10-K
1
aei_10k.htm
ANNUAL REPORT
aei_10k
 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
FORM 10-K
 
 
(Mark One)
☒  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR
15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
 
or
 
☐   TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from _________ to _________
 
Commission File Number: 001-39732
 
ALSET EHOME INTERNATIONAL INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
Delaware
 
83-1079861
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or
organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
 
4800
Montgomery Lane, Suite 210
 
 
Bethesda, MD 20814
 
301-971-3940
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
 
 
Registrant’s telephone number,
including area code
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Act:
 
Title of Each Class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value
AEI
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
 
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: Common
Stock, $0.001 par value
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned
issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities
Act. Yes  ☐  No  ☒
 
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file
reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange
Act. Yes  ☐  No  ☒
 
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. 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). Yes  ☒  No  ☐
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large
accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer,
or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large
accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and
“smaller reporting 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 13(a) of the Exchange
Act.  ☐
 
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. ☐
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company
(as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act). Yes  ☐  No  ☒
 
State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting
common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the
price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid
and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day
of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal
quarter. The Company’s common stock did not commence trading
until November 24, 2020.
 
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the
registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest
practicable date. As of April 14, 2021, there were 8,580,000 shares
outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par
value.
 
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
 
None.
  
 
 
 
 
 
Throughout this Report on Form 10-K, the terms the
“Company,” “we,” “us” and
“our” refer to Alset EHome International Inc., and
“our board of directors” refers to the board of
directors of Alset EHome International Inc.
 
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
 
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements
regarding, among other things, our future operating results and
financial position, our business strategy, and other objectives for
our future operations. The words “anticipate,”
“believe,” “intend,” “expect,”
“may,” “estimate,” “predict,”
“project,” “potential” and similar
expression are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. We have based these forward-looking statements
largely on our current expectations and projections about future
events and financial trends that we believe may affect our
business, financial condition and results of operations. There are
a number of important risks and uncertainties that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those indicated by
forward-looking statements. We may not actually achieve the plans,
intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking
statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our
forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ
materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in
the forward-looking statements we make. Our forward-looking
statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future
acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments
that we may make.
 
You should read this Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we
have filed as exhibits to this Report on Form 10-K completely
and with the understanding that our actual future results may be
materially different from what we expect. The forward-looking
statements contained in this Report on Form 10-K are made as of the
date of this Report on Form 10-K, and we do not assume
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as
a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable law.
 
 
 
 
Alset
EHome International Inc.
Form
10-K
For the
Year Ended December 31, 2020
Table
of Contents
 
 
 
 
Page
 
PART
I
 
 
Item
1.
Business
 
2
Item
1A.
Risk
Factors
 
15
Item
1B.
Unresolved Staff
Comments
 
29
Item
2.
Properties
 
29
Item
3.
Legal
Proceedings
 
30
Item
4.
Mine Safety
Disclosures
 
30
 
 
 
 
 
PART
II
 
 
Item
5.
Market for
Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
 
31
Item
6.
Selected Financial
Data
 
32
Item
7.
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
 
32
Item
7A.
Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
 
51
Item
8.
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
 
52
Item
9.
Changes in and
Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosures
 
102
Item
9A.
Controls and
Procedures
 
102
Item
9B.
Other
Information
 
102
 
 
 
 
 
PART
III
 
 
Item
10.
Directors,
Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
 
103
Item
11.
Executive
Compensation
 
107
Item
12.
Security Ownership
of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder
Matters
 
109
Item
13.
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director
Independence
 
110
Item
14.
Principal
Accounting Fees and Services
 
110
 
 
 
 
 
PART
IV
 
 
Item
15.
Exhibits,
Financial Statement Schedules
 
111
Item
16.
Form 10-K
Summary
 
113
Signatures
 
 
114
 
 
 
 
 
P ART I
 
I tem 1. B usiness.
 
Our Company
 
We
are a diversified holding company principally engaged through its
subsidiaries in property development, digital transformation
technology and biohealth activities with operations in the United
States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea. We manage
our three principal businesses primarily through our 60.2% owned
subsidiary, Alset International Limited, a public company traded on
the Singapore Stock Exchange. Through this subsidiary (and
indirectly, through other public and private U.S. and Asian
subsidiaries), we are actively developing two significant real
estate projects near Houston, Texas and in Frederick, Maryland in
our property development segment. We have designed applications for
enterprise messaging and e-commerce software platforms in the
United States and Asia in our digital transformation technology
business unit. Our recent foray into the biohealth segment includes
research to treat neurological and immune-related diseases,
nutritional chemistry to create a natural sugar alternative,
research regarding innovative products to slow the spread of
disease, and natural foods and supplements. We opportunistically
identify global businesses for acquisition, incubation and
corporate advisory services, primarily related to our operating
business segments. We also have ownership interests outside of
Alset International, including an indirect 16.8% equity interest in
Holista CollTech Limited, a public Australian company that produces
natural food ingredients, but this entity did not have a material
asset value relative to our principal businesses. Under the
guidance of Chan Heng Fai, our founder, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, who is also our largest stockholder, we have
positioned ourselves as a participant in these key markets through
a series of strategic transactions. Our growth strategy is both to
pursue acquisition opportunities that we can leverage on our global
network using our capital and management resources and to
accelerate the expansion of our organic businesses.
 
We
generally acquire majority and/or control stakes in innovative and
promising businesses that are expected to appreciate in value over
time. Our emphasis is on building businesses in industries where
our management team has in-depth knowledge and experience, or where
our management can provide value by advising on new markets and
expansion. We have at times provided a range of global capital and
management services to these companies in order to gain access to
Asian markets. We have historically favored businesses that improve
an individual’s quality of life or that improve the
efficiency of businesses through technology in various industries.
We believe our capital and management services provide us with a
competitive advantage in the selection of strategic acquisitions,
which creates and adds value for our company and our
stockholders.
 
We
intend at all times to operate our business in a manner as to not
become inadvertently subject to the regulatory requirements under
the Investment Company Act by, among other things, (i) in the event
of acquisitions, purchasing all or substantially all of an
acquisition target’s voting stock, and only in limited cases
purchase less than 51% of the voting stock; (ii) monitoring our
operations and our assets on an ongoing basis in order to ensure
that we own no less than a majority, or other control, of Alset
International and that Alset International, in turn, owns no less
than a majority, or other control, of LiquidValue Development and
other such subsidiaries with significant assets and operations; and
(iii) limiting additional equity investments into affiliated
companies including our majority-owned and/or controlled operating
subsidiaries, except in special limited circumstances.
Additionally, we will continue to hire in-house management
personnel and employees with industry background and experience,
rather than retaining traditional investment portfolio managers to
oversee our group of companies.
 
The
Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware on March 7, 2018
as HF Enterprises Inc. Effective as of February 5, 2021, the
Company changed its name from “HF Enterprises Inc.” to
“Alset EHome International Inc.” The Company effected
such name change pursuant to a merger entered into with a wholly
owned subsidiary, Alset EHome International Inc. The Company is the
surviving entity following this merger and has adopted the name of
its former subsidiary. In connection with our name change, our
trading symbol on the Nasdaq Stock Market was changed from
“HFEN” to “AEI.”
 
The
following chart illustrates the current corporate structure of our
key operating entities:
 
   
 
2
 
 
Our Current Operations
 
Property Development Business
 
Our
real estate business is primarily conducted through our indirect
subsidiary, LiquidValue Development Inc., a 99.9%-owned U.S.
subsidiary of Alset International, which owns, operates and manages
real estate development projects with a focus on land subdivision
developments (LiquidValue Development was formerly known as
“SeD Intelligent Home Inc.”). We generally contract out
all real estate development activities, working with engineers,
surveyors, architects and general contractors through each phase,
including planning, design and construction. Once the contractors
complete the land development, we then sell the developed lots to
builders for the construction of new homes. Where possible, we
attempt to pre-sell these lots before they are fully developed.
LiquidValue Development’s main assets are two such
subdivision development projects, one near Houston, Texas (known as
Black Oak), and one in Frederick, Maryland (known as Ballenger
Run).
 
Our
property development business is headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, our
property development business accounted for 84% and 94% of our
total revenues, respectively.
 
Houston,
Texas Property. Black Oak is a
land infrastructure and subdivision development project consisting
of 162 acres. The site plan at Black Oak allows for approximately
550-600 residential lots of varying sizes. Through a partnership
with 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd., we had contracts to purchase seven
contiguous parcels of land. Our initial equity ownership in 150 CCM
Black Oak, Ltd. was $4.3 million for 60% ownership in the
partnership. Since then, LiquidValue Development has increased its
ownership to 100%. We are presently in negotiations with multiple
builders, and we anticipate that our involvement in this project
will take approximately three to five additional years to complete.
On January 18, 2019, the first sale of lots at Black Oak was
completed and 124 lots were sold.
 
Since
February 2015, we have completed several important phases of the
project, including property clearing, grading, pavement of roads
and compliance with the local improvement district to ensure
reimbursement of these costs. In addition to the recent sale of 124
lots, we are presently in negotiations with multiple builders for
lot takedowns or, in some cases, entire phases of the
project.
 
The
estimated construction costs (not including the cost of land and
financing costs) and completion date for each phase are as
follows.
 
