subsidiary’s operations, with the exception of required funding for capital investments.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Shortages in availability of foreign currency may then restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to remit sufficient foreign currency to our offshore entities for our offshore entities to pay dividends or make other payments or otherwise to satisfy our foreign-currency-denominated obligations. Therefore, to the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.

See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China – In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business” on page 32 and “– To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets” on page 33.

 

Our Corporate Information

 

We are registered with the Registrar of Companies in Cayman Islands under registration number CT-387046. Our principal executive offices are located at Suite 19-9-6, Level 9, UOA Centre, No. 19 Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our telephone number at this address is 60-3-2703-2966. Our registered office in Cayman Islands is located at Conyers Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, PO Box 2681, Grand Cayman, KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices set forth above.

 

Our main website is www.banle-intl.com, and the information contained on this website is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY10168.

 

 

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Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

 

As a company with less than $1.07 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, related to the assessment of the effectiveness of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and acknowledge such election is irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act.

 

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least $1.07 billion; (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering; (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of the ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and we have been subject to the reporting requirements under the Exchange Act for at least twelve months. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.

 

Foreign Private Issuer Status

 

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act. As such, we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies. For example:

 

  we are not required to provide as many Exchange Act reports, or as frequently, as a domestic public company;
     
  for interim reporting, we are permitted to comply solely with our home country requirements, which are less rigorous than the rules that apply to domestic public companies;
     
  we are not required to provide the same level of disclosure on certain issues, such as executive compensation;
     
  we are exempt from provisions of Regulation FD aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information;
     
  we are not required to comply with the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; and
     
  we are not required to comply with Section 16 of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and establishing insider liability for profits realized from any “short-swing” trading transaction.

 

We will be required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

 

The Nasdaq listing rules provide that a foreign private issuer may follow the practices of its home country, which for us is Cayman Islands, rather than the Nasdaq rules as to certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that the issuer have a majority of independent directors and the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee requirements, the requirement to disclose third party director and nominee compensation and the requirement to distribute annual and interim reports. A foreign private issuer that follows a home country practice in lieu of one or more of the listing rules shall disclose in its annual reports filed with the SEC each requirement that it does not follow and describe the home country practice followed by the issuer in lieu of such requirements. Although we do not currently intend to take advantage of these exceptions to the Nasdaq corporate governance rules, we may in the future take advantage of one or more of these exemptions.

 

10
 

 

Conventions That Apply to This Prospectus

 

Unless we indicate otherwise, references in this prospectus to:

 

  “Banle BVI” are to Banle International Group Limited, a company incorporated in the BVI with limited liability on July 2, 2020 and our direct wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “Banle China” are to Banle International (China) Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability on March 31, 2021 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “Banle Energy HK” are to Banle Energy International Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability on August 18, 2015 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “Banle Malaysia” are to Banle International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a private company limited by shares duly incorporated in Malaysia on July 16, 2020 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “Banle Marketing” are to Banle International Marketing Limited, a Labuan company limited by shares incorporated in the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia on August 18, 2020 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “CAGR” are to compound annual growth rate;
     
  “CBL International” are to CBL International Limited, an exempted company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands on February 8, 2022;
     
  “China” and the “PRC” are to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this prospectus only, Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region;
     
  “Companies Act” are to Companies Act, Cap.22 (Act 3 of 1961, as combined and revised) of the Cayman Islands;
     
  “FY2020” are to the financial year ended December 31, 2020;
     
  “FY2021” are to the financial year ended December 31, 2021;
     
  “HK$” are to Hong Kong Dollars, the legal currency of Hong Kong;
     
  “Hong Kong” are to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region;
     
  “Majestic Energy” are to Majestic Energy (Shenzhen) Co. Limited, a company established in the PRC with limited liability on April 29, 2021 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “Majestic Energy (Singapore)” are to Majestic Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a company incorporated in Singapore with limited liability on January 11, 2022 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “MOPS” are to Mean of Platts Singapore, the average set of Singapore-based oil product price assessments published by Platts and the benchmark price in Asia for most refined products;
     
  “Operating Subsidiaries” are to Banle Marketing, Banle Energy HK, Majestic Energy (Singapore) and Banle Malaysia;
     
  “ordinary shares” are to our ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share;
     
  “Reliance HK” are to Reliance (China) Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability on April 1, 2012 and our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary;
     
  “RM” are to Malaysian ringgit, the legal currency of Malaysia;
     
  “spot contract” are to a contract for the physical delivery of marine fuel to a designated vessel of a ship operator, which is entered into within a few days (generally around 10 days) before the date of actual delivery;
     
  “term contract” are to a contract for the physical delivery of marine fuel to a number of vessels under the same fleet of a ship operator for a period of time (generally six months);
     
  “VLSFO” are to very low sulphur fuel oil, a type of marine fuel whose sulphur level is limited to 0.5%;
     
  “$,” “U.S. dollars,” or “dollars” are to the legal currency of the United States; and
     
  “we,” “us,” “our Company,” “our Group” and “our” are to, prior to the Reorganization, Banle BVI and, after the Reorganization, CBL International, in each case together with its consolidated subsidiaries as a consolidated entity, as the context requires.

 

11
 

 

 

Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollars, which is also our functional currency.

 

The Offering

 

Price per share   $4.0 per ordinary share.
     
Ordinary Shares Offered by Us   3,325,000 ordinary shares (or 3,823,750 ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full)
     
Over-allotment Option   We have granted the underwriters an option, exercisable for a period of 45 days from the closing of this offering, to purchase up to 498,750 additional ordinary shares at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts.
     
Ordinary Shares Outstanding Immediately After This Offering   24,575,000 ordinary shares (or 25,073,750 ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full)
     
Ordinary Shares   Pursuant to our current memorandum and articles of association, we are authorized to issue 500,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value of $0.0001 each. See “Description of Share Capital” for more information.
     
Use of Proceeds   We estimate that we will receive from this offering net proceeds of approximately $11.04 million, or approximately $12.87 million if the underwriters exercise in full the over-allotment option to purchase additional ordinary shares, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us, based on a public offering price of $4.0 per ordinary share.

 

 

12
 

 

 

    We anticipate using the net proceeds of this offering for (i) enlarging the number of local suppliers to enhance our competitiveness as well as to increase the service options available in Singapore and South Korea markets; (ii) further increasing the market shares in our existing markets; (iii) making use of cash collaterals to conduct trade financing activities with financial institutions, thus creating transaction records for further acquisition of bank financing to facilitate our business growth; (iv) procuring and developing a centralized management information system in order to enhance our daily management control and treasury management; and (v) general working capital.
     
    See “Use of Proceeds” for more information.
     
Lock-up   In connection with this offering, we have agreed not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ordinary shares, ordinary shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of completion of this offering, subject to certain exceptions; and our directors, executive officers and shareholders of 5% or more of our ordinary shares agreed not to sell, transfer or dispose of any ordinary shares, ordinary shares or similar securities for a period of 180 days after the date of completion of this offering, subject to certain exceptions. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and “Underwriting.”
     
Risk Factors   See “Risk Factors” and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of the risks relating to investing in the ordinary shares. You should carefully consider these risks before deciding to invest in the ordinary shares.
     
Listing   Our ordinary shares have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and are not currently listed on any other exchange or quoted for trading on any over-the-counter trading system.
     
Nasdaq Trading Symbol  

BANL

     
Payment and settlement   The underwriters expect to deliver the ordinary shares against payment on March 27, 2023.
     

Transfer Agent

 

VStock Transfer, LLC

 

The total number of ordinary shares that will be outstanding immediately after this offering will be 24,575,000 ordinary shares (or 25,073,750 ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full), which is based upon (i) 21,250,000 ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering; and (ii) 3,325,000 ordinary shares (or 3,823,750 ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full) issued in connection with this offering. Unless we specifically state otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes no exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option.

 

13
 

 

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle BVI and its subsidiaries. In August 2022, we completed the Reorganization pursuant to which Banle BVI became a subsidiary of CBL International. Our financial statements present the financial position and results of operations of CBL International and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Banle BVI and its subsidiaries.

 

The following summary consolidated statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income data and summary consolidated statements of cash flows data for years ended December 2021 and 2020, and the summary consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following summary consolidated statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income data and summary consolidated statements of cash flows data for six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, and the summary consolidated statement of financial position as of June 30, 2022 have been derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period. The following summary consolidated financial data for the periods and as of the dates indicated are qualified by reference to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and related notes and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” both of which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Summary Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income Data

 

  

For the Six Months Ended

June 30,

  

For the Years Ended

December 31,

 
   2022   2021   2021   2020 
   (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)         
Revenue  $235,696,705   $159,384,219   $326,540,712   $234,257,668 
Cost of revenue   231,653,262    156,320,836    318,950,082    228,046,959 
                     
Gross profit   4,043,443    3,063,383    7,590,630    6,210,709 
                     
Operating expenses:                    
Selling and distribution   517,724    368,787    967,354    693,551 
General and administrative   1,978,613    960,957    2,392,279    2,065,378 
Total operating costs and expenses   2,496,337    1,329,744    3,359,633    2,758,929 
                     
Income from operations   1,547,106    1,733,639    4,230,997    3,451,780 
                     
Other (income) expense:                    
Interest expense, net   119,230    2,723    3,359    718 
Currency exchange loss   (14,812)   1,401    2,349    7,479 
Write off of property, plant and equipment   -    -    -    11,714 
Equity investment income   -    -    -    (179,635)
Loss on sale of equity investment   -    -    -    206,710 
Total other expenses   104,418    4,124    5,708    46,986 
                     
Income before provision for income taxes   1,442,688    1,729,515    4,225,289    3,404,794 
Provision for income taxes   353,792    287,669    656,321    527,071 
Net income  $1,088,896   $1,441,846   $3,568,968   $2,877,723 
                     
Comprehensive income  $1,088,896   $1,441,846   $3,568,968   $2,877,723 
                     
Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share  $0.05#  $0.07#  $7.28*  $5.87*
                     
Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding – basic and diluted   21,250,000#   21,250,000#   490,323*   490,323*

 

* Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in February 2021.

# Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in August 2022.

 

14
 

 

Summary Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Data

 

   June 30,   December 31,   December 31, 
   2022   2021   2020 
   (Unaudited)         
Assets:               
Current Assets               
Cash  $4,506,274   $3,035,321   $5,561,051 
Accounts receivable   23,213,703    18,043,235    16,709,025 
Derivative assets   603,137    291,860    - 
Prepayments and other current assets   3,151,386    3,834,585    69,086 
Due from related parties   1,781,401    1,509,988    786,291 
Total current assets   33,255,901    26,714,989    23,125,453 
                
Property, plant and equipment, net   123,085    122,326    162,634 
Right-of-use lease assets, net   84,068    155,323    278,076 
                
Total assets  $33,463,054   $26,992,638   $23,566,163 
                
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity:               
Liabilities               
Current liabilities               
Accounts payable  $22,648,655   $18,297,191   $18,068,538 
Taxes payable   448,056    98,417    125,446 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities   44,218    47,459    16,581 
Derivative liabilities   -    -    262,310 
Due to a related party   719,773           
Short-term lease liabilities   73,769    72,730    112,685 
Total current liabilities   23,934,471    18,515,797    18,585,560 
                
Long-term lease liabilities   12,502    49,656    122,386 
Total liabilities   23,946,973    18,565,453    18,707,946 
                
Commitment and contingencies        -    - 
                
Shareholders’ equity:               

Ordinary shares, $1 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, 490,323 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020*

Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized, 21,250,000 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2022#

   2,125    490,323    490,323 
Additional paid-in capital   488,198    -    - 
Retained earnings   9,025,758    7,936,862    4,367,894 
 Total shareholders’ equity   9,516,081    8,427,185    4,858,217 
                
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity  $33,463,054   $26,992,638   $23,566,163 

 

* Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in February 2021.

# Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in August 2022

 

15
 

 

Summary Consolidated Cash Flow Data:

 

  

For the Six Months Ended

June 30,

  

For the Years Ended

December 31,

 
   2022   2021   2021   2020 
   (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)         
Cash Flows from operating activities:                    
Net income  $1,088,896   $1,441,846   $3,568,968   $2,877,723 
Adjustment to reconcile net income to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:                    
Depreciation and amortization   42,376    29,185    59,461    30,797 
Depreciation of right-of-use assets   36,029    76,157    122,753    116,099 
Write off of property, plant and equipment   -    -    -    11,714 
Equity investment income   -    -    -    (179,635)
Loss on sale of equity investment   -    -    -    206,710 
Change in fair value of derivative   (311,277)   (262,310)   (291,860)   262,310 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities                    
Accounts receivable   (5,170,468)   (4,579,613)   (1,334,210)   1,372,799 
Prepayments and other current assets   683,199    (81,154)   (3,765,499)   (27,135)
Due from related parties   (271,413)   (562,747)   (723,697)   (273,236)
Accounts payable   4,351,464    1,960,006    228,653    (596,932)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities   (3,241)   2,396    30,878    10,388 
Derivatives   -    -    (262,310)   - 
Lease liabilities   (36,115)   (77,110)   (112,685)   (121,493)
Taxes payable   349,639    287,669    (27,029)   (327,782)
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities   759,089    (1,765,675)   (2,506,577)   3,362,327 
                     
Cash flows from investing activities:                    
Purchase of property, plant and equipment   (7,909)   (1,449)   (19,153)   (150,955)
Proceeds from sale of equity investment   -    -    -    603,881 
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities   (7,909)   (1,449)   (19,153)   452,926 
                     
Cash flows from financing activities:                    
Advance to a director   -    -    -    (1,314,295)
Advance from a related party   719,773    -    -    - 
Net cash (used in) financing activities   719,773    -    -    (1,314,295)
                     
Net (decrease) increase in cash   1,470,953    (1,767,124)   (2,525,730)   2,500,958 
Cash at the beginning of the year   3,035,321    5,561,051    5,561,051    3,060,093 
Cash at the end of the year  $4,506,274   $3,793,927   $3,035,321   $5,561,051 
                     
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOWS INFORMATION:                    
Cash paid during the year for:                    
Interest  $119,270   $2,764   $7,987   $5,036 
Income taxes  $4,210   $-   $683,350   $854,853 
                     
NON-CASH TRANSACTION OF INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES                    
Assignment of an amount due from a director, Mr. Teck Lim Chia (“Mr. Chia”), to a related party, controlled by Mr. Chia  $-   $-   $513,055   $- 

 

 

16
 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

An investment in the ordinary shares involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in the ordinary shares. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends. In any such case, the market price of the ordinary shares could decline, and you may lose part or all of your investment.

