S-8 1 ef20051497_s8.htm S-8
As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 3, 2025
Registration No. 333-

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

FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Waton Financial Limited
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

British Virgin Islands
  
Not Applicable
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

Suites 3605-06, 36th Floor,
Tower 6, The Gateway,
Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Waton Financial Limited 2024 Global Equity Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plan)

Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
(Name and address of agent for service)

(212) 947-7200
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Ying Li, Esq.
Lisa Forcht, Esq.
Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li, LLC
950 Third Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10022
212- 530-2206

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

Large accelerated filer
 ☐
Accelerated filer
 ☐
Non-accelerated filer
 ☒
Smaller reporting company
 ☒
Emerging growth company
 ☒  

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

 EXPLANATORY NOTE
 
This registration statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) is filed by Waton Financial Limited (the “Company” or the “Registrant”) to register 10,245,000 ordinary shares, no par value per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), that may be issued under the Company’s 2024 Global Equity Incentive Plan.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

Item 1.
Plan Information.*

Item 2.
Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.*

*
The documents containing the information specified in this Part I of Form S-8 (Plan Information and Registration Information and Employee Plan Annual Information) will be sent or given to recipients of the grants under the Plan as specified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act. Such documents are not required to be, and are not, filed with the SEC either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II hereof, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act. The Registrant will provide a written statement to participants advising them of the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II hereof and including the statement in the preceding sentence. The written statement to all participants will indicate the availability without charge, upon written or oral request, of other documents required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 428(b) of the Securities Act, and will include the address and telephone number to which the request is to be directed.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.
Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The Registrant is subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and, accordingly, files periodic reports and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC, including the Registrant. The address for the SEC’s website is “http://www.sec.gov.” The following documents are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

(a) Our report of foreign private issuer on Form 6-K filed with the SEC on April 2, 2025; and

(b) The description of the Registrant’s Ordinary Shares contained in the registration statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2025, and any amendment or report filed for the purpose updating such description.

Except to the extent such information is deemed furnished and not filed pursuant to securities laws and regulations, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and, to the extent specifically designated therein, reports on Form 6-K furnished by the Registrant to the SEC, in each case, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement indicating that all securities offered under this Registration Statement have been sold, or deregistering all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing or furnishing of such documents.

Any statement contained herein or in a document all or a portion of which is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4.
Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5.
Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

None.

Item 6.
Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Our memorandum and articles of association currently in effect provide that, subject to certain limitations, we indemnify against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings for any person who:


 •
is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that the person is or was our director; or

•
is or was, at our request, serving as a director or officer of, or in any other capacity is or was acting for, another body corporate or a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise.

These indemnities only apply if the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and, in the case of criminal proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful. The decision of the directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the memorandum and articles of association, as amended, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entering of a nolle prosequi does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by any such person in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our Company. We have purchased the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for the Company’s directors and officers.

Item 7.
Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8.
Exhibits.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
  
Description
4.1
  
4.2
  
5.1*
  
10.1
  
23.1*
  
23.2*
  
24.1
  
107*
  

*
Filed herewith.

Item 9.
Undertakings.

(a)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 
(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 
(i)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
     
 
(ii)
 
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Filing Fee Tables” or “Calculation of Registration Fee” table, as applicable, in the effective registration statement.
     
 
(iii)
 
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.

 
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 
(3)
To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 
(4)
To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 77j(a)(3)) need not be furnished, provided that the issuer includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements.

 
(5)
That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 
(i)
Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 
(ii)
Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 
(6)
That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 
(i)
Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
     
 
(ii)
Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
     
 
(iii)
The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
     
 
(iv)
Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b)
That, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hong Kong, on July 3, 2025.

 
Waton Financial Limited
     
 
By:
/s/ WEN Huaxin
 
Name:
WEN Huaxin
 
Title:
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Accounting and Financial Officer)

Power of Attorney

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature
  
Title
  
Date
         
/s/ ZHOU Kai
  
Chief Technology Officer, Chairman of the Board
  
July 3, 2025
Name: ZHOU Kai
  
(Principal Executive Officer)
    
         
/s/ WEN Huaxin
  
Chief Financial Officer
  
July 3, 2025
Name: WEN Huaxin
  
(Principal Accounting and Financial Officer)
    
         
/s/ CHU Chun On Franco
  
Chief Executive Officer, Director
  
July 3, 2025
Name: CHU Chun On Franco
        
         
/s/ FUNG Chi Kin
  
Independent Director
  
July 3, 2025
Name: FUNG Chi Kin
        
         
/s/ DU Haibo
  
Independent Director
  
July 3, 2025
Name: DU Haibo
        
         
/s/ JIANG Wen
  
Independent Director
  
July 3, 2025
Name: JIANG Wen
        

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of America of WATON FINANCIAL LIMITED, has signed this registration statement thereto in New York, NY on July 3, 2025.

 
Cogency Global Inc.
Authorized U.S. Representative
     
 
By:
/s/ Colleen A. De Vries
 
Name:
Colleen A. De Vries
 
Title:
Senior Vice President on behalf of Cogency
Global Inc.