Black
Oak
 
Estimated
Construction Costs
 
Expected
Completion Date
Phase
1
  $ 7,080,000  
Completed
Phase
2
    330,671  
November
2022
Phase
3
    422,331  
November
2022
Phase
4
    142,788  
November
2022
Phase
5
    3,293,000  
April
2022
Total
  $ 11,268,790  
 
 
The
timing set forth above reflects our current plan for the
development of our Black Oak project; however, we are presently
exploring alternate plans for Black Oak, which could lead to an
expansion of the depth and breadth of our involvement in this
project, depending on market interest, the outcome of discussions
with potential partners and the availability of capital. Should we
expand or otherwise alter our plans at the Black Oak project, the
later stages of such project may have different time frames and
costs.
 
On
July 3, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd. entered into a Purchase and
Sale Agreement with Houston LD, LLC for the sale of 124 lots within
the Black Oak project (the “Black Oak Purchase
Agreement”). Pursuant to the Black Oak Purchase Agreement, it
was agreed that 124 lots would be sold for a range of prices based
on the lot type. In addition, Houston LD, LLC agreed to contribute
a “community enhancement fee” for each lot,
collectively totaling $310,000, which was held in escrow. 150 CCM
Black Oak, Ltd. agreed to apply these funds exclusively towards an
amenity package on the property. The closing of the transactions
contemplated by the Black Oak Purchase Agreement was subject to
Houston LD, LLC completing due diligence to its
satisfaction.
 
On
October 12, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. entered into an Amended
and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Amended and
Restated Black Oak Purchase Agreement”) for these 124 lots.
Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Black Oak Purchase Agreement,
the purchase price remained at $6,175,000. 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd.
was required to meet certain closing conditions and the timing for
the closing was extended.
 
On
January 18, 2019, the sale of 124 lots at Black Oak project was
completed for $6,175,000 and the community enhancement fee equal to
$310,000 was delivered the to escrow account (the funds in the
escrow account were released). An impairment of real estate of
approximately $1.5 million related to this sale was recorded on
December 31, 2018. The revenue was recognized in January, 2019,
when the sale was closed, and no gain or loss was recognized in
January, 2019.
 
On
June 30, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $3.9 million of
impairment on the Black Oak project based on discounted estimated
future cash flows after updating the projection of market value of
the project.
 
 
3
 
 
On
December 31, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $1.3 million
of additional impairment on the Black Oak project based on
discounted estimated future cash flows after updating the projected
cost of the project.
 
The
Black Oak project has applied for reimbursement of certain costs
for construction of roads, sewers, water and other basic
requirements. While we may be entitled to reimbursements from a
local improvement district, the amount and timing of such payments
is uncertain. The timing of such potential reimbursements will be
impacted by certain bond sales by the Harris County Improvement
District No.17 from time to time.
 
On July 20, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd received
$4,592,079 in reimbursement for previous construction costs
incurred in the land development. Of this amount, $1,650,000 will
remain on deposit in the District's Capital Projects Fund for the
benefit of 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd and will be released upon receipt
of the evidence of (a) execution of a purchase agreement between
150 CCM Black Oak Ltd and a home builder with respect to the Black
Oak development and (b) completion, finishing and making ready for
home construction of at least 105 unfinished lots in the Black Oak
development. After entering the purchase agreement with
Houston LD, LLC, the above requirements were met. The amount of the
deposit was released to the Company after presenting the invoices
paid for land development. After releasing funds to the Company,
the amount on deposit was $0 and $90,394 on December 31, 2020 and
2019, respectively.
 
On
January 13, 2021, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. purchased an
approximately 6.297 acre tract of land in Montgomery County, Texas.
The Company’s strategic acquisition contiguous to the Black
Oak project is intended to provide additional lot yield, potential
additional amenities and/or a solar farm to support the
Company’s sustainable, healthy living
concept. 
 
At
the present time, the Company is also considering expanding its
current policy of selling buildable lots to include a strategy of
building housing for sale or rent, particularly at our Black Oak
property.
 
Frederick,
Maryland Property. In November
2015, through LiquidValue Development, we acquired Ballenger Run, a
land subdivision development consisting of 197 acres, for $15.65
million. This property is presently zoned for 479 entitled
residential lots and 210 entitled multi-family units. We anticipate
that our involvement in this project will take approximately 12-18
months from the date of this report. We expect to generate
approximately $69 million (prior to costs) in revenue from
Ballenger Run through the sale of the developed lots based on
current sales agreements. However, there can be no assurance that
this level of revenue will be attained, should we fail to attain
certain goals, to meet certain conditions or if market prices for
this development unexpectedly begin to drop.
 
On
May 28, 2014, the RBG Family, LLC entered into an Assignable Real
Estate Sales Contract with NVR, Inc. (“NVR”) by which
RBG Family, LLC would sell the 197 acres for $15 million to NVR. On
December 10, 2014, NVR assigned this contract to SeD Maryland
Development, LLC (“SeD Maryland”) in the Assignment and
Assumption Agreement and entered into a series of Lot Purchase
Agreements by which NVR would purchase subdivided lots from SeD
Maryland (the “Lot Purchase Agreements”).
 
SeD
Maryland’s acquisition of the 197 acres was funded in part
from a $5.6 million deposit from NVR. The balance of $10.05 million
was derived from a total equity contribution of $15.2 million by
SeD Ballenger, LLC (“SeD Ballenger”) and CNQC Maryland
Development LLC (a unit of Qingjian International Group Co, Ltd,
China, “CNQC”). The project is owned by SeD Maryland is
83.55% owned by SeD Ballenger and 16.45% by CNQC.
 
MacKenzie
Equity Partners, owned by Charles MacKenzie, a Director of the
Company's subsidiary LiquidValue Development Inc., has had a
consulting agreement with the Company since 2015. Per the terms of
the agreement, as amended on January 1, 2018, the Company pays a
monthly fee of $15,000 with an additional $5,000 per month due upon
the close of the sale to Houston LD, LLC. Since January of 2019,
the Company has paid a monthly fee of $20,000 for these consulting
services. The Company incurred expenses of $240,000 and $240,000
for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which
were capitalized as part of Real Estate on the Company’s
Consolidated Balance Sheet as the services relate to property and
project management. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019 the Company
owed $0 to this entity.
 
Revenue from Ballenger Run is anticipated to come from three main
sources:
 
●             
sale
of 479 entitled and constructed residential lots to
NVR;
 
●             
sale
of the lot for the 210 entitled multi-family units;
and
 
●             
sale
of 479 front foot benefit assessments.
 
 
4
 
 
The
Company anticipates that the estimated construction costs (not
including land costs and financing costs) for the final phases of
the Ballenger Run project will be approximately $3 million. The
expected completion date for the final phases of the Ballenger Run
project is June of 2022.
 
On
April 17, 2019, SeD Maryland Development LLC entered into a
Development Loan Agreement with Manufacturers and Traders Trust
Company (“M&T Bank”) in the principal amount not to
exceed at any one time outstanding the sum of $8,000,000, with a
cumulative loan advance amount of $18,500,000. The line of credit
bears interest of LIBOR plus 375 basis points. SeD Maryland
Development LLC was also provided with a L/C Facility in an
aggregate amount of $900,000. The L/C commission will be 1.5% per
annum on the face amount of the L/C. Other standard lender fees
will apply in the event L/C is drawn down. The loan is a revolving
line of credit. The L/C Facility is not a revolving loan, and
amounts advanced and repaid may not be re-borrowed. Repayment of
the Loan Agreement is secured by $2.6 million collateral fund and a
Deed of Trust issued to the Lender on the property owned by SeD
Maryland.
 
As
of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the principal balance of the loan
was $0. As part of the transaction during 2019, we incurred loan
origination fees and closing fees in the amount of $381,823 and
capitalized them into construction in process.
 
The
proceeds from the Land Development Loan and Letter of Credit
Facility will be used in connection with the Ballenger Run project,
including the development of certain single-family lots. The Loan
Agreement contains standard representations and warranties.
LiquidValue Development Inc. will serve as the guarantor to the
Land Development Loan and Letter of Credit Facility and has
executed an Environmental Indemnification Agreement in favor of the
Lender.
 
Expenses
from Ballenger Run include costs associated with land prices,
closing costs, hard development costs, cost in lieu of
construction, soft development costs and interest costs. We
presently estimate these costs to be between $56 and $57 million.
We may also encounter expenses which we have not anticipated, or
which are higher than presently anticipated.
 
The
initial phases of this project have been completed and we are
currently in the final phases of this project. The following chart
describes the various phases of this project:
 
Phase
1 construction of all infrastructure was completed in 2017. The
initial model lot sales with NVR began in May 2017 and all lot
sales of varying types as outlined in the chart set forth above are
continuing through the first quarter of 2018. In the fourth quarter
of 2017 all improvement plans and cost estimates were approved for
Phases 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D. Phase 2B is the next phase of lot
takedowns for NVR. Phase 2B plat recordation and final construction
began in March of 2018. Lot sales to NVR also began in March of
2018. Phases 2A and 2C plat recordation and construction began in
June of 2018 and were completed in December 2018 Phase 2D
construction began in September 2018 and was completed in June
2019. Phase 3A construction began in June 2020 and NVR is currently
building in this Phase. Phase 3B construction began in August 2020
and was completed in December 2020. The clubhouse and pool began
construction in Fall 2019 and was completed in June
2020.
 