 

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

 

We are a marine fuel logistics company and we rely on the permits and licenses of our suppliers for the actual delivery of marine fuel to our customers. Under our business model, we are not involved in the handling of marine fuel or other chemicals. Therefore, we do not consider ourselves subject to risks relating to environmental protection and hazard control. For further details of our operation flows, see “Business – Our Operations Flows.”

 

Our business scale largely depends on the trade credit provided by our suppliers. Any reduction or termination of trade credit from our suppliers would adversely affect our business.

 

As an established marine fuel logistics company providing one-stop solution for vessel refueling, which is referred to as bunkering facilitator in the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific, we are generally required by our suppliers to settle the full payment of our orders with payment terms up to 30 days.

 

We constantly receive inquiries from customers for quotations and orders. However, due to limited trade credit offered by our suppliers and our Group’s financial resources, we can only accept orders which are commercially viable to us. In order to maximize our capability for accepting orders, we may (i) obtain trade credit from new suppliers; (ii) increase the trade credit from existing suppliers; and/or (iii) increase financial resources available to us. Generally, our suppliers will impose stringent internal control policies to select approved customers, including but not limited to, assessing background information, financial information, quantity of marine fuel to be purchased and obtaining credit report. Therefore, we have to make applications to the suppliers to be their approved customers prior to the commencement of our business relationships. There is no assurance that our applications submitted to the suppliers would be approved.

 

In general, the trade credit would be reviewed and assessed by our suppliers from time to time. There is no assurance that our suppliers would maintain the trade credit and/or credit terms offered to us. In the event that our suppliers decide to reduce or terminate the trade credit and/or credit terms offered to us, our cash flow would be adversely affected and we may have insufficient working capital to run our day-to-day operations.

 

We are dependent on our five largest customers during FY2020 and FY2021 and loss of any of them would adversely affect our business, results of operations and profitability.

 

For FY2020 and FY2021, the revenue from our five largest customers accounted for approximately 92.9% and 83.6%, respectively, of our total revenue; and the revenue attributable to our largest customer accounted for approximately 45.8% and 42.3% of our total revenue, respectively. Accordingly, we are heavily dependent on the relationships with our five largest customers.

 

17
 

 

There is no assurance that our five largest customers will continue to use our vessel refueling services or that our Group can successfully maintain our relationships with them in the future. In the event that our Group is unable to retain these customers or to successfully seek replacement customers or a major customer’s business declines and substantially reduces its demand of our services, our business, results of operations and profitability would be adversely affected.

 

We are susceptible to the fluctuations in marine fuel price. Any significant increase in marine fuel price may adversely affect our working capital requirements and financial condition.

 

Marine fuel prices may fluctuate due to factors out of our control. These factors include, among others, global economic conditions, changes in global crude oil prices, expected and actual supply of and demand for marine fuel, political conditions, changes in laws and regulations related to environmental matters (including those mandating or incentivizing alternative energy sources or otherwise addressing global climate change), changes in pricing or production controls by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), technological advances affecting energy consumption and supply, energy conservation efforts, price and availability of alternative fuels, and weather.

 

The fluctuations in marine fuel price, which is out of our control, may affect our working capital requirements. Since our operation scale is limited by our working capital, for a given period of time, if the marine fuel prices increase substantially as a result of policies or controls imposed by the relevant regulatory authorities, we could purchase less marine fuel from our suppliers with the same level of financial resources and same trade credit offered by our suppliers. We are therefore vulnerable to such unfavorable changes in government policies or controls on marine fuel prices. In the event that there is a significant increase in the price of marine fuel, we might require additional working capital in order to fulfil our customers’ need. To ensure a positive gross profit for each transaction, we price our services on a “cost plus fixed fee” basis, i.e. we are able to obtain a premium, being the difference between the selling price per metric ton of marine fuel sold to our customers and the corresponding purchase cost from our suppliers. Therefore, generally speaking, the more quantity of marine fuel we procure for our customers, the more profit we generate. If the marine fuel price increases significantly and we cannot obtain sufficient financial resources and improve our cash flow in time to ensure we can procure similar amount of marine fuel from our suppliers, we may not be able to deliver as much marine fuel to customers as we could when the marine fuel price is at a relatively low level and our profitability may be adversely affected, and the requirement for additional working capital may tighten our operating cash flows, which may in turn adversely affect our financial condition. Our gross profit margin decreased from approximately 2.7% for FY2020 to approximately 2.3% for FY2021 mainly because of the significant increase in the average market price per tonne of marine fuel during FY2021, which also resulted in a significant increase in our revenue. Since revenue is the denominator in calculating the gross profit margin, when marine fuel price increases, our gross profit margin inherently decreases notwithstanding our “cost plus fixed fee” pricing policy which only ensures a fixed monetary amount (i.e. the premium) per ton sold. Given the nature of our business, our gross profit margin will be inevitably affected by the fluctuation of marine fuel price, and hence gross profit margin is generally not a key indicator for evaluation of our profitability. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Key performance indicators.” According to the statistics released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, brent crude oil price is anticipated to reach an average of approximately $108 per barrel in the second half of 2022, similar to the price level since the Russian and Ukraine crisis at approximately $117 per barrel, $105 per barrel and $113 per barrel in March, April and May 2022, respectively. According to the F&S Report, assuming there are no other externalities such as financial and political crisis or natural disaster to affect the demand and supply of crude oil or marine fuel globally during 2022, the crude oil price is expected to remain at a similar level as in the first half of 2022 in the remaining months of 2022 with a fluctuation range of approximately 10% to 15%. To mitigate the effects of working capital limitation and future unexpected increase in marine fuel price, it is our strategy to strengthen the financial resources available to us by utilizing bank facilities and to obtain better trade credit from our suppliers, and we do not anticipate any material impact to our future results of operations in light of the current expected oil price trend.

 

We are exposed to the risk that our competitors may undercut marine fuel prices, which would adversely affect our Group’s business and financial results.

 

If our competitors undercut marine fuel prices to increase their market share and we fail to effectively compete with them, customers may choose to procure vessel refueling services from such competitors, causing a shortfall in our revenue that would adversely affect our business and financial results due to such intensified competitive environment.

 

Our Group does not enter into long-term agreements with our customers and, we cannot assume that our customers will continue to use our vessel refueling services, nor can we accurately forecast future orders from our customers.

 

Our Group does not enter into long-term agreements with our customers and they place orders with us based on term contracts or spot contracts. Our customers are not obliged to continue to use our vessel refueling services at a level similar to that in the past or at all. The volume of their orders might vary significantly and it is difficult for us to forecast future orders accurately. Our customers’ level of demand may fluctuate due to factors out of our control, such as changes in their business strategies, purchasing preferences and product trends. If any of our major customers terminates its business relationship with us, and we fail to secure new customers or new orders from other existing customers in a timely manner, our business operations, financial performance and profitability would be adversely affected.

 

We are dependent on our five largest suppliers for the supply of marine fuel during FY2020 and FY2021 and loss of any of them would adversely affect our business, results of operations and profitability.

 

For FY2020 and FY2021, the amount of purchases from our five largest suppliers accounted for approximately 77.1% and 84.7%, respectively, of our total cost of revenue; and the purchases from our largest supplier accounted for approximately 36.1% and 34.0% of total cost of revenue, respectively. Accordingly, we are heavily dependent on the relationships with our five largest suppliers.

 

18
 

 

There is no assurance that there will be no deterioration in our relationships with our five largest suppliers, which would have an impact on our ability to secure future purchases of marine fuel. Any shortage of or delay in the supply of marine fuel by our five largest suppliers would affect our ability to fulfil our customers’ demand. As such, our customers may choose to procure vessel refueling services from alternative service providers, causing a shortfall in our revenue that would adversely affect our business and financial results.

 

We may be exposed to the credit risks of our customers while we remain subject to satisfying payment obligations to our suppliers, which would adversely affect our financial condition.

 

Our financial position and profitability are dependent to a large extent on the credit worthiness of our customers and their ability to settle the outstanding amount owed to our Group in accordance with the credit periods we have granted to them. During FY2020, FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022, the payment terms of our customers who are international container liner operators range from nil to 45 days. Meanwhile, the payment terms to our suppliers range from nil to 30 days. 

 

As at December 31, 2020 and 2021 and June 30, 2022, our Group’s accounts receivables amounted to approximately $16.7 million, $18.0 million and $23.2 million, respectively. Historically, our accounts receivable would be collected with 30-90 days. By the end of July 2022, all accounts receivable balances as at June 30, 2022 had been collected.

 

Should we experience any delays or difficulties in collecting payments from our customers, while remaining obligated to satisfy our ongoing payment obligations to our suppliers, we may be required to consider alternative sources of financing and/or defer on our own payment obligations. This may have a negative impact on the cash flow of our Group and we may have insufficient working capital to run our day-to-day operations.

 

Certain requests from our customers to refuel at designated ports exceeds the limits of our trade credit, which may affect our working capital, business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We provide marine fuel logistic services through our supply network of 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand. Our trade credit is granted by different suppliers in different ports. In the event that our customers request us to provide vessel refueling services at designated ports, at which the local suppliers can only provide limited trade credit, we may need to settle the cost of purchases to those suppliers with payment in advance. This will adversely affect our working capital, business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The failure of delivery of marine fuel timely to our customers, which would adversely affect our Group’s reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We arrange third parties to handle the physical distribution of marine fuel to vessels. The failure of third parties to physically deliver the marine fuel in accordance with the contractual terms would arise from various causes, including but not limited to, interruption of their business, such as, bunker barge engine failure with no alternative bunker barges available. We might need to arrange another supplier to handle the physical delivery of marine fuel, which may cause delay in meeting our customer’s requirements. In the event that no other supplier is available to handle the physical delivery, our relationship with our customers may be adversely affected and we may be subject to claims and other liabilities, which, in turn, would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We believe that the reputation we have built over the years serves a significant role in attracting customers and securing our customers’ orders. Whether or not we can maintain or promote our reputation depends largely on our ability to provide vessel refueling services to our customers in a timely manner. If we fail to meet their needs or are unable to deliver marine fuel requested by them at the designated port in a timely manner, our customers may no longer perceive our services to be of a high quality and our reputation would be adversely affected. This will, in turn, adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We may fail to aggregate sufficient demand from our customers to negotiate a favorable price of marine fuel from our suppliers and this would adversely affect our Group’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We aggregate the demand of marine fuel from our customers in different ports over a period of time and in turn, we negotiate with our suppliers for bulk purchases. In the event that we do not aggregate sufficient demand from our customers, we may not be able to have the bargaining power to negotiate a favorable pricing of marine fuel from our suppliers which, in turn, we are not able to offer competitive price to our customers. Our inability to provide competitive prices to our customers would have a detrimental effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Material disruptions in the availability or supply of marine fuel would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our business depends on our ability to successfully source and arrange physical delivery of marine fuel for refueling our customers’ vessels. There are a number of factors out of our control that would materially disrupt the availability or supply of marine fuel or our ability to arrange physical delivery in a timely manner. In certain ports, we use one or a limited number of suppliers for the provision of vessel refueling services. If our suppliers do not have sufficient supply of marine fuel at designated ports to meet our customers’ needs and we cannot find any alternative suppliers, we may lose our customers, which may adversely affect the profitability of our business.

 

If the marine fuel we purchase from our suppliers fails to meet the contractual quality specifications we have agreed to supply to our customers, it would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We source marine fuel from various suppliers. Although we take measures to ensure the quality of the marine fuel that we supply, if the marine fuel that we arrange for refueling our customers’ vessels fails to meet the specifications we have agreed to with our customers, we would incur significant liabilities should a customer initiate a claim or a lawsuit against us. We may not always have effective remedies available to us against our suppliers if they supply marine fuel that fails to meet contractual specifications, and any attempt to enforce our rights would be costly and time consuming. It would also harm our relationships with our customers, jeopardize our reputation and expose our Group to potential claims. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

 

We are exposed to inventory risk and this would adversely affect our Group’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Generally, we do not maintain any inventory as we arrange our suppliers to deliver marine fuel to our customers’ vessels directly on our behalf. During FY2020, FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022, our Group did not maintain any inventory. However, we could bear inventory risk if the ownership of marine fuel is passed to us before it is transferred to our customers.

 

Even though we have entered into contracts with our suppliers, such contracts are not related to any of our contracts with our customers, and as such there is no guarantee that any marine fuel purchased under such contracts with our suppliers will be sold to our designated customers. If we are unable to consume sufficient marine fuel from our suppliers to meet the base quantity under contracts with our suppliers, our suppliers have the right to file a claim against us, which, in turn, will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

In addition, in the event that the marine fuel supplied to our customers is not up to the standard specified by our customers, our customers will seek compensation from us, which, in turn, will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We depend on key management personnel.

 

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the expertise, experience, continuity, network and committed services of our senior management personnel, most of whom have in depth understanding of our industry and operations and would be difficult to replace.

 

Our key management, including Mr. Chia and Mr. Logeswaran, are essential to our success due to their experience and connection in the bunkering industry, market development skills and expertise in managing our operations. Details of their expertise and experience are set out in the section headed “Management” in this prospectus. In addition, the relationships and reputation that our management team have established and maintained with our customers and suppliers contribute to our ability to maintain good business relationships with them.

 

As a result, the departure of any of our key management members would be disruptive to our business development and would have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition. We cannot guarantee that the services of such personnel will continue to be available to us or that we will be able to promptly recruit qualified and competent replacements.

 

Significant change in container liner schedules would have an adverse effect on our business.

 

According to the F&S Report, 13 out of the top 20 container ports by throughput volume in the world are located in the Asia Pacific, which is one of the key regions of marine fuel consumption with a market share of approximately 46.8% of global marine fuel consumption volume in 2021 driven by its significant share in the global trade and frequent business activities.

