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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 20-F/A

 

(Mark One)

 

¨ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
   
OR
   
x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
   
  For The Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022.
   
OR
   
¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
   
OR
   
¨ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of event requiring this shell company report

 

Commission file number: 001-33863

 

XINYUAN REAL ESTATE CO., LTD.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

 

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

27/F, China Central Place, Tower II

79 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing 100025

People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Yu (Brian) Chen

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

27F, China Central Place, Tower II,

79 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

Beijing 100025

People’s Republic of China

Tel: (86-10) 8588-9255

Fax: (86-10) 8588-9300

Email: irteam@xyre.com

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of Each Class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
American Depositary Shares, each representing twenty common shares, par value US$0.0001 per share   XIN   New York Stock Exchange

 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

None

(Title of Class)

 

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

 

None

(Title of Class)

 

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the Issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report. 108,029,257 common shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, as of December 31, 2022.

 

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

 

¨ Yes x No

 

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

 

¨ Yes x No

 

Note - Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

 

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

 

x Yes ¨ No

 

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

 

x Yes ¨ No

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer x
    Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x

 

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

 

     
U.S. GAAP x International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board   ¨ Other   ¨

 

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

 

¨ Item 17 ¨ Item 18

 

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

 

¨ Yes x No

 

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

 

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

 

¨ Yes ¨ No

 

Auditor Name:Auditor Location:Auditor Firm ID:
Assentsure PACSingapore6783

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explanatory Note

 

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (the “Company”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 20-F/A (this “Amendment No. 1”) to amend its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 30, 2023 (the “Original Filing”), to address certain comments from the Staff of the SEC in relation to “Item 16I. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections" in the Original Filing. The revised Item 16I. is included herein as exhibit 99.1.

 

This Amendment No. 1 is being filed solely to address the Staff’s comments as set out above. This Amendment No. 1 speaks as of the date of the Original Filing, or May 30, 2023. No attempt has been made in this Amendment No. 1 to modify or update in any way the financial statements or any other items or disclosures in the Original Filing. Except as specifically noted herein, this Amendment No. 1 does not amend, update or restate any of the information previously included in the Original Filing, nor does this Amendment No. 1 reflect any event that has occurred after the date of the Original Filing. Accordingly, this Amendment No. 1 should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC subsequent to May 30, 2023.

 

As required by Rule 12b-15 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company is filing or furnishing the certifications required under Section 302 and Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as exhibits to this Amendment No. 1.

 

1

 

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit Number   Description
     
12.1   CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
     
12.2   CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
     
13.1   CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
     
13.2   CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

99.1   Item 16. I Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
     
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

 

2

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing this Amendment No. 1 to Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this Annual Report on its behalf.

 

  Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.
   
  By: /s/ Yong Zhang
  Name: Yong Zhang
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

Date: August 22, 2023

 

3

 

 

EXHIBIT 12.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO

SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I, Yong Zhang, certify that:

 

1.            I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 20-F of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd., as amended by this Amendment No. 1 on Form 20-F/A;

 

2.            Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.            Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.            The company’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the company and have:

 

(a)            Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

(b)            Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

(c)            Evaluated the effectiveness of the company’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

(d)            Disclosed in this report any change in the company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.            The company’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the company’s auditors and the audit committee of the company’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

(a)            All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

(b)            Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: August 22, 2023    

 

/s/ Yong Zhang

   
Yong Zhang    
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer    
(Principal Executive Officer)    

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 12.2

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PURSUANT TO

SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I, Yu (Brian) Chen, certify that:

 

1.            I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 20-F of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd., as amended by this Amendment No. 1 on Form 20-F/A;

 

2.            Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.            Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.            The company’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the company and have:

 

(a)            Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

(b)            Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

(c)            Evaluated the effectiveness of the company’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

(d)            Disclosed in this report any change in the company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.            The company’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the company’s auditors and the audit committee of the company’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

(a)            All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

(b)            Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: August 22, 2023    

 

/s/ Yu (Brian) Chen

   
Yu (Brian) Chen    
Chief Financial Officer    
(Principal Financial Officer)    

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 13.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and 18 U.S.C. § 1350, the undersigned officer of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), hereby certifies that the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “Report”) complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Exchange Act and that the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Yong Zhang

   
Yong Zhang    
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer    
(Principal Executive Officer)    
August 22, 2023    

 

The foregoing certification is being furnished solely pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Exchange Act and 18 U.S.C § 1350 and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section.

 

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT 13.2

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and 18 U.S.C. § 1350, the undersigned officer of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), hereby certifies that the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “Report”) complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Exchange Act and that the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Yu (Brian) Chen

   
Yu (Brian) Chen    
Chief Financial Officer    
(Principal Financial Officer)    
August 22, 2023    

 

The foregoing certification is being furnished solely pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) under the Exchange Act and 18 U.S.C § 1350 and will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section.

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

Item 16I.Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

 

In August 2022, we were conclusively listed by the SEC as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA following the filing of our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Our auditor, a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely in 2021, issued the audit report for us for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. For this reason, we do not expect to be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA after we file this annual report on Form 20-F.

 

As of the date of this annual report, to our knowledge, (i) no governmental entities in the Cayman Islands or in China own shares of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. or our operating entities, including the VIEs, (ii) the governmental entities in China do not have a controlling financial interest in Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. or our operating entities, including the VIEs, (iii) none of the members of the board of directors of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. or our operating entities, including the VIEs, is an official of the Chinese Communist Party, and (iv) none of the currently effective memorandum and articles of association (or equivalent organizing document) of Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. or our operating entities, including the VIEs contains any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

1