 
5
 
 
Sale of Residential Lots to NVR
 
The
residential lots were contracted for sale under the Lot Purchase
Agreements with NVR. NVR is a home builder engaged in the
construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhouses
and condominium buildings. It also operates a mortgage banking and
title services business. Under the Lot Purchase Agreements, NVR
provided Alset EHome Inc. with an upfront deposit of $5.6 million
and has agreed to purchase the lots at a range of prices. The lot
types and quantities to be sold to NVR under the Lot Purchase
Agreements include the following:
 
Lot Type
 
Quantity
 
Single
Family Detached Large
    85  
Single
Family Detached Small
    89  
Single
Family Detached Neo Traditional
    33  
Single
Family Attached 28’ Villa
    121  
Single
Family Attached 20’ End Unit
    46  
Single
Family Attached 16’ Internal Unit
    105  
Total
    479  
 
There
are five different types of Lot Purchase Agreements, which have
generally the same terms except for the price and unit details for
each type of lot. Under the Lot Purchase Agreements, NVR has agreed
to purchase 30 available lots per quarter. The Lot Purchase
Agreements provide several conditions related to preparation of the
lots which must be met so that a lot can be made available for sale
to NVR. SeD Maryland is to provide customary lot preparation
including survey, grading, utilities installation, paving, and
other infrastructure and engineering. The sale of 13 model lots to
NVR began in May 2017. NVR has begun marketing lots and has
commenced sales. In the event NVR does not purchase the lots under
the Lot Purchase Agreements, SeD Maryland would be entitled to keep
the NVR deposit and terminate the Lot Purchase Agreements. Should
SeD Maryland breach a Lot Purchase Agreement, it would have to
return the remainder of the NVR deposit that has not already been
credited to NVR for any sales of lots under the Lot Purchase
Agreements, and NVR would be able to seek specific performance of
the Lot Purchase Agreements, as well as any other rights available
at law or in equity. 121 lots were sold in the year ended December
31, 2020, compared to 123 lots sold in the year ended December 31,
2019. As of December 31, 2020, 388 lots have been sold to NVR with
91 remaining for the duration of the project. NVR continues to
market and sell homes. 
 
              On
December 31, 2018, SeD Maryland entered into the Third Amendment to
the Lot Purchase Agreement (the “Third Amendment”) for
Ballenger Run with NVR. Pursuant to the Third Amendment, SeD
Maryland and NVR agreed that the number of certain lots that SeD
Maryland will sell to NVR (the 28 feet wide villa lots) would be
increased from the previously agreed 85 lots to a total of 121
lots. This property was previously zoned for 443 entitled
residential lots, 210 entitled multi-family units and 200 entitled
continuing care retirement community units approved for 20 years
from the date of a Developers Rights and Responsibilities
Agreement, dated as of October 8, 2014, as amended on September 6,
2016. SeD Maryland received the required zoning approval to change
the number of lots in July 2019. As a result of this Third
Amendment and the receipt of the required government approval, we
now plan to develop 479 entitled residential lots, 210 entitled
multi-family units and no continuing care retirement community
units at the Ballenger location.
 
SeD
Maryland and NVR agreed that NVR would pay SeD Maryland a $100,000
increase in the current deposit for the purchase of lots within
five business days of the Third Amendment, and that an additional
increase in the deposit in the amount of $220,000 would be made
once the needed approvals were received. The required approvals was
submitted to NVR in April, 2020 and the deposit was received. Such
deposits are non-refundable.
 
Sale of the Front Foot Benefit Assessments
 
Through
LiquidValue Development and its subsidiaries, we have established a
front foot benefit (“FFB”) assessment on all of the
lots sold to NVR. This is a 30-year annual assessment allowed in
Frederick County which requires homeowners to reimburse the
developer for the costs of installing public water and sewer to the
lots. These assessments become effective as homes are settled, at
which time we can sell the collection rights to investors who will
pay an upfront lump sum, enabling us to more quickly realize the
revenue. The selling prices range from $3,000 to $4,500 per home
depending on the type of home. Our total expected revenue from the
front foot benefit assessment is approximately $1 million. To
recognize revenue of the FFB assessment, both our and NVR’s
performance obligations have to be satisfied. Our performance
obligation is completed once we complete the construction of water
and sewer facilities and close the lot sales with NVR, which
inspects these water and sewer facilities prior to the close of lot
sales to ensure all specifications are met. NVR’s performance
obligation is to sell homes they build to homeowners. Our FFB
revenue is recognized upon NVR’s sales of homes to
homeowners. The agreement with these FFB investors is not subject
to amendment by regulatory agencies and thus our revenue from FFB
assessment is not either. During the years ended December, 2020 and
2019, we recognized revenue in the amounts of $273,620 and $548,457
from FFB assessments, respectively.
 
 
6
 
 
Wetland Impact Permit
 
The
Ballenger Run project required a joint wetland impact permit, which
requires the review of several state and federal agencies,
including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Department
of the Environment. The permit is primarily required for Phase 3 of
construction but it also affects a pedestrian trail at the
Ballenger Run project and the multi-family sewer connection. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allowed us to proceed with
construction on Phase 1 but required archeological testing. In
November 2018, the archeological testing was completed with no
further recommendations on Phase 1 of the project. Required
architectural studies on the final phase of development will likely
result in the loss of only one lot, however, we cannot be certain
of future reviews and their impact on the project. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and Maryland Department of the Environment
permits were issued in June 2019. A modification to the permit for
a temporary stream crossing was also issued in October 2019
allowing for the commencement of construction on Phase
3.
 
K-6 Grade School Site
 
In
connection with getting the necessary approvals for the Ballenger
Project, we agreed to transfer 30 acres of land that abut the
development for the construction of a local K-6 grade school. We
will not be involved in the construction of the
school.
 
Potential Future Projects
 
In
addition to these two main projects, we are embarking on
residential construction activities in partnership with U.S.
homebuilders, and have commenced discussions to acquire smaller
U.S. residential construction projects. These projects may be
within both the for-sale and for-rent markets. We consider projects
in diverse regions across the United States, and maintain
longstanding relationships with local owners, brokers, attorneys
and lenders to source projects. We will continue to focus on
off-market deals and raise appropriate financing for attractive
development opportunities. We believe these initiatives will
provide a set of solutions to stabilize the long term revenue
associated with property development in the United States and
create new ancillary service opportunities and revenue from this
business.
 
Through
our subsidiaries, we will explore the potential to pursue other
business opportunities related to real estate. The Company is
evaluating the potential to enter into activities related to solar
energy and energy efficient products as well as smart home
technologies, although we note that these potential opportunities
remain at the exploratory stage, and we may not pursue these
opportunities at the discretion of our management. Through the
Company’s eco-systems of businesses based around sustainable,
healthy living communities, our Alset EHome Inc. subsidiary intends
to develop single family homes which are eco-friendly. They will be
fitted out with solar energy products such as photovoltaic systems,
battery systems, and car charging ports for sustainable transport
as well as other energy efficient systems. The Company also
envisions acquiring land surrounding its communities for solar farm
projects to power these communities. Alset EHome has commenced the
infrastructure design and engineering for this sustainable, healthy
living community concept within the Black Oak project outside of
Houston, Texas. The Company intends to bring this concept to other
strategic parts of the US as well as markets abroad.
 
We also
intend to enlarge the scope of property-related services.
Additional planned activities, which we intend to be carried out
through Alset EHome, include financing, home management, realtor
services, insurance and home title validation. We may particularly
provide these services in connection with homes we build. These
activities are also in the planning stages.
 
American Medical REIT Inc.
 
LiquidValue
Asset Management Pte. Ltd. (“LiquidValue”), a
subsidiary of the Company owns 36.1% of American Medical REIT Inc.
(“AMRE”), a startup REIT company concentrating on
medical real estate. AMRE acquires state-of-the-art, purpose-built
healthcare facilities and leases them to leading clinical operators
with dominant market share under secure triple net leases. AMRE
targets hospitals (both Critical Access and Specialty Surgical),
Physician Group Practices, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and other
licensed medical treatment facilities. Chan Heng Fai, our CEO, is
the executive chairman and director of AMRE. LiquidValue did not
invest equity but lend a loan to AMRE. See detail in Note 8 to
Company’s Financial Statements, Related Party Transactions.
On balance sheet, the prorate loss from AMRE was recorded as a
liability, accumulated losses on equity method
investment.
 
Digital Transformation Technology
 
Our
digital transformation technology business unit is committed to
enabling enterprises to engage in a digital transformation by
providing consulting, implementation and development services with
various technologies including blockchain, e-commerce, social media
and payment solutions. We commenced our technology business in 2015
through GigWorld Inc. (formerly known as HotApp Blockchain, Inc.),
a 99.8% owned subsidiary of Alset International. Its technology
platform focuses on business-to-business, or B2B, solutions, such
as communications and workflow, through instant messaging,
international calling, social media, e-commerce and payment systems
and direct marketing. Using its platform, consumers can discover
and build their own communities based on interests, location or
their existing networks. The GigWorld platform tools empower these
communities to share their ideas and information across the
multiple channels. As these communities grow, they provide the
critical mass that attracts enterprises. The system is designed to
ultimately help enterprises and community users to transform their
business models in a more effective manner.
 