 

Most of our revenue is from international container liner operators whose vessels are sailing on regular routes and schedules. In the event that the regular routes, such as the Intra-Asia route, Euro-Asia route and Trans-Pacific route are shortened or suspended permanently or temporarily or liner service schedules are less frequent which are beyond our control, the demand for marine fuel may significantly decrease and our business may be adversely affected. In the event that the regular routes are replaced by other ports which fall outside our supply network of 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand, the demand for marine fuel for refueling may significantly decrease and our business would be adversely affected.

 

Any failure to maintain the license to carry on our international commodity trading business in the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia may adversely affect our business, operations and profitability.

 

As of May 10, 2022, we held one license issued by Labuan Financial Services Authority to carry on our international commodity trading business under the Global Incentives for Trading Program for the supply of marine fuel. If we fail to comply with the requirements or meet certain criteria as stated in the conditional approval letter, Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010, Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 and any of the relevant rules and regulations, where applicable, such license may be suspended or revoked. In such cases, our Malaysian subsidiary, Banle Marketing, may not be entitled to have tax incentives to lower its operational costs, and our business, operations and profitability may be adversely affected.

 

Our historical financial conditions and results of operations may not be indicative of our future growth and results of operation.

 

For FY2020 and FY2021, our revenue amounted to approximately $234.3 million and $326.5 million, respectively, while our gross profit amounted to approximately $6.2 million and $7.6 million, respectively, with gross profit margin of approximately 2.7% and 2.3%, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, our revenue amounted to approximately $159.4 million and $235.7 million, respectively, while our gross profit amounted to approximately $3.1 million and $4.0 million, respectively, with gross profit margin of approximately 1.9% and 1.7%, respectively. Such historical financial information is an analysis of our past performance only and does not have any positive implication or may not necessarily reflect our financial performance in the future. There is no assurance that our profit margins in the future will remain at a level comparable to those recorded during FY2020, FY2021 and the six months ended June 30, 2022.

 

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Furthermore, our future profitability may be affected by our ability to control costs and operating expenses going forward, as well as other evolving regulatory and economic factors which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to expand our vessel refueling services as planned or at all, which would in turn would adversely affect our ability to continue to improve our business prospects and profitability. Therefore, investors should not solely rely on our historical performance to predict our future financial position and results of operations.

 

We may experience net operating cash outflows.

 

We recorded net cash outflows from operating activities of approximately $2.5 million for FY2021. Such net cash outflows was mainly attributable to the increase in trade and other receivables of approximately $5.2 million, and partially offset by the increase in trade and other payables of approximately $0.6 million. We may experience periods of net cash outflow from operating activities in the future. If we are unable to obtain sufficient financial resources to finance our business operations or expansion, our liquidity and financial condition may be adversely affected. There is no assurance that we will have sufficient financial resources from other sources at favorable terms to fund our operations or expansion.

 

We may not be able to implement our business development strategies or expansion plans successfully.

 

The successful implementation of our Group’s business strategies is subject to various uncertainties and contingencies, such as the growth of the market, availability of funds, competition and government policies. Factors such as the relationships with our customers and suppliers, the global economic conditions, the availability of sufficient working capital and cash flows, the threat of competitors and substitutes, new market entrants, an economic downturn or changes in market conditions or performance, may delay or impede the implementation of our Group’s business strategies. Any delay or failure to successfully implement our Group’s business strategies may result in the loss in sales and failure to meet profit projections, any of which may adversely affect our Group’s business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Negative publicity or damage to our Group’s business reputation may have a potential adverse impact on our business.

 

Our Group values and relies on our reputation to maintain and grow our business operations. Our Group’s reputation is one of the crucial factors for maintaining business relationships with our suppliers and customers. Negative publicity associated with our Group’s operations would result in the loss of business. Our Group conducts business with a number of counterparties, including customers and suppliers. If any of such counterparties is not satisfied with our Group, and/or raises any complaints or allegations relating to our Group, our Group’s reputation and supplier and customer’s perception of our Group may be damaged, which may in turn adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

We may be involved in disputes and/or legal proceedings arising from our operations from time to time and may face significant legal liabilities as a result.

 

We may be involved in disputes with and subject to claims from, among others, our employees, customers, suppliers and other parties from time to time in respect of various matters, including delay in delivery, complaints about the quality of marine fuel and personal injury which may lead to claims for damages against us.

 

There is no assurance that we may be able to resolve every instance of a dispute by way of negotiation and/or mediation with the relevant parties. If we fail to do so, it may lead to legal and other proceedings against us, and consequently we may have to incur significant expenses for defending ourselves or initiate proceedings against other parties to protect our interest. Furthermore, if we fail to obtain favorable outcomes in such proceedings, we may be liable to pay significant amounts of damages which may adversely affect our operations and financial results.

 

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Our insurance may not provide adequate coverage for all potential loss and claims relating to our business operations and/or assets, and any uninsured losses incurred, may be substantial and therefore adversely affect our operations and financial results.

 

We maintain insurance coverage against, among other things, (i) liability for third party bodily injury occurred in our office premises; (ii) employees’ compensation insurance for our employees; and (iii) traveling. For more details, please refer to the section headed “Business — Insurance” in this prospectus. However, our insurance coverage may not adequately protect us against all potential claims, damages and liabilities that we may incur in the course of our business operations, which may result in an adverse effect on our business. If we are held responsible for any damages, liabilities or losses and our insurance is insufficient or unavailable to cover the claims, there would be an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

 

In addition, there is no guarantee that insurance coverage will always be available to us at economically favorable premiums (or at all) or that, in the event of a claim, the level of insurance currently maintained by us or in the future is or will be adequate or cover the entire claim/liability. We may be subject to liabilities which have not been insured adequately at all. Any uninsured risks may result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

With respect to losses which are covered by our insurance policies, it may be a difficult and lengthy process to recover such losses from insurers. In addition, we may be unable to recover the amount from the insurer. Even we are able to recover certain losses from our insurers, our premiums might increase and it might be hard for us to renew our insurance policies. Therefore, if we are held liable for uninsured losses or amounts and claims for insured losses exceeding our insurance coverage, our operations and financial results may be adversely affected.

 

Failure to adapt to market trends in the bunkering industry would adversely affect our business.

 

According to the F&S Report, alternative fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (the “LNG”), are sulfur free and can be used alone or either in combination with conventional fuel oil to achieve decarbonization of shipping transportation and the enhancement of environmental protection.

 

In addition, governments could enact legislation or regulations that attempt to control or limit greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide. Such laws or regulations could impose costs tied to carbon emissions, operational requirements or restrictions, or additional charges to fund energy efficiency activities. They could also provide a cost advantage to alternative fuels, impose costs or restrictions on end users of marine fuel, or result in other costs or requirements, such as costs associated with the adoption of new infrastructure and technology to respond to new mandates. The options to comply with tightened environmental protection laws may include switching to alternative fuels such as LNG.

 

If alternative fuels such as LNG become the major marine fuel in the future, there is no assurance that we would be able to adapt to such trend and our business and financial results would be adversely affected.

 

Change in regulation resulting our suppliers and customers being required to obtain various permits and/or licenses would adversely affect our business.

 

We provide marine fuel logistic services through 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand, and we would be adversely affected by changes in regulations in the countries and regions where our suppliers and customers are registered. If the relevant governmental departments or organizations release new laws and regulations for the industries in their countries or regions where our suppliers and customers operate, various permits and/or licenses need to be granted and maintained upon their compliance with, amongst others, the applicable criteria set by the relevant governmental departments or organizations. Such criteria may include continued compliance with certain financial, technical and management requirements and the standards of compliance required thereto may change from time to time and we may be required to suspend our operations and may not be able to deliver vessel refueling services due to the inability of our suppliers and customers to obtain and maintain the relevant permits and/or licenses. There are circumstances which are out of our control may affect our suppliers and customers’ ability to obtain and/or maintain such permits and/or licenses or lead to a suspension or demotion of such permits, licenses and/or qualifications.

 

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Furthermore, the validity of these permits and/or licenses may last for a limited period of time and may be subject to periodic reviews and renewal by the relevant governmental departments or organizations. The failure for our suppliers and customers to obtain and maintain the relevant permits and/or licenses will, in turn, indirectly adversely affect our business.

 

Information technology failures and data security breaches would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We rely upon our information technology and communications systems to support key business functions and the efficient operation of these systems is critical to our business. Our information technology systems, including our back-up systems and external cloud services, could be damaged or interrupted by power outages, computer or telecommunications failures, viruses, security breaches, natural disasters, and/or errors by our employees, service providers or vendors.

 

A significant disruption in the functioning of these systems could damage our reputation, impair our ability to conduct our business, impact our credit and risk exposure decisions, cause us to lose customers, subject us to litigation and/or require us to incur significant expense to address and remediate or otherwise resolve these issues, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry, and failure to compete efficiently would adversely affect our operations and financial results.

 

According to the F&S Report, the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific is highly competitive and fragmented. Other bunkering facilitators and bunkering arms of oil majors or traders may also engage in provision of vessel refueling services to vessels across the Asia Pacific. We consider our main competitors to be other bunkering facilitators, but we also face competition from local physical distributors that supply marine fuel directly to ship operators.

 

In addition, according to the F&S Report, the recent economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak since 2020 has affected the profit of traders and therefore expedite the consolidation amongst bunker suppliers by way of mergers and acquisitions, especially when the downstream shipping industry is undergoing the consolidation. However, competitions within the bunkering industry remain intensive. This, in turn, would result in a loss of market share which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Global economic development and the level of international trade are critical factors affecting the demand for marine fuel, and a decline in international trade would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Global demand for marine fuel is primarily driven by the level of activity in the marine transportation industry, in particular the number of vessels active at sea and the size of order books for new vessels. Economic downturns in one or more countries or regions, particularly in Asia, the European Union, the United States and other countries and regions with consumer-oriented economies, have in the past, and could in the future, reduce international trade volumes, which directly affects the demand for shipping services, and, in turn, the demand for marine fuel. Any reduction in demand for marine fuel would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Risks Relating to Doing Business in the Jurisdictions We Operate

 

Economic, political and other risks associated with operations in countries in which we operate may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations.

 

Since we provide a one-stop solution for vessel refueling in the Asia Pacific, our business is subject to risks associated with conducting business in countries in which we operate. Our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected by a variety of factors, including:

 

  trade protection measures which would increase our costs or prevent us from continuing certain of our operations;
     
  the costs of hiring and retaining management for our operations;
     
  difficulty in managing widespread operations, which would affect our operations;
     
  unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, which would be costly and require significant time to implement;
     
  laws restricting us from repatriating profits earned from our activities within foreign countries, including the payment of distributions;
     
  governmental actions that may result in the deprivation of our contractual rights or the inability to obtain or retain authorizations required to conduct our business;
     
  political risks specific to foreign jurisdictions; and
     
  terrorism, war, civil unrest and natural disasters.

 

Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor. In that case, Nasdaq would delist our securities. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections may deprive our investors with the benefits of such inspections.

 

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”), was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or other securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S..

 

Our current auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, 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. However, if it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely our auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction, Nasdaq would delist our securities, including our ordinary shares being offered in this offering, and the SEC shall prohibit them from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the U.S. For example, if we conduct business in a jurisdiction where the PCAOB has been unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the relevant authorities, the work of our new auditor as it relates to those operations may not be inspected by the PCAOB. If our securities are delisted and prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the U.S. due to the PCAOB not being able to conduct inspections or full investigations of our auditor, it would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our securities when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with potential delisting and prohibition would have a negative impact on the price of our securities. Also, such delisting and prohibition could significantly affect our ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.

 

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In May 2013, the PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by the PCAOB in the PRC or by the CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States. The PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with the PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

 

On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. We will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies us as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC. 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 reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two.

 

On November 5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.

 

On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the 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.

 

On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (i) China, and (ii) Hong Kong. Our auditor, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, headquartered in New York, is an independent registered public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess Wei, Wei & Co., LLP’s compliance with applicable professional standards. The PCAOB currently has access to inspecting the working papers of our auditor. Our auditor is not headquartered in China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination.

 

The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. For example, on August 6, 2020, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, issued the Report on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies to the then President of the United States. This report recommended the SEC implement five recommendations to address companies from jurisdictions that do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfill its statutory mandate regarding their auditors. Some of the concepts of these recommendations were implemented with the enactment of the HFCAA. However, some of the recommendations were more stringent than the HFCAA. For example, if a company’s auditor was not subject to PCAOB inspection, the report recommended that the transition period before a company would be delisted would end on January 1, 2022.

 

The SEC has announced that the SEC staff is preparing a consolidated proposal for the rules regarding the implementation of the HFCAA and to address the recommendations in the PWG report. It is unclear when the SEC will complete its rulemaking and when such rules will become effective and what, if any, of the PWG recommendations will be adopted. The SEC has also announced amendments to various annual report forms to accommodate the certification and disclosure requirements of the HFCAA. There could be additional regulatory or legislative requirements or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. The implications of these possible regulations in addition to the requirements of the HFCAA are uncertain, and such uncertainty could cause the market price of our securities to be materially and adversely affected. If, for whatever reason, the PCAOB is unable to conduct inspections or full investigations of our auditor, we could be delisted or prohibited from being traded over the counter as required by the HFCAA. If our securities are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such delisting and prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our securities when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with potential delisting and prohibition would have a negative impact on the price of our securities. Also, such delisting and prohibition could significantly affect our ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.

 

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Inspections of audit firms that the PCAOB has conducted have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. If the PCAOB were unable to conduct inspections or full investigations of our auditor, investors in our securities would be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. In addition, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections or full investigations of auditors would may make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in the audit procedures of our auditor and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

 

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing original actions in Malaysia or Hong Kong, based on United States or other foreign laws, against us, our directors, executive officers or experts named in this prospectus. Therefore, you may not be able to enjoy the protection of such laws in an effective manner.

 

We are a Cayman Islands company with our principal executive offices located in Malaysia and Hong Kong. We currently conduct a substantial portion of our operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong and a substantial amount of our assets are located in these two jurisdictions. Moreover, a majority of our executive officers and directors are located in or have significant ties to Malaysia and/or Hong Kong. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for shareholders to bring an action against us or against these individuals in Malaysia or Hong Kong in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws of the United States or otherwise.

 

Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of Malaysia may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. There is no statutory recognition in Malaysia of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of Malaysia will generally recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against us and our directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors are to a large extent governed by the common law of Malaysia. The common law of Malaysia is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in Malaysia as well as from English common law, which provides persuasive, but not binding, authority in a court in Malaysia. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Malaysian law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, Malaysia has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States and provides significantly less protection to investors. As a result, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests through actions against us, our management, our directors or our major shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States.

 

In addition, uncertainty also exists as to whether the courts of Hong Kong would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our officers and/or directors predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof, or be competent to hear original actions brought in Hong Kong against us or such persons predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.

 

Changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government might adversely affect our business.

 

During FY2020 and FY2021, part of our revenue was generated from arranging the delivery of marine fuel in ports located in the PRC. Accordingly, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject to economic, political and legal conditions in the PRC. The economy of the PRC is affected by, among others, government regulation, the level of development, growth rate and the allocation of resources. Any changes in the political, economic and social conditions of the PRC may affect our business.

 

Introduction of new laws or changes to existing laws by the PRC government in relation to our customers and suppliers may affect our business in the PRC. There is no assurance that the PRC authorities will not issue further directives, regulations, clarifications or implementation rules requiring our suppliers to obtain further approvals to carry out physical delivery of marine fuel in the PRC, or requiring our customers to obtain approvals to purchase marine fuel in the PRC. Such change in laws or policies in the PRC may adversely affect the business of our customers and suppliers and, in turn, adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Our Group may be subject to tax audit and investigation in Malaysia.

 

The Malaysia tax regime utilizes a self-assessment system. Companies in Malaysia have legal obligations to make self-assessment on the tax payable and file necessary tax returns annually with their remittance of tax. The Malaysian Inland Revenue Board is empowered by the Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967 to carry out audit and investigation on persons chargeable to determine, inter alia, whether their tax returns are accurate and complete. The Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967 also empowers the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board to impose additional tax and/or penalties on persons chargeable if the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board determines that the persons chargeable are in fact subject to more tax payables than are reported in the self-assessed tax returns.

 

Our Group calculates the amount of taxes and makes payment thereof in accordance with the applicable tax laws. Our Group may be subject to additional taxes or penalties if the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board has a different view from us with respect to our self-assessed tax in our filed tax returns. In the event that the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board imposes additional tax or penalties on our Group, our profit may decrease and consequently our financial results may be adversely affected.

 

Risks Relating to Doing Business in China

 

Our operations are based in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Part of our operations are conducted by our Hong Kong operating subsidiary, namely Banle Energy HK. We do not conclude and book any transactions in China. All of our transactions for vessel refueling services were concluded in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and our revenue were booked under our subsidiaries established in Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore. Although we deliver our services through our suppliers mainly in China and Hong Kong, nearly all our customers are international container liner operators from outside of China and Hong Kong. Of our five largest customers from whom we generated 92.9% and 83.6% respectively of our total revenue for FY2020 and FY2021, two customers are Taiwanese companies, two are Singaporean companies, and one is a German company; whilst for the six months ended June 30, 2022, the five largest customers who contributed 77% in aggregate of our total revenue consisted of two Taiwanese companies, two Singaporean companies and one Japanese company. We also have a subsidiary that is established in China, namely Majestic Energy, which is currently dormant and does not have operations, and we do not intend to conduct any operation through Majestic Energy in the future. Although we have equity ownership of Banle Energy HK and Majestic Energy (which is dormant) and currently do not have or intend to have any operating subsidiary that is established in China, or any contractual arrangement to establish a variable interest entity structure with any entity in China, we may still be subject to unique risks due to uncertainty about any future actions of the Chinese government or authorities in Hong Kong in relation to business operations in China or Hong Kong, or regulatory oversight of overseas listing of companies with operations in China or Hong Kong.

 

We do not maintain any office in mainland China and none of our directors and officers are based in mainland China. However, a major part of our operations is based in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. Although Hong Kong has its own governmental and legal system that is independent from China, it is uncertain whether in the future the Hong Kong government will implement regulations and policies of the Chinese government, or adopt regulations and policies of its own that are substantially the same as those of the Chinese government. Moreover, given that changes in policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the Chinese government may be quick with little advance notice, it is also uncertain in the future whether our operations in Hong Kong will be subject to the oversight of the Chinese authorities.

 

We may be subject to the following risks that are specific to doing business in China.

 

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Depending on the needs of our target customers whose sailing routes cover different ports worldwide, we need to provide marine fuel logistic services through ports in the PRC. Therefore, our business may be subject to complex and rapidly evolving laws and regulations there. The Chinese government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities.

 

Depending on the needs of our target customers whose sailing routes cover different ports worldwide, we need to provide marine fuel logistic services through ports in the PRC. Therefore, we may be subject to the laws and regulations of the PRC, which can be complex and evolve rapidly. The PRC government has the power to exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business, and the regulations to which we are subject may change rapidly and with little notice to us or our shareholders. As a result, the application, interpretation, and enforcement of new and existing laws and regulations in the PRC are often uncertain. In addition, these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied inconsistently by different agencies or authorities, and inconsistently with our current policies and practices. New laws, regulations, and other government directives in the PRC may also be costly to comply with, and such compliance or any associated inquiries or investigations or any other government actions may:

 

  Delay or impede our development,

 

  Result in negative publicity or increase our operating costs,

 

  Require significant management time and attention, and

 

  Subject us to remedies, administrative penalties and even criminal liabilities that may harm our business, including fines assessed for our current or historical operations, or demands or orders that we modify or even cease our business practices.

 

The promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in each case that restrict or otherwise unfavorably impact the ability or manner in which we conduct our business and could require us to change certain aspects of our business to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for our services, reduce revenues, increase costs, require us to obtain more licenses, permits, approvals or certificates, or subject us to additional liabilities. To the extent any new or more stringent measures are required to be implemented, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected as well as materially decrease the value of our ordinary shares.

 

If the Chinese government chooses to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, such action 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.

 

Recent statements by the Chinese government have indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investments in China based issuers. PRC has recently promulgated new rules that require companies collecting or holding large amounts of data to undergo a cybersecurity review prior to listing in foreign countries, a move that will significantly tighten oversight over China-based internet giants. The Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) was promulgated on December 28, 2021 and became effective on February 15, 2022. These measures specify that any “online platform operators” controlling the personal information of more than one million users which seek to list on a foreign stock exchange are subject to prior cybersecurity review.

 

Our business belongs to the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific, which does not involve the collection of user data, implicate cybersecurity, or involve any other type of restricted industry. As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, our registered public offering in the U.S. is not subject to the review or prior approval of the CAC or the CSRC and we and our subsidiaries are not covered by such permissions requirements. Uncertainties still exist, however, due to the possibility that laws, regulations, or policies in the PRC could change rapidly in the future. Any future action by the PRC government expanding the categories of industries and companies whose foreign securities offerings are subject to review by the CSRC or the CAC could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

 

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If the Chinese government were to impose new requirements for approval from the PRC authorities to issue our securities to foreign investors or list on a foreign exchange, such action 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.

 

As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, as of the date of this prospectus, we and our subsidiaries (including our dormant PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, and all other non-PRC subsidiaries) (1) are not required to obtain permissions from any PRC authorities to operate or issue our securities to foreign investors, (2) are not subject to permission requirements from the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) or any other entity that is required to approve of our operations in China, and (3) have not received or were denied such permissions by any PRC authorities. As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we are not required to obtain any permissions or approvals from Chinese authorities either to operate our business or offer the securities being registered to foreign investors because (1) we are not operating in an industry that prohibits or limits foreign investment; (2) our only PRC subsidiary is dormant and has no business operations in China; (3) we do not maintain any office or have any employee in mainland China; and (4) although we deliver our services through our suppliers mainly in China and Hong Kong, we are a marine fuel logistics company and rely on the permits and licenses of our suppliers for the actual delivery of marine fuel to our customers.

 

Nevertheless, 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 Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. We have been closely monitoring regulatory developments in China regarding any necessary approvals from the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities required for overseas listings, including this offering. As of May 10, 2022, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, sanctions or regulatory objection to this offering from the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities. However, there remains significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities.

 

According to the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Administration Provisions”) and the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Measures”), only new initial public offerings and refinancing by existent overseas listed Chinese companies will be required to go through the filing process with PRC administrations; other existent overseas listed companies will be allowed sufficient transition period to complete their filing procedure, which means if we complete the offering prior to the effectiveness of Administration Provisions and Measures, we will certainly go through the filing process in the future, perhaps because of refinancing or given by sufficient transition period to complete filing procedure as an existent overseas listed Chinese company. As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we and our subsidiaries are currently not required to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before listing in the U.S. under any existing PRC law, regulations or rules, including from the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or any other relevant Chinese regulatory agencies that is required to approve our operations in China. However, it is uncertain when the Administration Provision and the Measures will take effect or if they will take effect as currently drafted. If it is determined in the future that the approval of the CSRC, the CAC or any other regulatory authority is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC, the CAC or other PRC regulatory agencies. The CSRC, the CAC, or other PRC regulatory agencies also may take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before settlement and delivery of our securities. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC, the CAC or other regulatory PRC agencies later promulgate new rules requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such an approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our securities.

 

Moreover, if (1) we are required to but do not receive or maintain approvals from the PRC authorities, or (2) we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required, or (3) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change such that we are required to obtain approval in the future, we may be subject to investigations by competent regulators, fines or penalties, ordered to suspend our relevant operations and rectify any non-compliance, prohibited from engaging in relevant business or conducting any offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations, 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.

 

China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

Depending on the needs of our target customers whose sailing routes cover different ports worldwide, we may need to provide marine fuel logistic services through ports in the PRC. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and certain transactions we may undertake may be subject to economic, political and legal developments in China.

 

China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although China’s economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy since the late 1970s, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling the incurrence and payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and regulations could adversely affect the economy in China and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

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The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage foreign investment and sustainable economic growth and to guide the allocation of financial and other resources. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not repeal or alter these measures or introduce new measures that will have a negative effect on us. China’s social and political conditions may change and become unstable. Any sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations.

 

The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions under the civil law system 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 generally. The overall effect of legislation over the past four decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in the PRC. However, the PRC has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in the PRC. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy. These uncertainties may affect our judgment on the relevance of legal requirements and our ability to enforce our contractual rights or tort claims. In addition, these regulatory uncertainties may be exploited through unmerited or frivolous legal actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from us.

 

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 a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of any of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation.

 

Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. These uncertainties may impede our ability to enforce the contracts we have entered into and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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 Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which was made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems will be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data privacy protection requirements and similar matters. The Opinions remain unclear on how the law will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant PRC governmental authorities, but the Opinions and any related implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to compliance requirements in the future.

 

On July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a revised draft of the Measures for Cybersecurity Review for public comments, which required that, among others, in addition to “operator of critical information infrastructure”, any “data processor” controlling personal information of no less than one million users which seeks to list in a foreign stock exchange should also be subject to cybersecurity review, and further elaborated the factors to be considered when assessing the national security risks of the relevant activities.

 

On November 14, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China released the Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments) and accepted public comments until December 13, 2021. The draft Regulations on Network Data Security provide that data processors refer to individuals or organizations that autonomously determine the purpose and the manner of processing data. If a data processor that processes personal data of more than one million users intends to list overseas, it shall 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. On December 28, 2021, the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) was promulgated and took effect on February 15, 2022, which iterates that any “online platform operators” controlling personal information of more than one million users which seeks to list in a foreign stock exchange should also be subject to cybersecurity review. As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we are not among the “operator of critical information infrastructure” or “data processor” as mentioned above. The Company and its subsidiaries is a marine fuel logistics company and neither the Company nor its subsidiaries is engaged in data activities as defined under the Personal Information Protection Law, which includes, without limitation, collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, publication and deletion of data. In addition, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries is an operator of any “critical information infrastructure” as defined under the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the Security Protection Measures on Critical Information Infrastructure. However, Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) was recently adopted and the Network Internet Data Protection Draft Regulations (draft for comments) is in the process of being formulated and the Opinions remain unclear on how it will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant PRC governmental authorities.

 

There remains uncertainties as to when the final measures will be issued and take effect, how they will be enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether they will affect us. If we inadvertently conclude that the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) do not apply to us, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and it is determined in the future that the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) become applicable to us, we may be subject to review when conducting data processing activities, and may face challenges in addressing its requirements and make necessary changes to our internal policies and practices. We may incur substantial costs in complying with the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version), which could result in material adverse changes in our business operations and financial position. If we are not able to fully comply with the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version), our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors may be significantly limited or completely hindered, and our securities may significantly decline in value or become worthless.

 

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On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released the Administrative Provisions of the State Council Regarding the Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments) and the Measures for the Overseas Issuance of Securities and Listing Record-Filings by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments), both of which had a comment period that expired on January 23, 2022, and if enacted, may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in the PRC- CSRC has released for public consultation the draft rules for China-based companies seeking to conduct initial public offerings in foreign markets. While such rules have not yet gone into effect, the Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares to investors and could cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless.

 

Thus, it is still uncertain how PRC governmental authorities will regulate overseas listing in general. Furthermore, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering and any follow-on offering, we may be unable to obtain such approvals which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to our investors.

 

Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may strengthen oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers. Such actions taken by the PRC government authorities may intervene or influence our operations at any time, which are beyond our control. Therefore, any such action may adversely affect our operations and significantly limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and reduce the value of such securities.

 

Uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and the fact that rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice, along with the risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could result in a material change in our operations, financial performance and/or the value of our ordinary shares or impair our ability to raise money.

 

The CSRC has released for public consultation the draft rules for China-based companies seeking to conduct initial public offerings in foreign markets. While such rules have not yet gone into effect, the Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares to investors and could cause the value of our ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless.