 
7
 
 
GigWorld
Subsidiary. Through GigWorld,
we have successfully implemented several strategic platform
developments for clients, including a mobile front-end solution for
network marketing, a hotel e-commerce platform for a company in
Asia and a real estate agent management platform in China. We have
also enhanced our technological capability from mobile application
development to include architectural design, allowing
mobile-friendly front-end solutions to integrate with software
platforms. GigWorld’s main digital assets at the present time
are its applications. GigWorld’s emphasis will be on
developing solutions and providing services.
 
In
February 2017, GigWorld entered into a revenue-sharing agreement
with iGalen Inc. Under the agreement, GigWorld customized a secure
app for iGalen Inc.’s communication and management system.
The app enables mobile friendly backend access for iGalen Inc.
members, among other functions. GigWorld is continuing to improve
this secure app. In particular, GigWorld intends to utilize
blockchain supply logistics to improve its functions (the original
iGalen app did not utilize the latest distributed ledger
technology). Once the improvements to this technology are
completed, and initially utilized by iGalen, GigWorld intends to
then attempt to sell similar services to other companies engaged in
network marketing. This app can be modified to meet the specific
needs of any network marketing company. We believe that these
technologies will, among other benefits, make it easier for network
marketing companies to securely and effectively manage their
systems of compensation. Our current plan is to commence sales of
this technology in the first quarter of 2021.
 
In
addition to the development of technology for sales purposes,
GigWorld also recently launched a new enterprise and intends to
expand its activities to include the development and
commercialization of other blockchain-related technologies. One
area we are presently exploring is providing technology consulting
for security token offerings (“STO”). Such services,
which have not yet commenced commercially, would include STO white
paper development, technology design and web development. GigWorld
has no plans to launch its own token offering, but rather may
develop technologies that could facilitate such offerings by other
companies.
 
We
believe that the increasing acceptance of distributed ledger
technologies by potential customers will benefit us. The growth of
network marketing throughout the world would impact our
technologies that target that industry. In this rapidly evolving
field, however, technology is advancing quickly and it is possible
that our competitors could create products that gain market
acceptance before our products.
 
Biohealth Business
 
With
populations aging and a growing focus on healthcare issues,
biohealth science has become increasingly vital. We recently
entered the biomedical and healthcare market by forming our
biohealth division, which is engaged in developing, researching,
testing, manufacturing, licensing and distributing (through retail,
direct selling, network marketing and e-commerce) biohealth
products and services. We strive to leverage our scientific
know-how and intellectual property rights to provide solutions to
pending healthcare issues. By tapping into the scientific expertise
of our subsidiaries and collaborating partners, we are undertaking
a concerted effort in the research and development, drug discovery
and development for the prevention, inhibition and treatment of
neurological, oncology and immune-related diseases.
 
Global
BioLife Inc. Global BioLife
Inc. has biomedical intellectual property which was assigned to it
by one of the other shareholders in Global BioLife (such other
shareholder is owned by the chief scientist for the project). Most
significantly, this intellectual property portfolio includes
patents for our universal therapeutic drug platform,
“Linebacker,” which has demonstrated promising results
in treating a range of diseases including neurological,
anti-microbial, anti-viral and oncology diseases. Unlike the
traditional approach to treat individual diseases with specific
drugs, the Linebacker platform seeks to offer a breakthrough
therapeutic option for multiple diseases. Linebacker is designed to
work by inhibiting a cascade of inflammatory responses responsible
for many diseases. Its design is in direct contrast to the
traditional approach of targeting individual diseases with specific
drugs. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., which an
independent company that provides services to help pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading
academic institutions around the globe, has performed the studies
needed for our Linebacker research and drug development efforts.
Linebacker is presently in the development
phase.
 
Global
BioLife has established a collaboration with U.S.-based Chemia
Corporation to develop specialized fragrances to counter
mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and Dengue, among other
medical applications. The 3F mosquito fragrance product, which is
made from specialized oils sourced from botanicals that mosquitos
avoid, has shown promising results in repelling mosquitos in
laboratory testing. Global BioLife is seeking to commercialize this
product. In addition to the 3F mosquito fragrance, Global BioLife
is working with Chemia to develop additional 3F functional
fragrances for other applications.
 
We
have also developed a low-calorie, low glycemic level, natural
modified sugar through Global BioLife. The product,
“Laetose,” is a functional sugar with from 30% to 50%
lower calorie count than regular sugar, possesses low glycemic
properties, and also mitigates inflammation. This product is at the
commercialization stage. We are presently seeking to license
Laetose.
 
 
8
 
 
Reorganization of Certain Biohealth Activities
 
On
March 12, 2020, two of Alset International’s subsidiaries,
Global BioMedical Pte Ltd, a Singapore corporation
(“GBM”), and Impact BioMedical Inc, a Nevada
corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of GBM (“Impact
BioMedical”), entered into a binding term sheet (the
“Impact Term Sheet”) with Document Security Systems,
Inc. (“DSS”) and DSS BioHealth Security, Inc., a wholly
owned subsidiary of DSS (“DBHS”). Pursuant to the
Impact Term Sheet, DBHS agreed to acquire Impact BioMedical. Impact
BioMedical owns 90.9% of Global BioMedical, Inc., which in turn
owns 70% of Global BioLife Inc., our main biohealth entity, which
holds interests in the Linebacker, 3F and Laetose
projects.
 
On
April 27, 2020, Alset International, GBM, DSS and DBHS entered into
a share exchange agreement (the “DSS Share Exchange
Agreement”) that provided further details regarding this
transaction in which DBHS agreed to acquire all of the outstanding
capital stock of Impact BioMedical (the “Impact
Shares”) through a share exchange, with Impact BioMedical
becoming a direct wholly owned subsidiary of DBHS.
 
It
was agreed that the aggregate consideration for the Impact Shares
to be issued to GBM by DSS would be the following: (i) 483,334
newly issued shares of DSS common stock; and (ii) 46,868 newly
issued shares of a new series of DSS perpetual convertible
preferred stock with a stated value of $46,868,000, or $1,000 per
share. The convertible preferred stock can be convertible into
shares of DSS common stock at a conversion price of $6.48 of
preferred stock stated value per share of common stock, subject to
a 19.9% beneficial ownership conversion limitation (a so-called
“blocker”) based on the total issued outstanding shares
of common stock of DSS beneficially owned by GBM. Holders of the
convertible preferred stock will have no voting rights, except as
required by applicable law or regulation, and no dividends will
accrue or be payable on the convertible preferred stock. The
holders of convertible preferred stock will be entitled to a
liquidation preference of $1,000 per share, and DSS will have the
right to redeem all or any portion of the then outstanding shares
of convertible preferred stock, pro rata among all holders, at a
redemption price per share equal to such liquidation value per
share.
 
Prior
to the execution of the Share Exchange Agreement, Impact
BioMedical’s ownership of a suite of antiviral and medical
technologies was valued through an independent valuation that was
completed by Destum Partners. Because the valuation was higher than
the previously agreed value, the Purchase Price was capped at a
value of $50 million.
 
The
closing of the purchase and sale of the Impact Shares contemplated
under the DSS Share Exchange Agreement is subject to a number of
conditions, including both DSS and Alset International having
obtained approvals from their respective shareholders and receipt
by DSS of audited financial statements of Impact BioMedical, which
were included in DSS’s proxy statement soliciting the vote of
its shareholders.
 
On
June 26, 2020, the shareholders of Alset International approved
this transaction.
 
On
August 10, 2020 the stockholders of DSS voted to approve the
issuance of shares of DSS Common Stock and DSS Convertible
Preferred Stock in connection with the acquisition of Impact
BioMedical, pursuant to the DSS Share Exchange
Agreement.
 
The
Share Exchange Agreement contains customary representations,
warranties and covenants of the parties, as well as certain
indemnification provisions.
 
This
transaction was completed on August 21, 2020. Accordingly, our
ownership interest in these biohealth projects was reduced, and our
ownership interest in DSS was increased.
 
On
October 16, 2020, GBM converted 4,293 shares of the DSS Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock into 662,500 shares of the common stock
of DSS. At the time of conversion, we owned approximately 19.9% of
the common stock of DSS, and our CEO, Chan Heng Fai, is also an
owner of the common stock of DSS (not including any common or
preferred shares we held).
 
DSS
owns 7.19% of the issued and outstanding stock of Alset
International.
 
 
9
 
 
DSS
is a global company involved in the development and delivery of
better products and technology to individuals and industry. DSS
operates eight business lines through subsidiaries located around
the globe. Of the eight business lines, three have historically
been the core business lines of DSS:
 
●             
Premier
Packaging Corporation (DSS Packaging and Printing Group) operates
in the paper board folding carton, smart packaging and document
security printing markets. It markets, manufactures and sells paper
products designed to protect valuable information from unauthorized
scanning, copying, and digital imaging.
 