 

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing, which had a comment period that expired on January 23, 2022. The Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing lay out the filing regulation arrangement for both direct and indirect overseas listing, and clarify the determination criteria for indirect overseas listing in overseas markets. Based on the advice of our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, according to the current content of such rules, in connection with our initial public offering, we and our subsidiaries are not required to obtain prior approval by the relevant competent governmental authorities in PRC including CSRC with respect to the specific matters under such rules, nor have we been involved in any offshore listing prohibited circumstances as set forth in such rules.

 

The Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing stipulate that the Chinese-based companies, or the issuer, shall fulfill the filing procedures within three working days after the issuer makes an application for initial public offering and listing in an overseas market. The required filing materials for an initial public offering and listing should include at least the following: record-filing report and related undertakings; regulatory opinions, record-filing, approval and other documents issued by competent regulatory authorities of relevant industries (if applicable); and security assessment opinion issued by relevant regulatory authorities (if applicable); PRC legal opinion; and prospectus.

 

In addition, an overseas offering and listing is prohibited under any of the following circumstances: (1) if the intended securities offering and listing is specifically prohibited by national laws and regulations and relevant provisions; (2) if the intended securities offering and listing may constitute a threat to or endangers national security as reviewed and determined by competent authorities under the State Council in accordance with law; (3) if there are material ownership disputes over the equity, major assets, and core technology, etc. of the issuer; (4) if, in the past three years, the domestic enterprise or its controlling shareholders or actual controllers have committed corruption, bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of property, or other criminal offenses disruptive to the order of the socialist market economy, or are currently under judicial investigation for suspicion of criminal offenses, or are under investigation for suspicion of major violations; (5) if, in past three years, directors, supervisors, or senior executives have been subject to administrative punishments for severe violations, or are currently under judicial investigation for suspicion of criminal offenses, or are under investigation for suspicion of major violations; or (6) other circumstances as prescribed by the State Council. The Draft Administration Provisions defines the legal liabilities of breaches such as failure in fulfilling filing obligations or fraudulent filing conducts, imposing a fine between RMB 1 million and RMB 10 million, and in cases of severe violations, a parallel order to suspend relevant business or halt operation for rectification, revoke relevant business permits or operational license.

 

The Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing, if enacted, may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to get the clearance of filing procedures under the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas List on a timely basis, or at all. Any failure of us to fully comply with new regulatory requirements may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our ordinary shares, cause significant disruption to our business operations, and severely damage our reputation, which would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause our ordinary shares to significantly decline in value or become worthless.

 

In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

 

Our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, is dormant and does not have operations or assets. Since it has no earnings and profits, it has not distributed and will not distribute any dividends. In general, our PRC subsidiary’ ability to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends to its shareholders only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our PRC subsidiary, as a Foreign Invested Enterprise, or FIE, is required to draw 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a common reserve, which may stop drawing its after-tax profits if the aggregate balance of the common reserve has already accounted for over 50 percent of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. If our PRC subsidiary incurs debt on its own in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to distribute dividends or other payments to its shareholders 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.

 

The Enterprise Income Tax Law 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.

 

Under Hong Kong law, dividends could only be paid out of distributable profits (that is, accumulated realized profits less accumulated realized losses) or other distributable reserves. Dividends cannot be paid out of share capital. Under the current practice of the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong, no tax is payable in Hong Kong in respect of dividends paid by us.

 

Any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries 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.

 

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To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.

 

As of the date of this prospectus, there were no cash flows between CBL International or Banle BVI and our subsidiaries. However, we may in the future depend on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries or depend on our assets located in China or Hong Kong for our cash and financing requirements. The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Shortages in availability of foreign currency may then restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to remit sufficient foreign currency to our offshore entities for our offshore entities to pay dividends or make other payments or otherwise to satisfy our foreign-currency-denominated obligations. Therefore, to the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.

 

The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting processes may be put forward by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC (“SAFE”) for cross-border transactions. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries 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.

 

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

Any funds we transfer to our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to approval by or registration with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, in China, capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary are subject to the approval of or filing with the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM or its local branches and registration with a local bank authorized by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. In addition, (i) a foreign loan of less one year duration procured by our PRC subsidiary is required to be registered with SAFE or its local branches and (ii) a foreign loan of one year duration or more procured by our PRC subsidiary is required to be applied to the NDRC in advance for undergoing recordation registration formalities. Any medium or long-term loan to be provided by us to our PRC subsidiary, must be registered with the NDRC and the SAFE or its local branches. We may not be able to complete such registrations on a timely basis, with respect to future capital contributions or foreign loans by us to our PRC subsidiary. Since Majestic Energy is currently dormant, we have no intention to transfer any funds to, or use the proceeds of this offering to fund, Majestic Energy, but in the unlikely event that we decide otherwise in the future and if we fail to complete such registrations, our ability to capitalize our operations through Majestic Energy may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

Currently our Hong Kong subsidiaries do not need to obtain approval from or register with governmental authorities in China or in Hong Kong in order to raise capital, but it is unclear if the PRC or Hong Kong authorities will in the future interpret the abovementioned regulations in a way that will subject Hong Kong companies to the same restrictions as a PRC company. If the abovementioned regulations is applied by the authorities to our Hong Kong subsidiaries, our ability to capitalize our operations through our Hong Kong subsidiaries may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

 

On March 30, 2015, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which took effect as of June 1, 2015. SAFE Circular 19 launched a nationwide reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of FIEs and allows FIEs to settle their foreign exchange capital at their discretion, but continues to prohibit FIEs from using the Renminbi fund converted from their foreign exchange capital for expenditure beyond their business scopes, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between nonfinancial enterprises. The SAFE issued the Circular on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, effective in June 2016. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in China may also convert their foreign debts from foreign currency to Renminbi on a self-discretionary basis. SAFE Circular 16 provides an integrated standard for conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including but not limited to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) on a self-discretionary basis which applies to all enterprises registered in China. SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope or prohibited by PRC laws or regulations, while such converted Renminbi shall not be provided as loans to its non-affiliated entities. As this circular is relatively new, there remains uncertainty as to its interpretation and application and any other future foreign exchange related rules. Violations of these Circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If Safe Circulars 16 and 19 are interpreted to apply to the Hong Kong Dollar, our ability to use Hong Kong Dollars converted from the net proceeds from our offshore financing activities to fund the establishment of new entities in Hong Kong, to invest in or acquire any other Hong Kong or PRC companies may be limited, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Any requirement to obtain prior approval under the M&A Rules and/or any other regulations promulgated by relevant PRC regulatory agencies in the future could delay this offering and failure to obtain any such approvals, if required, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and reputation as well as the trading price of our ordinary shares, and could also create uncertainties for this offering and affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors outside China.

 

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the MOFCOM, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (the “SASAC”), the State Administration of Taxation (the “SAT”), the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (the “SAIC”), the CSRC, and the SAFE jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors (“M&A Rules”) Rules, which came into effect on September 8, 2006 and were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules include, among other things, provisions that purport to require that an offshore special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities in a PRC company obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published on its official website procedures regarding its approval of overseas listings by special purpose vehicles. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules to offshore special purpose vehicles.

 

While the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear, we believe, based on the advice of our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, that the CSRC approval is not required in the context of this offering because (i) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings under the prospectus are subject to the M&A Rules; and (ii) we established our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, by means of direct investment rather than by merger with or acquisition of PRC domestic companies. However, uncertainties still exist as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted and implemented, and the opinion of our PRC counsel is subject to any new laws, rules, and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as our PRC counsel. If the CSRC or other PRC regulatory body subsequently determines that we need to obtain the CSRC’s approval for this offering or if the CSRC or any other PRC government authorities promulgates any interpretation or implements rules before our listing that would require us to obtain CSRC or other governmental approvals for this offering, we may face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies. In any such event, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our operating privileges in China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as our ability to complete this offering. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before settlement and delivery of the ordinary shares offered by this prospectus. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that such settlement and delivery may not occur.

 

In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOFCOM that took effect 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 the 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. Furthermore, according to the security review, foreign investments that would result in acquiring the actual control of assets in certain key sectors, such as critical agricultural products, energy and resources, equipment manufacturing, infrastructure, transport, cultural products and services, information technology, Internet products and services, financial services and technology sectors, are required to obtain approval from designated governmental authorities in advance.

 

We are not operating in an industry that prohibits or limits foreign investment. As a result, as advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we are not required to obtain any permission under the aforementioned M&A Rules and the security review rules issued by the MOFCOM. However, if we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change such that we are required to obtain approval in the future, we may be subject to investigations by competent regulators, fines or penalties, ordered to suspend our relevant operations and rectify any non-compliance, prohibited from engaging in relevant business or conducting any offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations, 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.

 

As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we and our subsidiaries are currently not required to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before listing in the U.S. under any existing PRC law, regulations or rules, including from the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or any other relevant Chinese regulatory agencies that is required to approve our operations in China. However, the PRC government may take actions to exert more oversight and control over offerings by China based issuers conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in such companies, which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors outside China and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless.

 

In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions, if required, could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions. It is unclear whether our business would be deemed to be in an industry that raises “national defense and security” or “national security” concerns. However, the MOFCOM or other government agencies may publish explanations in the future determining that our business is in an industry subject to the security review, in which case our future acquisitions in the PRC, may be closely scrutinized or prohibited. Our ability to expand our business or maintain or expand our market share through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, according to the M&A Rules, if a PRC entity or individual plans to merge or acquire its related PRC entity through an overseas company legitimately incorporated or controlled by such entity or individual, such a merger and acquisition will be subject to examination and approval by the MOFCOM. There is a possibility that the PRC regulators may promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain the approval of the MOFCOM or other PRC governmental authorities for our completed or ongoing mergers and acquisitions. There is no assurance that, if we plan to make an acquisition, we can obtain such approval from the MOFCOM or any other relevant PRC governmental authorities for our mergers and acquisitions, and if we fail to obtain those approvals, we may be required to suspend our acquisition and be subject to penalties. Any uncertainties regarding such approval requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and corporate structure.

 

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In addition, on July 6, 2021, the relevant PRC government authorities made public the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities in Accordance with the Law. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies and proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems to deal with the risks and incidents faced by China-based overseas-listed companies. Pursuant to the Opinions, Chinese regulators are required to accelerate rulemaking related to the overseas issuance and listing of securities, and update the existing laws and regulations related to data security, cross-border data flow, and management of confidential information. Numerous regulations, guidelines and other measures are expected to be adopted under the umbrella of or in addition to the Cybersecurity Law and Data Security Law. As of the date of this prospectus, no official guidance or related implementation rules have been issued yet and the interpretation of these opinions remains unclear at this stage.

 

On July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (Revision Draft for Comments) for public comments, which proposes to authorize the relevant government authorities to conduct cybersecurity review on a range of activities that affect or may affect national security, including listings in foreign countries by companies that possess the personal data of more than one million users.

 

On November 14, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments) which set forth cyber data security compliance requirements in greater detail.

 

On December 28, 2021, the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021 version) was promulgated and took effect on February 15, 2022, which iterates that any “online platform operators” controlling personal information of more than one million users which seeks to list in a foreign stock exchange should also be subject to cybersecurity review. As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, we are not among the “operators of critical information infrastructure” or “online platform operators” as mentioned above. Neither the Company nor its subsidiaries is engaged in data activities as defined under the Personal Information Protection Law, which includes, without limitation, collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, publication and deletion of data. In addition, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries is an operator of any “critical information infrastructure” as defined under the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the Security Protection Measures on Critical Information Infrastructure. However, the Measures for Cybersecurity Review were recently adopted and the Network Internet Data Protection Draft Regulations (draft for comments) are in the process of being formulated and the Opinions remain unclear on how it will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant PRC governmental authorities.

 

There remains uncertainties as to when the final measures will be issued and take effect, how they will be enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether they will affect us. If we inadvertently conclude that the Measures for Cybersecurity Review do not apply to us, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and it is determined in the future that the Measures for Cybersecurity Review become applicable to us, we may be subject to review when conducting data processing activities, and may face challenges in addressing its requirements and make necessary changes to our internal policies and practices. We may incur substantial costs in complying with the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, which could result in material adverse changes in our business operations and financial position. If we are not able to fully comply with the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors may be significantly limited or completely hindered, and our securities may significantly decline in value or become worthless.

 

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released the Administrative Provisions of the State Council Regarding the Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments) and the Measures for the Overseas Issuance of Securities and Listing Record-Filings by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments), both of which had a comment period that expired on January 23, 2022, and if enacted, may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. Thus, it is still uncertain how PRC governmental authorities will regulate overseas listing in general in the future. Furthermore, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their prior approvals or ex-post record-filing for this offering and any follow-on offering, we may be unable to obtain such approvals or record-filing which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to our investors.

 

As advised by our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, as of the date of this prospectus, we are not required to obtain any permission from any PRC governmental authorities to offer securities to foreign investors. We have been closely monitoring regulatory developments in China regarding any necessary approvals from the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities required for overseas listings, including this offering and offering securities to foreign investors. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, sanctions or regulatory objection to this offering from the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities. However, there remains significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities. If it is determined in the future that the approval of the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China or any other regulatory authority is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China or other PRC regulatory agencies. These regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our ability to pay dividends outside of China, limit our operations in China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into China or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of our securities. The CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China or other PRC regulatory agencies also may take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before settlement and delivery of our ordinary shares. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC, the Cyberspace Administration of China or other regulatory PRC agencies later promulgate new rules requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such an approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our securities.

 

Certain PRC regulations may make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions.

 

Among other things, the M&A Rules and Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China promulgated by the Standing Committee of the NPC which became effective in 2008 (“Anti-Monopoly Law”), established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. Such regulation requires, among other things, that State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor acquires control of a PRC domestic enterprise or a foreign company with substantial PRC operations, if certain thresholds under the Provisions of the State Council on the Standard for Declaration of Concentration of Business Operators, issued by the State Council in 2008, are triggered. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that transactions which involve the national security, the examination on the national security shall also be conducted according to the relevant provisions of the United States. In addition, PRC Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment which became effective in January 2021 require acquisitions by foreign investors of PRC companies engaged in military-related or certain other industries that are crucial to national security be subject to security review before consummation of any such acquisition. We may pursue potential strategic acquisitions that are complementary to our business and operations.