●             
DSS
Digital Inc. (included in its DSS Digital Group) researches,
develops, markets and sells DSS’s digital products worldwide;
their primary product is AuthentiGuard®, which is a brand
authentication application that integrates DSS’s counterfeit
deterrent technologies with proprietary digital data security-based
solutions.
 
●             
DSS
Technology Management, Inc. (included in its DSS Technology
Management) manages, licenses and acquires intellectual property,
or IP, assets for the purpose of monetizing these assets through a
variety of value-enhancing initiatives, including, but not limited
to, investments in the development and commercialization of
patented technologies, licensing, strategic partnerships and
commercial litigation.
 
In
addition to these three core business lines, DSS established five
new wholly owned subsidiaries in 2019 and early 2020:
 
1.             
DSS
Blockchain Security, Inc. intends to specialize in the development
of blockchain security technologies for tracking and tracing
solutions for supply chain logistics and cyber securities across
global markets.
 
2.             
Decentralized
Sharing Systems, Inc. seeks to provide services to assist companies
in the new business model of the peer-to-peer decentralized sharing
marketplaces and direct marketing. Direct marketing or network
marketing is designed to sell products or services directly to the
public through independent distributors, rather than selling
through the traditional retail market.
 
3.             
DSS
Securities, Inc. has been established to develop or to acquire
assets in the securities trading or management arena, and to pursue
two parallel streams of digital asset exchanges in multiple
jurisdictions: (i) securitized token exchanges, focusing on
digitized assets from different vertical industries; and (ii)
utilities token exchanges, focusing on “blue-chip”
utility tokens from solid businesses.
 
4.             
DSS
BioHealth Security, Inc. will seek to invest in or to acquire
companies related to the biohealth and biomedical field, including
businesses focused on the research to advance drug discovery and
development for the prevention, inhibition, and treatment of
neurological, oncological and immuno-related diseases. This new
division will place special focus on open-air defense initiatives,
which curb transmission of air-borne infectious diseases such as
tuberculosis and influenza, among others.
 
5.             
DSS
Secure Living, Inc. intends to develop top of the line advanced
technology for energy efficiency, high quality of life living
environments and home security for everyone, for new construction
and renovations of residential single and multifamily living
facilities.
 
Aside
from Decentralized Sharing Systems, Inc., the activities in these
newly created subsidiaries have been minimal or in various start-up
or organizational phases.
 
iGalen
International and Holista CollTech. In connection with our expansion into biohealth
activities, we formed iGalen International Inc., in which we owned
a 53% ownership stake and acquired a 16.8% ownership interest in
Holista CollTech, both of which companies source and distribute
patented dietary supplements and other health products. Holista
CollTech focuses on providing customers with scientifically
enhanced, engineered and tested natural health supplements and
consumer products. With business primarily in Australia and
Malaysia, Holista CollTech operates in three consumer segments
– healthy food ingredients, dietary supplements and collagen.
Holista CollTech researches, develop, market and distribute
health-oriented products to address the growing needs of natural
medicine. Holista CollTech offers a suite of food ingredients
including low-glycemic index baked goods, low sodium salt, low-fat
fried foods and low-calorie and low-GI sugars. Holista CollTech
produces cosmetic-grade sheep (ovine) collagen using patented
extraction methods from Australia. In addition, iGalen Inc. has a
longstanding agreement with Holista CollTech to source all of its
products exclusively from Holista CollTech. iGalen Inc.’s
primary product, Uncarb is a natural carbohydrate optimizer that is
intended to remove excess carbohydrates, thereby improving blood
sugar regulation and achieving better blood lipid profiles and
sustained weight loss.
 
 
10
 
 
On
December 30, 2020, Alset International’s ownership of 53% of
iGalen International was sold to one of the directors of iGalen
International.
 
In
October 2019, the Company expanded its biohealth segment to the
Korean market through one of the subsidiaries of Health Wealth
Happiness Pte. Ltd., HWH World Inc (“HWH World”). HWH
World, similarly to iGalen Inc., operates based on a direct sale
model of health supplements.
 
Holista
CollTech also recently launched its new low-glycemic index (GI)
bread and noodle products. The product’s main ingredients are
locally sourced and blended according to halal and kosher
standards. The noodle product is supported by Diabetes Canada, with
a GI of 38, well below the usual 60 to 65 for noodles. The product
stems from our support for fighting diabetes and obesity,
particularly in Asia.
 
Vivacitas
Oncology. Until March 18, 2021,
we also held an equity interest in Vivacitas Oncology Inc., a
U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company. The Company sold the
subsidiary that held this interest to a subsidiary of DSS for
$2,480,000. We had an indirect equity interest of 13.1% of
Vivacitas at each of December 31, 2020 and 2019. Vivacitas focuses
on developing medications for cancer patients. We had a close
partnership with Vivacitas and its management, an experienced
research team and a distinguished medical advisory board. Vivacitas
seeks to bring more effective and less toxic chemotherapies to the
market for treatment of the most aggressive and intractable
cancers. At the present time, Vivacitas has three programs: (i) one
program has completed three clinical studies, including two Phase I
and one Phase II studies; (ii) one program for a potential
palliative treatment has completed three Phase III studies; and
(iii) one program is in the planning stages of a 2b/3 clinical
study.
 
Our
financial statements do not consolidate Holista CollTech and
Vivacitas Oncology, and we have not managed their
operations.
 
Other Business Activities
 
In
addition to our three principal business activities, we generally
oversee several smaller other business activities at the present
time which we believe complement our three principal
businesses.
 
LiquidValue
Asset Management Pte. Ltd. ("LVAM") managed investments in the Global Systematic
Multi-Strategy Fund (the "GSMS Fund") and Global Opportunity Fund.
LVAM is a registered fund management company regulated by the
Monetary Authority of Singapore. Launched in June 2016, the GSMS
Fund adopts an "all-weather" strategy that seeks to produce
consistent risk-adjusted returns regardless of market volatility.
It employs a systematic approach focusing on liquid exchange traded
securities that are diversified across asset classes, geographical
regions and time frames. On February 1, 2017, LVAM invested
$300,000 in Global Opportunity Fund, a mutual fund registered in
the Cayman Islands. Both funds ceased operation in October 2019.
LVAM also invested in AMRE and AAMI. See additional details in
“American Medical REIT, Inc.” in Potential Future
Projects.
 
BMI Capital
Partners. Alset International's
wholly-owned Hong Kong subsidiary, BMI Capital Partners
International Limited is a boutique consultancy with a special
focus on grooming clients to become eligible to seek a stock
exchange listing and offers debt restructuring services. We have
also been in negotiations with various potential clients seeking
business incubation, including capital market opportunities in
China. Recently, for example, we have secured projects which
include a feasibility study for a Hong Kong firm to explore capital
market options such as a potential public listing on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange and a consultancy contract to restructure a U.S.
OTC-listed medical company.
 
During
the years ended on December 31, 2020 and 2019, the revenue form the
other business activities described above was approximately 0% of
the total revenue.
 
Sales and Marketing
 
We
focus our corporate marketing efforts on increasing brand
awareness, communicating the advantages of our various platforms
and generating qualified leads for our sales team. Our corporate
marketing plan is designed to continually elevate awareness of our
brand and generate demand for our offerings. We rely on a number of
channels in this area, including digital advertising, email
marketing, social media, affiliate marketing and broad-based media,
as well as through various strategic partnerships. We maintain our
website at https://www.alsetehomeintl.com, and our various
operating subsidiaries maintain individual websites, many of which
are accessible through our main website.
 
Each
of our businesses has developed a field sales force in their
geographic markets. These sales force teams are responsible for
identifying and managing individual sales opportunities in their
respective regions.
 
 
11
 
 
Competition
 
The
businesses in which we participate, property development, digital
transformation technology and biohealth, are each highly
competitive. Competition is based upon several factors, including
price, reputation, quality and brand recognition. Existing and
future competitors may introduce products and services in the same
markets we serve, and competing products or services may have
better performance, lower prices, better functionality and broader
acceptance than our products. Our competitors may also add features
to their products or services similar to features that presently
differentiate our product and service offerings from theirs. This
competition could result in increased sales and marketing expenses,
thereby materially reducing our operating margins, and could harm
our ability to increase, or cause us to lose, market share. Some of
our competitors and potential competitors supply a wide variety of
products and services, and have well-established relationships with
our current and prospective customers.
 
Most,
if not all, of our current and potential competitors may have
significantly greater resources or better competitive positions in
certain product segments, geographic regions or user demographics
than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to respond more
effectively than us to new or emerging technologies and changes in
market conditions. By way of example, in our property development
business, some of our competitors already have the advantage of
having created vertically integrated businesses, while other
competitors have broader and deeper relationships with sources of
financing. Other competitors in our property development business
may have more substantial ties and experience in geographical areas
in which we operate.
 
Our
competitors may develop products, features or services that are
similar to ours or that achieve greater acceptance, may undertake
more far-reaching and successful product development efforts or
marketing campaigns, or may adopt more aggressive pricing policies.
This is particularly relevant for our digital transformation
technology business. Certain competitors could use strong or
dominant positions in one or more markets to gain competitive
advantage against us in our target market or markets. As a result,
our competitors may acquire and engage customers or generate
revenue at the expense of our own efforts.
 
Protection of Proprietary Technology
 
We
rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade
secret laws in the United States and other jurisdictions, as well
as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions, to
protect our proprietary information, technology and
brands.
 
We
protect our proprietary information and technology, in part, by
generally requiring our employees to enter into agreements
providing for the maintenance of confidentiality and the assignment
of rights to inventions made by them while employed by us. We also
may enter into non-disclosure and invention assignment agreements
with certain of our technical consultants to protect our
confidential and proprietary information and technology. We cannot
assure you that our confidentiality agreements with our employees
and consultants will not be breached, that we will be able to
effectively enforce these agreements, that we will have adequate
remedies for any breach of these agreements, or that our trade
secrets and other proprietary information and technology will not
be disclosed or will otherwise be protected.
 
We
also rely on contractual and license agreements with third parties
in connection with their use of our technology and services. There
is no guarantee that such parties will abide by the terms of such
agreements or that we will be able to adequately enforce our
rights. Protection of confidential information, trade secrets and
other intellectual property rights in the markets in which we
operate and compete is highly uncertain and may involve complex
legal questions. We cannot completely prevent the unauthorized use
or infringement of our confidential information or intellectual
property rights as such prevention is inherently difficult. Costly
and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and
determine the scope of our confidential information and
intellectual property protection.
 
Government Regulation
 
Like
many similarly diversified companies, our operations are subject to
routine regulation by governmental agencies. Much of this
regulation will affect us indirectly, inasmuch as, and to the
extent that, it affects our customers more directly. A summary of
the laws and regulations that might affect our customers is set
forth below.
 
 
12
 
 
Property
Development Business. The
development of our real estate projects will require us to comply
with federal, state and local environmental regulations. In
connection with this compliance, our real estate acquisition and
development projects will require environmental studies. To date,
we have spent approximately $46,206 on environmental studies and
compliance. Such costs are reflected in construction progress costs
in our financial statements.
 
The
cost of complying with governmental regulations is significant and
will increase if we add additional real estate projects, become
involved in homebuilding in the future and are required to comply
with certain due diligence procedures related to third party
lenders.
 
At
the present time, we believe that we have all of the material
government approvals that we need to conduct our business as
currently conducted. We are subject to periodic local permitting
that must be addressed, but we do not anticipate that such
requirements for government approval will have a material impact on
our business as presently conducted. We are required to comply with
government regulations and to make filings from time to time with
various government entities. Such work is typically handled by
outside contractors we retain.
 
Digital
Transformation Technology Business. Companies conducting business on the internet are
subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations.
In addition, laws and regulations relating to user privacy, freedom
of expression, content, advertising, information security and
intellectual property rights are being debated and considered for
adoption by many countries throughout the world. Online businesses
face risks from some of the proposed legislation that could be
passed in the future.
 
The
adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the
growth, popularity or use of the internet, including laws impacting
internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for our services and
increase our cost of doing business. As we expand internationally,
government regulation concerning the internet, and in particular,
network neutrality, may be nascent or non-existent. Within such a
regulatory environment, coupled with potentially significant
political and economic power of local network operators, we could
experience discriminatory or anti-competitive practices that could
impede our growth, cause us to incur additional expense or
otherwise negatively affect our business.
 
In
the United States, laws relating to the liability of providers of
online services for activities of their users and other third
parties are currently being tested by a number of claims, which
include actions for libel, slander, invasion of privacy and other
tort claims, unlawful activity, copyright and trademark
infringement, and other theories based on the nature and content of
the materials searched, the ads posted, or the content generated by
users. Certain foreign jurisdictions are also testing the liability
of providers of online services for activities of their users and
other third parties. Any court ruling that imposes liability on
providers of online services for activities of their users and
other third parties could harm our licensees’ businesses, and
thus, indirectly, our business.
 
Biohealth
Business. Our businesses are
subject to varying degrees of governmental regulation in the
countries in which operations are conducted, and the general trend
is toward increasingly stringent regulation. In the United States,
the drug, device and cosmetic industries have long been subject to
regulation by various federal and state agencies, primarily as to
product safety, efficacy, manufacturing, advertising, labeling and
safety reporting. The exercise of broad regulatory powers by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, continues to result in
increases in the amounts of testing and documentation required for
FDA approval of new drugs and devices and a corresponding increase
in the expense of product introduction. Similar trends are also
evident in major markets outside of the United States. The new
medical device regulatory framework and the new privacy regulations
in Europe are examples of such increased
regulation.
 
The
costs of human health care have been and continue to be a subject
of study, investigation and regulation by governmental agencies and
legislative bodies around the world. In the United States,
attention has been focused on drug prices and profits and programs
that encourage doctors to write prescriptions for particular drugs,
or to recommend, use or purchase particular medical devices. Payers
have become a more potent force in the market place and increased
attention is being paid to drug and medical device pricing,
appropriate drug and medical device utilization and the quality and
costs of health care generally. The regulatory agencies under whose
purview we operate have administrative powers that may subject it
to actions such as product withdrawals, recalls, seizure of
products and other civil and criminal sanctions. In some cases, our
subsidiaries may deem it advisable to initiate product
recalls.
 
            
In addition, business practices in the health care industry have
come under increased scrutiny, particularly in the United States,
by government agencies and state attorneys general, and resulting
investigations and prosecutions carry the risk of significant civil
and criminal penalties.
 
            
Further, we rely on global supply chains, and production and
distribution processes, that are complex, are subject to increasing
regulatory requirements, and may be faced with unexpected changes
that may affect sourcing, supply and pricing of materials used in
our products. These processes also are subject to lengthy
regulatory approvals.
 
 
13
 
 
As
described above, certain of our businesses are subject to
compliance with laws and regulations of U.S. federal and state
governments, non-U.S. governments, their respective agencies and/or
various self-regulatory organizations or exchanges relating to,
among other things, disclosure and the privacy of client
information, and any failure to comply with these regulations could
expose us to liability and/or damage our reputation. Our businesses
have operated for many years within a legal framework that requires
us to monitor and comply with a broad range of legal and regulatory
developments that affect our activities. However, additional
legislation, changes in rules promulgated by self-regulatory
organizations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of
existing laws and rules, either in the United States or elsewhere,
may directly affect our mode of operation and
profitability.
 
Rigorous
legal and compliance analysis of our businesses is endemic to our
culture and risk management. Management of each of our businesses
supervise our compliance personnel, who are responsible for
addressing all regulatory and compliance matters that affect our
activities. We strive to maintain a culture of compliance through
the use of policies and procedures, including a code of ethics,
electronic compliance systems, testing and monitoring,
communication of compliance guidance and employee education and
training. Our compliance policies and procedures address a variety
of regulatory and compliance matters such as the handling of
material non-public information, personal securities trading,
marketing practices, gifts and entertainment, valuation of
investments, recordkeeping, potential conflicts of interest, the
allocation of corporate opportunities, collection of fees and
expense allocation.
 
We
also monitor the information barriers that we maintain between the
public and private sides of our businesses. We believe that our
various businesses’ access to the intellectual knowledge and
contacts and relationships that reside throughout our firm benefits
all of our businesses. To maximize that access without compromising
compliance with our legal and contractual obligations, our
compliance group oversees and monitors the communications between
groups that are on the private side of our information barrier and
groups that are on the public side, as well as between different
public side groups. Our compliance group also monitors contractual
obligations that may be impacted and potential conflicts that may
arise in connection with these inter-group
discussions.
 
Facilities
 
We
manage our worldwide business from our principal executive offices
located in Bethesda, Maryland, in a leased space of approximately
2,059 square feet, under a lease that expires in 2024. We also
maintain offices in Singapore, Magnolia, Texas, Hong Kong and South
Korea through leased spaces aggregating approximately 15,811 square
feet, under leases expiring on various dates from April 2021 to
August 2022. The leases have rental rates ranging from $2,265 to
$23,297 per month. Our total rent expense under these office leases
was $413,240 and $293,486 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. We expect
total rent expense to be approximately $398,680 under office leases
in 2021. We believe our present office space and locations are
adequate for our current operations and for near-term planned
expansion.
 
Employees
 
As
of April 14, 2021, we had a total of 22 full-time employees. In
addition to our full-time employees, we occasionally hire part-time
employees and independent contractors to assist us in various
operations, including property development, research and product
development and production.
 
Our
future success will depend in part on our ability to attract,
retain and motivate highly qualified technical and sales personnel
for whom competition is intense. Our employees are not represented
by any collective bargaining unit. We believe our relations with
employees and contractors are good.
 
Expansion into New Business Areas
 
Effective
as of March 12, 2021, the Company entered into a Securities
Purchase Agreement (the “Securities Purchase
Agreement”) with Mr. Chan Heng Fai, the founder, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of the Company, True Partners International
Limited, LiquidValue Development Pte Ltd. (“LVD”) and
American Pacific Bancorp, Inc. (“APB”), pursuant to
which the Company purchased from Chan Heng Fai (i) warrants (the
“Warrants”) to purchase 1,500,000,000 shares of Alset
International; (ii) 1,000,000 shares of LVD’s common stock,
constituting all of the issued and outstanding stock of LVD; (iii)
62,122,908 ordinary shares in True Partners Capital Holding Limited
(“True Partner”); and (iv) 4,775,523 shares of
APB’s Class B common stock, representing 86.44% of the total
issued and outstanding common stock of APB.
 