 

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Complying with the requirements of these regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval or clearance from the MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business in the PRC.

 

U.S. regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries.

 

Any disclosure of documents or information located in China by foreign agencies may be subject to jurisdiction constraints and must comply with China’s state secrecy laws, which broadly define the scope of “state secrets” to include matters involving economic interests and technologies. There is no guarantee that requests from U.S. federal or state regulators or agencies to investigate or inspect PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries could be honored by us, by entities who provide services to us or with whom we associate in China, without violating PRC legal requirements.

 

Risks Relating to the Initial Public Offering in the U.S.

 

An active trading market for the ordinary shares on Nasdaq might not develop or be sustained, their trading prices might fluctuate significantly and the liquidity of our ordinary shares would be materially affected.

 

Following the completion of our initial public offering in the U.S., we cannot assure you that an active trading market for the ordinary shares on Nasdaq will develop or be sustained. If an active trading market of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq does not develop or is not sustained after our initial public offering in the U.S., the market price and liquidity of our ordinary shares could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our existing shareholders will continue to have substantial control over us after this offering, which could severely limit the ability of our other shareholders to influence matters requiring shareholder approval and, as a result, we may take actions that our other shareholders do not view as beneficial.

 

Upon completion of this offering, CBL (Asia) Limited, a company controlled by Teck Lim Chia, our director and Chief Executive Officer, and Straits Energy Resources Berhad, the two largest shareholders of our company, will beneficially own approximately 53.6% and 32.9%, respectively, of our outstanding ordinary shares. In particular, we expect that CBL (Asia)’s significant ownership interest will allow it to continue to exert a significant degree of influence or actual control over our management and affairs and over matters requiring shareholder approval, including the appointment of directors, a merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets and other significant business or corporate transactions. This concentrated control will limit the ability of other shareholders to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take actions that our other shareholders do not view as beneficial. For example, this concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could cause the market price of our equity shares to decline or prevent such price from increasing or prevent our shareholders from realizing a premium over the market price for their equity shares. Moreover, although each of CBL (Asia) and Straits Energy Resources Berhad will enter into a lock-up agreement for a period of 180 days from the closing of this offering, subject to certain exceptions, with respect to our ordinary shares and securities that are substantially similar to our ordinary shares, after such lock-up period, neither of them is prohibited from selling interest in us to a third party and may do so without your approval. Accordingly, the equity shares held by you may be worth less than they would be if CBL (Asia) and/or Straits Energy Resources Berhad did not maintain voting control over us.

 

The trading price of our ordinary shares may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

 

The trading price of our ordinary shares is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. For instance, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, which may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, the price and trading volume of our ordinary shares may be highly volatile due to multiple factors, including the following:

 

  regulatory developments affecting us or our industry;
     
  announcements of studies and reports relating to the quality of our service offerings or those of our competitors;
     
  changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other service providers in the bunkering industry;

 

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  actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations and changes or revisions of our expected results;
     
  changes in financial estimates by securities research analysts;
     
  conditions in the bunkering industry;
     
  announcements by us or our competitors of new product and service offerings, acquisitions, strategic relationships, joint ventures, capital raisings or capital commitments;
     
  additions to or departures of our senior management;
     
  release or expiry of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our issued shares; and
     
  sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares.

 

We may experience extreme stock price volatility unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our ordinary shares.

 

Our ordinary shares may be subject to extreme volatility that is seemingly unrelated to the underlying performance of our business. Recently, the U.S. stock market has witnessed instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines and strong stock price volatility with recent initial public offerings, especially among those with relatively smaller public floats, and such stock price volatility was seemingly unrelated to the respective company’s underlying performance. As a relatively small-capitalization company with relatively small public float, we may experience greater stock price volatility, extreme price run-ups, lower trading volume and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. Although the specific cause of such volatility may be unclear, our anticipated public float may amplify the impact of the actions taken by a few stockholders have on the price of our stock, which may cause our stock price to deviate, potentially significantly, from a price that better reflects the underlying performance of our business. The potential extreme volatility may confuse public investors regarding the value of our shares, distort the market perception of our share price and our company’s financial performance and public image, and negatively affect the long-term liquidity of our ordinary shares, regardless of our actual or expected operating performance. Should our ordinary shares experience run-ups and declines that are seemingly unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, prospective investors may have difficulty assessing the rapidly changing value of our ordinary shares. In addition, investors of our ordinary shares may experience losses, which may be material, if the price of our ordinary shares declines after this offering or if such investors purchase our ordinary shares prior to any price decline.

 

We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which could cause our stock price to decline.

 

We may provide from time-to-time guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate in all respects. Our guidance is based on certain assumptions, such as those relating to anticipated sales volumes, average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If our guidance varies from actual results, the market value of our ordinary shares could decline significantly.

 

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ordinary shares and trading volume could decline.

 

The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ordinary shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our Company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our ordinary shares to decline.

 

Because the offering price is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per ordinary share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.

 

The offering price of our shares is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per ordinary share. The initial public offering price is US$4.0 per ordinary share, if you purchase shares in this offering, you will incur immediate dilution of approximately $3.164 or approximately 79.1% in the pro forma net tangible book value per share from the price per share that you pay for the ordinary shares. Accordingly, if you purchase shares in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution of your investment. See “Dilution.”

 

Our management has significant discretion over use of proceeds of this offering.

 

While we have identified the priorities to which we expect to put the proceeds of this offering, our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds received by us. We have reserved the right to re-allocate funds currently allocated as described under “Use of Proceeds” to our general working capital. If that were to happen, then our management would have significant discretion over even more of the net proceeds to be received by us in this offering. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. You must rely on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not improve our efforts to achieve profitability or increase our stock price. The net proceeds from this offering may be placed in investments that do not produce profit or increase value.

 

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We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, will not be subject to U.S. proxy rules and will be subject to more lenient and less frequent Exchange Act reporting obligations than a U.S. issuer.

 

Upon consummation of this offering, we will report under the Securities Exchange Act as a foreign private issuer. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. public companies, including:

 

  the sections of the Exchange Act that regulate the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;
     
  the sections of the Exchange Act that require insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and impose liability on insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and
     
  the rules under the Exchange Act that require the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information and current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of specified significant events.

 

In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are not large accelerated filers or accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from Regulation FD, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.

 

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company.”

 

Upon completion of this offering, we will become a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a Company with less than $1.07 billion in revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies.

 

We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. After we are no longer an “emerging growth company”, we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC. For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

 

In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.

 

As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2023. In the future, we would lose our foreign private issuer status if (1) more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are owned by U.S. residents and (2) a majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents. If we lose our foreign private issuer status, we will be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We will also have to mandatorily comply with U.S. federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will become subject to the short-swing profit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the Nasdaq rules. As a U.S. listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we will not incur as a foreign private issuer.

 

As an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements.

 

As an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements. We are an emerging growth company until the earliest of:

 

  the last day of the fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more;
     
  the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering;
     
  the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt; or
     
  the date on which we are deemed a “large accelerated issuer” as defined under the federal securities laws.

 

For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for up to five fiscal years after the date of this offering. We cannot predict if investors will find our ordinary shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our ordinary shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ordinary shares and the trading price of our ordinary shares may be more volatile. In addition, our costs of operating as a public company may increase when we cease to be an emerging growth company.

 

Recently introduced economic substance legislation of the Cayman Islands may impact us and our operations.

 

The Cayman Islands, together with several other non-European Union jurisdictions, has recently introduced legislation aimed at addressing concerns raised by the Council of the European Union as to offshore structures engaged in certain activities which attract profits without real economic activity. With effect from January 1, 2019, the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Law, 2018, or the Substance Law, and issued Regulations and Guidance Notes came into force in the Cayman Islands introducing certain economic substance requirements for “relevant entities” which are engaged in certain “relevant activities,” which in the case of exempted companies incorporated before January 1, 2019, will apply in respect of financial years commencing July 1, 2019 and onwards. A “relevant entity” includes an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, as is the Company; however, it does not include an entity that is tax resident outside of the Cayman Islands. Accordingly, for so long as the Company is a tax resident outside of the Cayman Islands, we are not required to satisfy the economic substance test set out in the Substance Law. Although it is presently anticipated that the Substance Law will have little material impact on us and our operations, as the legislation is new and remains subject to further clarification and interpretation, it is not currently possible to ascertain the precise impact of these legislative changes on us and our operations.

 

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You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

 

We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by our minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under the Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

 

There is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would:

 

  recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws; and
     
  entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

 

There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a foreign judgment, without any re-examination or re-litigation of matters adjudicated upon, provided such judgment:

 

  (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction;
     
  (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given;
     
  (c) is final;
     
  (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty;
     
  (e) was not obtained by fraud; and
     
  (f) is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

 

Subject to the above limitations, in appropriate circumstances, a Cayman Islands court may give effect in the Cayman Islands to other kinds of final foreign judgments such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions.

 

Moreover, while under Delaware law, controlling shareholders owe fiduciary duties to the companies they control and their minority shareholders, under Cayman Islands law, our controlling shareholders do not owe any such fiduciary duties to our company or to our minority shareholders. Accordingly, our controlling shareholders may exercise their powers as shareholders, including the exercise of voting rights in respect of their shares, in such manner as they think fit.

 

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of association) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. We have discretion under our articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obligated to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

 

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Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. Currently, we do not plan to rely on home country practices with respect to any corporate governance matter. To the extent we choose to follow home country practices with respect to corporate governance matters, our shareholders may be afforded fewer protections than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

 

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “Description of Share Capital— Differences in Corporate Law.”

 

Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

 

We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted in Malaysia and Hong Kong. In addition, most of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States: a majority of our directors and officers (including our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our directors Mr. Ramasamy Logeswaran and Dato’ Sri Kam Choy Ho, and three of our independent directors Ms. Karen Yee Lynn Cheah, Mr. Koon Liang Ong and Mr. Khai Fei Wong) are permanent residents of Malaysia; Mr. Ulf Lothar Naujeck, our independent director, is a permanent resident of Germany; and Mr. Sing Chung Raymond Chiu, our Chief Financial Officer, is a permanent resident of Hong Kong. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. It may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons, or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or them, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. A judgment of a United States court for civil liabilities predicated upon the federal securities laws of the United States may not be enforceable in or recognized by the courts of the jurisdictions where our directors and officers reside, and the judicial recognition process may be time-consuming. It may be difficult for you to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of Malaysia or Hong Kong may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INDUSTRY DATA

 

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus relate to, among others:

 

  our goal and strategies;
     
  our expansion plans;
     
  our future business development, financial condition and results of operations;
     
  expected changes in our revenues, costs or expenditures;
     
  the trends in, and size of, the bunkering market in the Asia Pacific;
     
  our expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, our products and services;
     
  our expectations regarding our relationships with customers, suppliers, third-party service providers, strategic partners and other stakeholders;
     
  competition in our industry;
     
  our expectation regarding the use of proceeds from this offering;
     
  laws, regulations, and policies relating to the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific; and
     
  general economic and business conditions.

 

This prospectus also contains certain market data relating to the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific region that are based on industry publications and reports. This information involves a number of assumptions, estimates and limitations. These industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Nothing in such data should be construed as advice. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data contained in these industry publications and reports. The bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific region may not grow at the rates projected by market data, or at all. The failure of these markets to grow at the projected rates may have a material adverse effect on our business and the market price of the ordinary shares. If any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data turns out to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industry in which we operate is necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

 

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents that we have referred to in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $11.04 million, or approximately $12.87 million if the over-allotment exercise is exercised in full, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, and based upon the initial offering price of $4.0 per ordinary share.

 

Our principal business objective is to maximize our scale of operations and profitability with the financial resources available. To fulfil this objective, we shall further expand our supply network to cater to the vessel refueling needs of our existing and potential customers, geographically focusing on the Asia Pacific in the meantime, and paving the way to expand worldwide gradually.

 

We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering of $11.04 million as follows:

 

● approximately 28.6%, or $3.16 million, is expected to be used for enlarging the number of local suppliers to enhance our competitiveness as well as to increase the service options available in the Singapore and South Korea markets;

 

● approximately 28.6%, or $3.16 million, is expected to be used for further increasing our market shares in our existing markets;

 

● approximately 17.9%, or $1.98 million, is expected to be used for cash collateral to conduct trade financing activities with financial institutions, thus creating transaction records for further acquisition of bank financing to facilitate our business growth;

 

● approximately 7.2%, or $0.79 million, is expected to be used for procuring and developing a centralized management information system in order to enhance our daily management control and treasury management; and

 

● approximately 17.7%, or $1.95 million, is expected to be used for our general working capital.

 

The foregoing represents our intentions as of the date of this prospectus with respect of the use and allocation of the net proceeds of this offering based upon our present plans and business conditions, but our management will have significant flexibility and discretion in using the net proceeds of the offering. The occurrence of unforeseen events or changed business conditions may result in utilization of the proceeds of this offering in a manner other than as described in this prospectus.

 

To the extent that the net proceeds we receive from this offering are not immediately used for the above purposes, we intend to invest our net proceeds in short-term, interest bearing, debt instruments or bank deposits.

 

DIVIDENDS AND DIVIDEND POLICY

 

Neither CBL International nor Banle BVI has declared or paid any dividends since their respective inceptions. We do not have any present plan to declare or pay any dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

 

Any other future determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to approval by our shareholders, our Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the laws of Cayman Islands. Even if we decide to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount may be based on a number of factors, including our business and financial performance, working capital requirements, capital expenditure and future development plans, retained earnings and distributable reserves and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.

 

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We are a holding company incorporated in Cayman Islands. In order for us to distribute any dividends to our shareholders, we may rely on dividends distributed by our operating subsidiaries in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore for our cash requirements. The applicable laws of the jurisdictions where our operating subsidiaries are incorporated and the constitutional documents of our operating subsidiaries place limits on the ability of these subsidiaries to distribute dividends.