 
14
 
 
The
four acquisitions set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement
closed on March 12, 2021. The Company has issued four convertible
notes to Chan Heng Fai as follows: (i) a convertible note in the
amount of $28,363,966 for warrants to purchase 1,500,000,000 shares
of Alset International; (ii) a convertible note in the amount of
$173,395 to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of LVD;
(iii) a convertible note in the amount of $6,729,629 to acquire
62,122,908 ordinary shares of True Partners; and (iv) a convertible
note in the amount of $28,653,138 for 4,775,523 Class B shares of
APB. Such four notes will only become convertible into shares of
the Company’s common stock following the approval of the
Company’s shareholders. Subject to such shareholder approval,
each note shall be convertible into shares of the Company’s
common stock at a conversion price equal to $5.59 per share
(equivalent to the average five closing per share prices of the
Company’s common stock preceding January 4, 2021). Each
convertible note matures in three years, has an interest rate of 2%
per annum and the principal amount and accrued but unpaid interest
shall be payable on the maturity date, subject to the conversion of
each convertible note.
 
LiquidValue
Development Pte Ltd. LVD
operates in the asset management field and will be leveraged by the
Company to establish an actively managed open-ended exchange-traded
fund in the U.S. focused on disruptive investment opportunities
with long-term exponential growth potential. The Company has
acquired all of the issued and outstanding stock of
LVD.
 
True
Partner Capital Holding Limited. True Partners operates as a fund management
company in the U.S. and Hong Kong. True Partners manages funds and
provides managed accounts on a discretionary basis using a
proprietary trading platform, offering investment management and
consultancy services. True Partners also develops and supports its
trading platform and related proprietary software and provides
management services for a portfolio of securities and futures
contracts. Its fund investors and managed accounts are primarily
professional investors, including family offices, pension funds,
high-net worth individuals, endowments/foundations, and financial
institutions. True Partners was founded in 2010 and is
headquartered in Hong Kong. True Partners is currently listed on
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), with over USD $1.6 billion
assets under management (AUM). Pursuant to the Securities Purchase
Agreement, the Company has acquired 62,122,908 ordinary shares in
True Partners (HKG: 8657). The Company now owns 15.5% of True
Partners.
 
American
Pacific Bancorp Inc. APB is a
bank holding company that invests in commercial banks in the U.S.
APB’s plans include injecting digital banking capabilities
into banks to provide global banking services to clients worldwide,
with the goal to increase its profitability. The Company acquired
4,775,523 shares of the Class B common stock of APB, representing
approximately 86.4% of the total common stock of APB. The Company
plans to leverage APB's infrastructure to capitalize on the growth
opportunities with Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs).
The Company intends to work with APB to form a synergistic home
financing capability that will further support the Company’s
long-term business objectives.
 
I tem
1A. Risk Factors.
 
An
investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You
should carefully consider the risks described below and the other
information in this Report before making a decision to invest in
our common stock. If any of the following risks and uncertainties
develop into actual events, our business, results of operations and
financial condition could be adversely affected. In those cases,
the trading price of our common stock could decline and you may
lose all or part of your investment.
 
Risks Related to Our Company
 
Management has identified a material
weakness in the design and effectiveness of our internal
controls, which, if not remediated, could affect the
accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting and result in
misstatements in our financial statements.
 
In
connection with the preparation of our Report on Form 10-K, an
evaluation was carried out by management, with the participation of
our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Financial Officers, of the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) as of December 31, 2020.
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed in reports filed or submitted
under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and
reported within the time periods specified, and that such
information is accumulated and communicated to management,
including the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Financial
Officers, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
 
During
evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31,
2020, conducted as part of our annual audit and preparation of our
annual financial statements, management conducted an evaluation of
the effectiveness of the design and operations of our disclosure
controls and procedures and concluded that our disclosure controls
and procedures were not effective. Management determined that at
December 31, 2020, we had a material weakness that relates to the
relatively small number of staff who have bookkeeping and
accounting experience. This limited number of staff prevents us
from segregating duties within our internal control
system.
 
This
material weakness, which remained unremedied by the company as of
December 31, 2020, could result in a misstatement to the accounts
and disclosures that would result in a material misstatement to our
annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not
be prevented or detected. If we do not remediate the material
weakness or if other material weaknesses are identified in the
future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately
or to report them on a timely basis, which could result in the loss
of investor confidence and have a material adverse effect on our
stock price as well as our ability to access capital and lending
markets.
 
 
15
 
 
Risks Relating to Our Business
 
We have a history of annual net losses which may continue and which
may negatively impact our ability to achieve our business
objectives.
 
Our
property development and digital transformation technology
businesses were started in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and our
biohealth business was started in 2017. Our limited operating
history makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and
future prospects and may increase the risk of your investment. For
the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had revenue of
$16,238,200 and $24,257,953, respectively, and net losses of
$4,398,435 and $8,053,428 in the years ended December 31, 2020 and
2019, respectively. Our failure to increase our revenues or improve
our gross margins will harm our business. We may not be able to
achieve, sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual
basis in the future. If our revenue grows more slowly than we
anticipate, our gross margins fail to improve or our operating
expenses exceed our expectations, our operating results will
suffer. The prices we charge for our properties, products and
services may decrease, which would reduce our revenues and harm our
business. If we are unable to sell our properties, products and
services at acceptable prices relative to our costs, or if we fail
to develop and introduce on a timely basis new products or services
from which we can derive additional revenues, our financial results
will suffer.
 
We and our subsidiaries have limited operating histories and
therefore we cannot ensure the long-term successful operation of
our business or the execution of our growth strategy.
 
Our
prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and
difficulties frequently encountered by growing companies in new and
rapidly evolving markets. We may meet many challenges
including:
 
●  
establishing
and maintaining broad market acceptance of our products and
services and converting that acceptance into direct and indirect
sources of revenue;
●             
establishing
and maintaining adoption of our technology on a wide variety of
platforms and devices;
●  
timely
and successfully developing new products and services and
increasing the features of existing products and
services;
●  
developing
products and services that result in high degrees of customer
satisfaction and high levels of customer usage;
●             
successfully
responding to competition, including competition from emerging
technologies and solutions;
●  
developing
and maintaining strategic relationships to enhance the
distribution, features, content and utility of our products and
services; and
●  
identifying,
attracting and retaining talented technical and sales services
staff at reasonable market compensation rates in the markets in
which we operate.
 
Our
growth strategy may be unsuccessful and we may be unable to address
the risks we face in a cost-effective manner, if at all. If we are
unable to successfully address these risks our business will be
harmed.
 
We have a holding company ownership structure and will depend on
distributions from our majority-owned and/or controlled operating
subsidiaries to meet our obligations. Contractual or legal
restrictions applicable to our subsidiaries could limit payments or
distributions from them.
 
We
are a holding company and derive all of our operating income from,
and hold substantially all of our assets through, our U.S. and
foreign subsidiaries, some of which are publicly held and traded.
The effect of this structure is that we will depend on the earnings
of our subsidiaries, and the payment or other distributions to us
of these earnings, to meet our obligations and make capital
expenditures. Provisions of U.S. and foreign corporate and tax law,
like those requiring that dividends are paid only out of surplus,
and provisions of any future indebtedness, may limit the ability of
our subsidiaries to make payments or other distributions to us.
Certain of our subsidiaries are minority owned and the assets of
these companies are not included in our consolidated balance
sheets. Additionally, in the event of the liquidation, dissolution
or winding up of any of our subsidiaries, creditors of that
subsidiary (including trade creditors) will generally be entitled
to payment from the assets of that subsidiary before those assets
can be distributed to us.
 
Our significant ownership interests in public companies listed on
limited public trading markets subjects us to risks relating to the
sale of their shares and the fluctuations in their stock
prices.
 
We
own indirect interests in several publicly traded companies –
most significantly, Alset International Limited, whose shares are
listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Document Security Systems,
Inc., whose shares are listed on the NYSE American LLC Exchange and
Holista CollTech Limited, whose shares are listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange (LiquidValue Development Inc. and GigWorld Inc. are
not currently traded on any exchange). Although the publicly traded
shares of Alset International and Holista CollTech Limited are
quoted on a trading market, the average trading volume of the
public shares is limited in each case. In view of the limited
public trading markets for these shares, there can be no assurance
that we would succeed in obtaining a price for these shares equal
to the price quoted for such shares in their respective trading
markets at the time of sale or that we would not incur a loss on
our shares should we determine to dispose of them in any of these
companies in the future. Additionally, on an ongoing basis,
fluctuations in the stock prices of these companies are likely to
be reflected in the market price of our common stock. Given the
limited public trading markets of these public companies, stock
price fluctuations in our price may be significant.
 
 
16
 
 
General political, social and economic conditions can adversely
affect our business.
 
Demand
for our products and services depends, to a significant degree, on
general political, social and economic conditions in our markets.
Worsening economic and market conditions, downside shocks, or a
return to recessionary economic conditions could serve to reduce
demand for our products and services and adversely affect our
operating results. In addition, an economic downturn could impact
the valuation and collectability of certain long-term receivables
held by us. We could also be adversely affected by such factors as
changes in foreign currency rates and weak economic and political
conditions in each of the countries in which we
operate.
 