 

CAPITALIZATION

 

The table below sets forth our capitalization as of June 30, 2022:

 

on an actual basis; and
on a pro forma basis to reflect the Reorganization.
 on a pro forma as adjusted basis to reflect the issuance and sale of 3,325,000 ordinary shares by us in this offering at an initial public offering price of $4.0 per ordinary share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

Investors should read this table in conjunction with our audited financial statements and notes thereto included in this prospectus as well as “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Consolidated Financial and Data,” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

    As of June 30, 2022                
    Actual     Pro Forma     Pro Forma as adjusted(1)  
               

Without exercise of over-allotment option

   

Full exercise

of over-allotment option

 
    (in U.S. dollars, except share and
per share data)
 
Shareholders’ equity                                
Ordinary shares, $0.0001 per value, 500,000,000 shares authorized, 21,250,000 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2022(2)     2,125       2,125       2,458      

2,507

 
Additional paid-in capital     488,198       488,198       11,523,866       13,359,216  
Retained earnings     9,025,758       9,025,758       9,025,758       9,025,758  
Total shareholders’ equity     9,516,081       9,516,081       20,552,081       22,387,481  
                                 
Total capitalization     9,516,081       9,516,081      

20,552,081

      22,387,481  

 

(1) The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. Our share premium and total (deficit)/equity following the completion of this offering are based on the initial public offering price of $4.0 and other terms of this offering.

 

(2) Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in August 2022.

 

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DILUTION

 

If you invest in our ordinary shares, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per ordinary share and our net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering. Dilution results from the fact that the public offering price per ordinary share is substantially in excess of the net tangible book value per ordinary share attributable to the existing shareholders for our presently issued ordinary shares.

 

Our pro forma net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022 was approximately $9,516,087, or $0.448 per ordinary share as of that date. Pro forma net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total consolidated assets, less the amount of other intangible assets and total consolidated liabilities. Dilution is determined by subtracting as adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share, after giving effect to the issuance and sale by us of 3,325,000 ordinary shares in this offering at the public offering price of $4.0 per ordinary share (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised) after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The foregoing does not include shares issuable upon exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option.

 

Without taking into account any other changes in pro forma net tangible book value after June 30, 2022, other than to give effect to the issuance and sale by us of 3,325,000 ordinary shares in this offering at the public offering price of $4.0 per ordinary share after deduction of the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022 would have been $20,552,081, or $0.836 per issued ordinary share. This represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $0.388 per ordinary share to the existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value of $3.164 per ordinary share to investors purchasing ordinary shares in this offering. The total number of ordinary shares does not include ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the underwriters.

 

The following table illustrates such dilution:

 

   Per ordinary share 
   Without exercise of over-allotment option   Full exercise of over-allotment option 
Initial public offering price  $4.0   $4.0 
Pro forma net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022  $0.448   $0.448 
Increase in pro forma net tangible book value attributable to this offering  $0.388   $0.445 
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering  $0.836   $0.893 
           
Dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share to new investors(2)  $3.164   $3.107 

 

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The following table summarizes, on an as adjusted basis as of June 30, 2022, the differences between the existing shareholders and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share paid before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, and assumes no exercise of the over-allotment option.

 

   Shares Purchased   Total Consideration   Average
Price Per
 
   Number   Percentage   Amount   Percentage   Share 
Existing shareholders   21,250,000    86.5%  $9,516,081    41.7%  $0.448 
New investors   3,325,000    13.5%  $13,300,000    58.3%  $4.0 
                          
Total   24,575,000    100%  $22,816,081    100%  $0.836 

 

The adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only.

 

ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

 

Cayman Islands

 

We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act, and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands because of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands company, such as:

 

  political and economic stability;
     
  an effective judicial system;
     
  a favorable tax system;
     
  the absence of foreign exchange control or currency restrictions; and
     
  the availability of professional and support services.

 

However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include but are not limited to:

 

the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection for investors; and

 

Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

 

Substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, most of our directors and executive officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and all or a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. A majority of our directors and officers (including our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our directors Mr. Ramasamy Logeswaran and Dato’ Sri Kam Choy Ho, and three of our independent directors Ms. Karen Yee Lynn Cheah, Mr. Koon Liang Ong and Mr. Khai Fei Wong) are permanent residents of Malaysia; Mr. Ulf Lothar Naujeck, our independent director, is a permanent resident of Germany; and Mr. Sing Chung Raymond Chiu, our Chief Financial Officer, is a permanent resident of Hong Kong. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. It may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons, or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against us or them, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. It may also be difficult for you to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of Malaysia or Hong Kong may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

 

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We have appointed Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY10168, as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.

 

Ogier, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would (i) recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States, or (ii) entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands against us or our directors or officers that are predicated the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.

 

We have also been advised by Ogier that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such a determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Ogier has further advised us that although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign judgement, without any re-examination or re-litigation of matters adjudicated upon, provided such judgment:

 

  (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction;
     
  (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given;
     
  (c) is final;
     
  (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty;
     
  (e) was not obtained by fraud; and
     
  (f) is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.

 

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.

 

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OUR HISTORY AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE

 

We were incorporated on February 8, 2022 in the Cayman Islands under Cayman Islands law under the name “CBL International Limited”. Pursuant to the Reorganization in August 2022, CBL International Limited became the holding company of Banle BVI and its subsidiaries.

 

The history of our Group can be traced back to 2015 when Banle Energy HK was incorporated in Hong Kong. Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our founder, has over 15 years of experience in the oil and gas related industries and business management. Before founding our Group in 2015, he was employed by a company based in Shenzhen, PRC which was principally engaged in fuel oil business from 2006 to 2008, with his last position as the general director. He was an executive director of a company which was then listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited that was principally engaged in international supply of fuel oil and bunkering business from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Chia has significant experience in overall operations, management and strategic planning in relation to the provision of vessel refueling services.

 

With the insight of our founder and the joint efforts of our management team, despite our relatively short history, our Group managed to expand our vessel refueling services in the Asia Pacific rapidly and we currently provide services in 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand.

 

Upon completion of the Reorganization described below, our Group comprises our Company, Banle BVI, Banle Energy HK, Reliance HK, Banle Marketing, Banle Malaysia, Banle China, Majestic Energy and Majestic Energy (Singapore).

 

Our Corporate Information

 

We are registered with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands under registration number CT-387046. Our principal executive offices are located at Suite 19-9-6, Level 9, UOA Centre, No. 19 Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our telephone number at this address is 60-3-2703-2966. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at Conyers Trust Company (Cayman) Limited, Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, PO Box 2681, Grand Cayman, KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices set forth above.

 

Our main website is www.banle-intl.com, and the information contained on this website is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY10168.

 

The Reorganization

 

We have historically conducted our business through Banle BVI, incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with registered number 2039076, and its subsidiaries. On February 8, 2022, we formed CBL International Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the Companies Act, for purposes of effectuating this offering.

 

In August 2022, we completed the Reorganization pursuant to which Banle BVI became a wholly owned subsidiary of CBL International. To effect the Reorganization, the existing shareholders of Banle BVI, namely CBL (Asia) Limited (“CBL (Asia)”) and Straits Energy Resources Berhad (“Straits”), Banle BVI and CBL International entered into a sale and purchase agreement, pursuant to which CBL International acquired the entire issued share capital of Banle BVI from CBL (Asia) and Straits, in consideration of which CBL International allotted and issued shares to CBL (Asia) and Straits representing 62% and 38%, respectively, of its total issued share capital. Existing shares of CBL International were surrendered and cancelled for no consideration following such sale and purchase.

 

Our Corporate Structure

 

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure following the Reorganization but immediately prior to the consummation of this offering.

 

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The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure following the consummation of this offering.

 

 

(1) CBL (Asia) Limited is a limited liability company incorporated in Hong Kong which is owned as to 51% by Mr. Teck Lim Chia, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 44% by Ms. Xiaoling Lu and 4% by Mr.Yuan He.
   
(2) Straits Energy Resources Berhad, or Straits, is a Malaysian company whose shares are listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (stock code: 0080). As at 13 April 2022, Dato’ Sri Kam Choy Ho and Sturgeon Asia Ltd are the shareholders holding not less than 5% of the issued shares of Straits, which own approximately 7.78% and 6.51% of the issued shares of Straits respectively.

 

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Our Subsidiaries

 

Banle International Group Limited is the only subsidiary directly held by CBL International. Our other subsidiaries are all indirectly held.

 

Name of Subsidiary  Place of
Incorporation/Registration
and Operations
  Our Equity
Interest
  Principal Activities

Banle International Group Limited

  British Virgin Islands  100%  Investment holding
          
Banle Energy International Limited  Hong Kong  100%  Sales and distribution of marine fuel
          
Banle International Marketing Limited  Malaysia  100%  Marketing service
          

Banle International (China) Limited

  Hong Kong  100%  Investment holding
          

Banle International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

  Malaysia  100%  Sales and distribution of marine fuel
          
Majestic Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd  Singapore  100%  Development of the South-East Asia market
          
Reliance (China) Limited  Hong Kong  100%  Business management
          

Majestic Energy (Shenzhen) Co. Limited

  PRC  100%  Investment holding (Dormant)

 

Transfer of cash within the organization

 

The structure of cash flows within our organization, and a summary of the applicable regulations, are as follows:

 

1. Our equity structure is an indirect holding structure, that is, the overseas entity to be listed in the U.S., CBL International, indirectly controls, through Banle BVI our wholly-owned Operating Subsidiaries. We did not have and do not intend to have any cash transfer to or from our dormant PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, other than cash transfer in small amount to pay for administrative expenses. During the six months ended June 30, 2022, there was a one-off cash transfer in the amount of $625 from Banle Energy HK to Majestic Energy for settling administrative expenses.

 

2. Within our holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of the respective jurisdictions where our Operating Subsidiaries are established, namely Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. After foreign investors’ funds enter CBL International at the close of this offering, the funds can be directly transferred to Banle BVI, and then transferred to our Operating Subsidiaries.

 

If CBL International intends to distribute dividends, the Operating Subsidiaries will transfer the dividends to Banle BVI in accordance with the laws and regulations of Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, and then Banle BVI will transfer the dividends to CBL International, and the dividends will be distributed from CBL International 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.

 

3. In the reporting periods presented in this prospectus and up to the date of this prospectus, save for (i) dividend distribution of $600,000 and $800,000 by Banle Energy HK to CBL (Asia), the then sole shareholder of Banle Energy HK, in July 2018 and February 2019, respectively; and (ii) cash transfers among entities of the Group that are made in the ordinary course of business as set forth below, no cash and other asset transfers have occurred among Banle BVI and its subsidiaries or from Banle BVI and its subsidiaries to investors; and no dividends or distributions from any of the subsidiaries has been made to Banle BVI or to investors, or from Banle BVI to any of the subsidiaries or to investors.

 

The following are the aggregate intra-group cash transfers for FY2020 and FY2021 and for the six months ended June 30, 2022:

 

From  To  FY2020   Purpose of transfer  FY2021   Purpose of transfer  For the six months ended June 30, 2022   Purpose of transfer 
Banle Energy HK  Banle BVI  $291,000   $290,000 for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI. $1,000 for placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle Marketing  $12,100   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.  $12,903   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle China   -   -  $15,000   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Banle Malaysia  $22,000   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -    - 
Banle BVI  Banle Marketing  $241   Placing initial deposit with bank for account opening.   -   -   -    - 
Banle BVI  Banle Energy HK  $190,000   Partial repayment of the $290,000 previously provided by Banle Energy HK for paying the issued capital of other subsidiaries of Banle BVI.   -   -   -    - 
Banle Energy HK  Majestic Energy (Singapore)   -   -   -   -  $43,742.72    Placing initial deposit with banks for account opening and advances to Majestic Energy (Singapore) for operating expenses 
Banle Energy HK  Majestic Energy   -   -   -   -  $625    Advance to Majestic Energy for administrative expenses 

 

See “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. For the foreseeable future, we intend to use our earnings to further expand our business and as general working capital. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends.

 

4. Our PRC subsidiary, Majestic Energy, is dormant and does not have operations or assets. Since it has no earnings and profits, it has not distributed and will not distribute any dividends. In general, Majestic Energy’s ability to distribute dividends is based upon its distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit Majestic Energy to pay dividends to its respective shareholders only out of its accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, Majestic Energy 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 its registered capital. This reserve is not distributable as cash dividends, except in liquidation.

 

The Company does not have specific cash management policies that dictate how funds are transferred throughout the organization. It is the Company’s general policy to minimize unnecessary cash transfers among entities and keep funds within the entities where they are raised or generated in order to support the local entity’s operations. For example, if the funds are generated in a subsidiary in Hong Kong, then the Company’s general approach will be to use those funds to support the Hong Kong subsidiary’s operations, with the exception of required funding for capital investments.

 

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Shortages in availability of foreign currency may then restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to remit sufficient foreign currency to our offshore entities for our offshore entities to pay dividends or make other payments or otherwise to satisfy our foreign-currency-denominated obligations. Therefore, to the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.

 

See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Doing Business in China – In the event that we rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, any limitation on the ability of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business” on page 32 and “– To the extent cash or assets in our business is in the PRC or Hong Kong or in our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our ability or the ability of our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets” on page 33.

 

50
 

 

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following selected consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 and selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2022 are derived from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods.

 

* Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in February 2021.

 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income Data

 

   For Six Months Ended June 30,   For the Years Ended December 31, 
   2022   2021   2021   2020 
   (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)   (audited)   (audited) 
Revenue  $235,969,705   $159,384,219   $326,540,712   $234,257,668 
Cost of revenue   231,653,262    156,320,836    318,950,082    228,046,959 
Gross profit   4,043,443    3,063,383    7,590,630    6,210,709 
Total operating costs and expenses   2,496,337    1,329,744    3,359,633    2,758,929 
Income from operations   1,547,106    1,733,639    4,230,997    3,451,780 
Comprehensive income  $1,088,896   $1,441,846   $3,568,968   $2,877,723 
Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share*  $0.05   $0.07   $7.28   $5.87 

 

 

* Gives retroactive effect to reflect the reorganization in February 2021.

 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Financial Position Data

 

  

As of

June 30, 2022

(Unaudited)

  

As of

December 31, 2021
(audited)

  

As of

December 31, 2020
(audited)

 
Cash  $4,506,274   $3,035,321   $5,561,051 
Accounts receivable   23,213,703    18,043,235    16,709,025 
Derivative assets   603,137    291,860    - 
Prepayments and other current assets   3,151,386    3,834,585    69,086 
Due from related parties   1,781,401    1,509,988    786,291 
Total current assets   33,255,901    26,714,989    23,125,453 
Property, plant and equipment, net   123,085    122,326    162,634 
Right-of-use lease assets, net   84,068    155,323    278,076 
Total assets   33,463,054    26,992,638    23,566,163 
Accounts payable   22,648,655    18,297,191    18,068,538 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities   44,218    47,459    16,581 
Taxes payable   448,056    98,417    125,446 
Derivative liabilities   -    -    262,310 
Due to a related party   719,773    -    - 
Short-term lease liabilities   73,769    72,730    112,685 
Total current liabilities   23,934,471    18,515,797    18,585,560 
Long-term lease liabilities   12,502    49,656    122,386 
Total liabilities   23,946,973    18,565,453    18,707,946 
Shareholders’ equity  $9,516,081   $8,427,185   $4,858,217 

 

Selected Consolidated Cash Flow Data

 

  

For Six Months Ended June, 30

  

For the years Ended December 31,

 
   2022   2021   2021   2022 
   (Unaudited)   (Unaudited)   (audited)   (audited) 
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities  $759,089   $(1,765,675)  $(2,506,577)  $3,362,327 
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities   (7,909)   (1,449)   (19,153)   452,926 
Net cash (used in) financing activities   719,773    -    -    (1,314,295)
Cash at beginning of the year   3,035,321    5,561,051    5,561,051    3,060,093 
Cash at end of the year  $4,506,274   $3,793,927   $3,035,321   $5,561,051 

 

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

 

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear in this prospectus. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates, and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Industry Data.” All amounts included in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 (“Annual Financial Statements”) are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. These Annual Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or US GAAP.

 

Business Overview

 

We are an established marine fuel logistics company providing one-stop solution for vessel refuelling, which is referred to as bunkering facilitator in the bunkering industry in the Asia Pacific. We facilitate vessel refuelling between ship operators and local physical distributors/traders. We purchase marine fuel from our suppliers and arrange our suppliers to actually deliver marine fuel to our customers. Since the establishment of our Group in 2015, container liner operators have been identified as our target customers. Container liner operators provide liner services which operate on a schedule with a fixed port rotation and fixed frequency, which is similar to bus operation under which buses go on fixed routes and calling at fixed stops for passengers to board and alight. Knowing the nature of business of our target customers, we persistently strengthen ourselves by (a) expanding our servicing network to cover more ports; and (b) providing more value-added services to tailor for our customers’ growing demands with respect to vessel refueling.

 

Our services mainly involve (i) making vessel refuelling options available to our customers at various ports along their voyages in the Asia Pacific; (ii) arranging vessel refuelling activities at competitive pricing to our customers; (iii) coordinating vessel refuelling to meet our customers’ schedule during their various port visits in the Asia Pacific; (iv) providing trade credit to our customers in relation to vessel refuelling; (v) arranging local physical delivery of marine fuel to meet our customers’ schedule; (vi) handling unforeseeable circumstances faced by our customers and providing contingency solutions to our customers in a timely manner; (vii) fulfilling special requests from our customers in relation to vessel refuelling; and (viii) handling disputes, mainly in relation to quality and quantity issues on marine fuel, if any.

 

Our supply network, which focuses on expanding our localities of services, is currently covering 36 ports in the Asia Pacific, including but not limited to, three ports in South Korea, 20 ports in the PRC, one port in Taiwan, one port in Hong Kong, five ports in Malaysia, one port in Singapore, three ports in the Philippines, and two ports in Thailand. Among our extensive network of 36 ports, 13 are within the top 20 container ports in 2020 in terms of throughput volume globally. Also, based on the F&S Report, the Asia Pacific accounted for approximately 46.8% of global marine fuel consumption volume in 2021. Through our extensive network in the Asia Pacific, we can provide vessel refuelling services through our suppliers at different ports.

 

Revenue increased by approximately $92,283,000 or approximately 39.4%, to approximately $326,541,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from approximately $234,258,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

 

Our net income for the year increased by approximately $691,000 or approximately 24.0%, to $3,569,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $2,878,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

 

Recently, a series of conflicts have escalated between Russia and Ukraine since February, 2022 which had led to sanctions from a number of countries towards Russia targeting businesses, monetary exchanges, bank transfers, and imports and exports. Russia has been the second largest exporter of the crude oil for number of years and account for more than 20% of the high sulphur fuel oil, very low sulphur fuel oil and marine gasoil supplies globally. The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has led to a surge in worldwide crude oil price as significant numbers of traders refused to purchase crude oil originated from Russia, with approximately 70% of Russian crude oil exports have failed to reach a matched buyer, where sellers were struggling to trade Russian oil because of the supply chain difficulties in shipping and payments amid the crisis. Concurrently, the price of bunkering surges globally, which is associated with the risk premium and the on-going flourishing demand around the globe. Our Group serves primarily in a niche position to facilitate the ship operators to get their vessels duly refuelled in appropriate ports, in a timely manner and at competitive market price without the need of establishing a procurement network by themselves. During the process, our Group obtains quotation of marine fuel price from respective suppliers and subsequently assess and add a premium in addition to the bunkering price. As the demand for crude oil in terms of volume is expected to be rising steadily owing to stable downstream demand, and considering that our Group operates with a pricing mechanism on a cost plus fixed fee basis, it is expected that there would be immaterial impact of the Ukraine-Russia crisis on our Group’s operation. However, any significant increase in marine fuel price might tighten the operating cash flows of our Group, which may, in turn, adversely affect our working capital requirements or financial conditions.

 

To ensure a positive gross profit for each transaction, we price our services on a “cost plus fixed fee” basis, i.e. we are able to obtain a premium, being the difference between the selling price per metric ton of marine fuel sold to our customers and the purchase cost from our suppliers. Therefore, generally speaking, the more quantity of marine fuel we procure for our customers, the more profit we generate. However, our operation is limited by the working capital available to us for a given period of time. If the marine fuel prices increase substantially, we could purchase less marine fuel from our suppliers with the same level of financial resources and same trade credit offered by our suppliers. It is noted that our gross profit margin decreased from approximately 2.7% for FY2020 to approximately 2.3% for FY2021. It was mainly because of the significant increase in the average market price per tonne of marine fuel during FY2021, which also resulted in a significant increase in our revenue. Since revenue is the denominator in calculating the gross profit margin, when marine fuel price increases, our gross profit margin inherently decreases notwithstanding our “cost plus fixed fee” pricing policy which only ensures a fixed monetary amount (i.e. the premium) per ton sold. Given the nature of our business, our gross profit margin will be inevitably affected by the fluctuation of marine fuel price, and hence gross profit margin is generally not a key indicator for evaluation of our profitability. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Key performance indicators.” According to the F&S Report, the marine fuel price is also highly associated with the surge in crude oil price in recent Ukraine-Russia crisis. According to the statistics released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, brent crude oil price is anticipated to reach an average of approximately $108 per barrel in the second half of 2022, similar to the price level since the Russian and Ukraine crisis at approximately $117 per barrel, $105 per barrel and $113 per barrel in March, April and May 2022, respectively. According to the F&S Report, assuming there are no other externalities such as financial and political crisis or natural disaster to affect the demand and supply of crude oil or marine fuel globally during 2022, the crude oil price is expected to remain at a similar level as in the first half of 2022 in the remaining months of 2022 with a fluctuation range of approximately 10% to 15%. To mitigate the effects of working capital limitation and future unexpected increase in marine fuel price, it is our strategy to strengthen the financial resources available to us by utilizing bank facilities and to obtain better trade credit from our suppliers, and we do not anticipate any material impact to our future results of operations in light of the current expected oil price trend.

 

52
 

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

 

The outbreak of COVID-19, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, has created significant volatility, uncertainty and disruption in the global economy.

 

Despite the decline of trading and slowdown of economic growth during the first half of 2020 as a result of COVID-19 outbreak, the business and financial performance of major international container liner operators have improved the profitability of international container liner operators has seen a significant growth since the third quarter of 2020 amid COVID-19 outbreak.

 

The bunkering industry, particularly distributions in certain ports, were also adversely affected Nonetheless, given the nature of our business of providing refuelling services through our supply network, our flexibility to respond to emergencies occurred in individual ports prevents us from being severely affected by COVID-19 in the fulfilment of our contractual obligations.

 

As our major business operations are managed in Malaysia and Hong Kong, and all our employees in Malaysia and Hong Kong are able to continue our communication and cooperation with our customers and suppliers through electronic media, telephone and remote access to our information technology system, there is no material interruption to our business, daily operations, employees and payment settlement from our customers or to our suppliers. In case our customers experience port disturbance, we can re-arrange refueling of the vessel to the next feasible port under our extensive supply network currently covering 36 ports in the Asia Pacific.

 

We make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts within our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes as of the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements. We assessed accounting estimates that require consideration of forecasted financial information, including, but not limited to, our allowance for credit losses and the recoverability of the carrying value of our long-lived assets. These assessments were conducted in the context of information reasonably available to us, as well as our consideration of the future potential impacts of COVID-19 on our business as of December 31, 2021. At this time, we have not noticed that the COVID-19 pandemic has created any imminent and adverse impact on our business, as well as our financial position, indebtedness or prospect, and revenue structure or cost structure. Accordingly, if the impact is more severe or longer in duration than we have assumed, such impact could potentially result in additional impairments or increases in credit allowances.

 

Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

 

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods presented. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The results of operations in any period are not necessarily indicative of our future trends.

 

(Amounts expressed in thousands, except share data and per share data, or otherwise noted)

 

   For the years ended December 31, 
   2021   2020   Variance   Variance (%) 
Revenue                
Revenue  $326,541   $234,258   $92,283    39.4 
Cost of revenue   318,950    228,047    90,903    39.9 
                     
Gross profit   7,591    6,211    1,380    22.2 
                     
Operating expenses:                    
Selling and distribution   967    694    273    39.3 
General and administrative   2,393    2,065    328    15.8 
Total operating costs and expenses   3,360    2,759    601    21.8 
                     
Income from operations   4,231    3,452    779    22.6 
                     
Other (income) expense:                    
Interest expense, net   3    1    2    200.0 
Currency exchange loss   3    7    (4)   (71.4)
Write off of property, plant and equipment   -    12    (12)   (100.0)
Equity investment income   -    (180)   180   100.0
Loss on sale of equity investment   -    207    (207   (100.0)
Total other expenses   6    47    (41)   (87.2)
                     
Income before provision for income taxes   4,225    3,405    820    24.1 
                     
Provision for income taxes   656    527    129    24.5 
Net income  $3,569   $2,878   $691    24.0 

 

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Revenue

 

Our revenue increased by approximately $92,283,000 or 39.4% from approximately $234,258,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $326,541,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021. Such increase was mainly attributable to the increase in the marine fuel price but partially offset by the slight decrease in our sales volume of approximately 36,965 metric tons or 5.6% from 655,660 metric tons for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately 618,695 metric tons for the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

The decrease in our sales volume was mainly driven by the increases in the average MOPS from approximately US$366.0 per metric ton for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately US$572.2 per metric ton for the year ended December 31, 2021, representing an increase of approximately 56.3%, and partially offset by the increase in our financial resources available to purchase additional marine fuel (in dollar amount) mainly as a result of cash flow from our operation in FY2020.

 

Cost of sale

 

Our cost of sale mainly represents costs incurred to source goods and services such as the purchase cost of marine fuel. Our cost of sale increased by approximately $90,903,000 or 39.9% from approximately $228,047,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $318,950,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021. Such increase was mainly attributable to the increase in the marine fuel price.

 

Gross profit margin

 

The following table sets forth our overall gross profit margin (in thousands):

 

   For the Year
Ended
   For the Year
Ended
 
   December 31,
2021
   December 31,
2020
 
Revenue  $326,541   $234,258 
Cost of revenue   318,950    228,047 
Gross profit  $7,591   $6,211 
Gross profit margin %   2.3%   2.7%
Total metric tons sold   618,895    655,660 
Gross profit per metric tons (in $)  $12.3    9.5 

 

Gross profit increased by approximately $1,380,000 or approximately 22.2% from approximately $6,211,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 to approximately $7,591,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021. Such increase was mainly attributable to the increase in overall gross profit per ton for the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

Operating expenses

 

Our operating expenses consist of selling and distribution expenses, and general and administrative expenses.

 

Selling and distribution

 

The following table sets forth a breakdown of the selling expenses of our Company (in thousands):

 

54
 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

 

   2021   2020 
Staff related costs  $582   $410 
Shipping agency fees   385    284 
Total  $967   $694 

 

Our selling and distribution expenses comprise staff related cost and shipping agency fees.

 

The selling and distribution expenses increased by approximately $273,000, or approximately 39.3% to $967,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $649,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was mainly attributable to the increase in salaries to our Group’s sales employees and increase in the shipping agency fees for the coordination works at ports.

 

General and administrative

 

General and administrative expenses primarily consist of the following expenses (in thousands):

 

Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

 

   2021   2020 
Staff related cost  $1,654   $1,235 
Travelling and entertainment   264    400 
Depreciation and amortization   183    146 
Professional and management fees   65    18 
Loss on written off   -    12 
Others   227    254 
Total  $2,393   $2,065 

 

The administrative expenses increased by $328,000, or approximately 15.9% to $2,393,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $2,065,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was mainly due to increase in staff related cost offset by decrease in travelling expenses. Staff related cost represents wages and benefits, including wages, bonus, other allowances and benefits payables to our staff.

 

Income from operations

 

As a result of the factors described above, our income from operations increased by $779,000, or approximately 22.6%, to $4,231,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $3,452,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

 

Provision for income taxes

 

Our provision for income taxes increased by $129,000, or approximately 24.5%, to $656,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $527,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was in line with the increase in net income in 2021.