The coronavirus or other adverse public health developments could
have a material and adverse effect on our business operations,
financial condition and results of operations.
 
In
December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was first
identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and has since spread to
a number of other countries, including the United States. The
coronavirus, or other adverse public health developments, could
have a material and adverse effect on our business operations. The
coronavirus’ far-reaching impact on the global economy could
negatively affect various aspects of our business, including demand
for real estate. In addition, the coronavirus could directly impact
the ability of our staff and contractors to continue to work, and
our ability to conduct our operations in a prompt and efficient
manner. The coronavirus may adversely impact the timeliness of
local government in granting required approvals. Accordingly, the
coronavirus may cause the completion of important stages in our
projects to be delayed. The extent to which the coronavirus may
impact our business will depend on future developments, which are
highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. For more information on
this matter, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations- Financial Impact
of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
 
We have made and expect to continue to make acquisitions as a
primary component of our growth strategy. We may not be able to
identify suitable acquisition candidates or consummate acquisitions
on acceptable terms, which could disrupt our operations and
adversely impact our business and operating results.
 
A
primary component of our growth strategy has been to acquire
complementary businesses to grow our company. We intend to continue
to pursue acquisitions of complementary technologies, products and
businesses as a primary component of our growth strategy to expand
our operations and customer base and provide access to new markets
and increase benefits of scale. Acquisitions involve certain known
and unknown risks that could cause our actual growth or operating
results to differ from our expectations. For example:
 
●             
we
may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or to
consummate acquisitions on acceptable terms;
●             
we
may pursue international acquisitions, which inherently pose more
risks than domestic acquisitions;
●  
we
compete with others to acquire complementary products, technologies
and businesses, which may result in decreased availability of, or
increased price for, suitable acquisition candidates;
●  
we
may not be able to obtain the necessary financing, on favorable
terms or at all, to finance any or all of our potential
acquisitions; and
●  
we
may ultimately fail to consummate an acquisition even if we
announce that we plan to acquire a technology, product or
business.
 
We may be unable to successfully integrate acquisitions, which may
adversely impact our operations.
 
Acquired
technologies, products or businesses may not perform as we expect
and we may fail to realize anticipated revenue and profits. In
addition, our acquisition strategy may divert management’s
attention away from our existing business, resulting in the loss of
key customers or employees, and expose us to unanticipated problems
or legal liabilities, including responsibility as a successor for
undisclosed or contingent liabilities of acquired businesses or
assets.
 
If
we fail to conduct due diligence on our potential targets
effectively, we may, for example, not identify problems at target
companies or fail to recognize incompatibilities or other obstacles
to successful integration. Our inability to successfully integrate
future acquisitions could impede us from realizing all of the
benefits of those acquisitions and could severely weaken our
business operations. The integration process may disrupt our
business and, if new technologies, products or businesses are not
implemented effectively, may preclude the realization of the full
benefits expected by us and could harm our results of operations.
In addition, the overall integration of new technologies, products
or businesses may result in unanticipated problems, expenses,
liabilities and competitive responses. The difficulties integrating
an acquisition include, among other things:
 
●             
issues
in integrating the target company’s technologies, products or
businesses with ours;
●             
incompatibility
of marketing and administration methods;
●             
maintaining
employee morale and retaining key employees;
●             
integrating
the cultures of our companies;
●             
preserving
important strategic customer relationships;
●             
consolidating
corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating
duplicative operations; and
●             
coordinating
and integrating geographically separate organizations.
 
 
17
 
 
In
addition, even if the operations of an acquisition are integrated
successfully, we may not realize the full benefits of the
acquisition, including the synergies, cost savings or growth
opportunities that we expect. These benefits may not be achieved
within the anticipated time frame, or at all.
 
Acquisitions which we complete may have an adverse impact on our
results of operations.
 
Acquisitions
may cause us to:
 
●             
issue
common stock that would dilute our current stockholders’
ownership percentage;
●             
use
a substantial portion of our cash resources;
●  
increase
our interest expense, leverage and debt service requirements if we
incur additional debt to pay for an acquisition;
●  
assume
liabilities for which we do not have indemnification from the
former owners; further, indemnification obligations may be subject
to dispute or concerns regarding the creditworthiness of the former
owners;
●  
record
goodwill and non-amortizable intangible assets that are subject to
impairment testing and potential impairment charges;
●  
experience
volatility in earnings due to changes in contingent consideration
related to acquisition earn-out liability estimates;
●             
incur
amortization expenses related to certain intangible
assets;
●             
lose
existing or potential contracts as a result of conflict of interest
issues;
●             
become
subject to adverse tax consequences or deferred compensation
charges;
●             
incur
large and immediate write-offs; or
●             
become
subject to litigation.
 
Our resources may not be sufficient to manage our expected growth;
failure to properly manage our potential growth would be
detrimental to our business.
 
We
may fail to adequately manage our anticipated future growth. Any
growth in our operations will place a significant strain on our
administrative, financial and operational resources and increase
demands on our management and on our operational and administrative
systems, controls and other resources. We cannot assure you that
our existing personnel, systems, procedures or controls will be
adequate to support our operations in the future or that we will be
able to successfully implement appropriate measures consistent with
our growth strategy. As part of this growth, we may have to
implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and
controls to expand, train and manage our employee base, and
maintain close coordination among our technical, accounting,
finance, marketing and sales. We cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so, or that if we are able to do so, we will be able to
effectively integrate them into our existing staff and systems.
There may be greater strain on our systems as we acquire new
businesses, requiring us to devote significant management time and
expense to the ongoing integration and alignment of management,
systems, controls and marketing. If we are unable to manage growth
effectively, such as if our sales and marketing efforts exceed our
capacity to design and produce our products and services or if new
employees are unable to achieve performance levels, our business,
operating results and financial condition could be materially and
adversely affected.
 
Our international operations are subject to increased risks which
could harm our business, operating results and financial
condition.
 
In
addition to uncertainty about our ability to expand our
international market position, there are risks inherent in doing
business internationally, including:
 
●             
trade
barriers, tariffs and changes in trade regulations;
●  
difficulties
in developing, staffing and simultaneously managing a large number
of varying foreign operations as a result of distance, language and
cultural differences;
●             
the
need to comply with varied local laws and regulations;
●             
longer
payment cycles;
●             
possible
credit risk and higher levels of payment fraud;
●             
profit
repatriation restrictions and foreign currency exchange
restrictions;
●             
political
or social unrest, economic instability or human rights
issues;
●             
geopolitical
events, including acts of war and terrorism;
●             
import
or export regulations;
●  
compliance
with U.S. laws (such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), and
local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government
officials;
●             
laws
and business practices that favor local competitors or prohibit
foreign ownership of certain businesses; and
●             
different
and more stringent data protection, privacy and other
laws.
 
Our
failure to manage any of these risks successfully could harm our
international operations and our overall business, and results of
our operations.
 
 
18
 
 
If we are unable to retain the services of Chan Heng Fai or if we
are unable to successfully recruit qualified personnel, we may not
be able to continue operations.
 
Our
success depends to a significant extent upon the continued service
of Chan Heng Fai, our founder, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. The loss of the services of Chan Heng Fai could have a
material adverse effect on our growth, revenues and prospective
business. If Chan Heng Fai was to resign or we are unable to retain
his services, the loss could result in loss of sales, delays in new
product development and diversion of management resources. We could
face high costs and substantial difficulty in hiring a qualified
successor and could experience a loss in productivity while any
such successor obtains the necessary training and experience. Chan
Heng Fai has committed that the majority of his time will be
devoted to managing the affairs of our company; however, Chan Heng
Fai may engage in other business ventures, including other
technology-related businesses.
 
In
order to successfully implement and manage our businesses, we are
also dependent upon successfully recruiting qualified personnel. In
particular, we must hire and retain experienced management
personnel to help us continue to grow and manage each business, and
skilled engineering, product development, marketing and sales
personnel to further our research and product development efforts.
Competition for qualified personnel is intense. If we do not
succeed in attracting new personnel or in retaining and motivating
our current personnel, our business could be harmed.
 
If we do not successfully develop new products and services, our
business may be harmed.
 
Our
business and operating results may be harmed if we fail to expand
our various product and service offerings (either through internal
product or capability development initiatives or through
partnerships and acquisitions) in such a way that achieves
widespread market acceptance or that generates significant revenue
and gross profits to offset our operating and other costs. We may
not successfully identify, develop and market new product and
service offerings in a timely manner. If we introduce new products
and services, they may not attain broad market acceptance or
contribute meaningfully to our revenue or profitability.
Competitive or technological developments may require us to make
substantial, unanticipated capital expenditures in new products and
technologies or in new strategic partnerships, and we may not have
sufficient resources to make these expenditures. Because the
markets for many of our products and services are subject to rapid
change, we may need to expand and/or evolve our product and service
offerings quickly. Delays and cost overruns could affect our
ability to respond to technological changes, evolving industry
standards, competitive developments or customer requirements and
harm our business and operating results.
 
Your investment return may be reduced if we are required to
register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act;
if we or our majority-owned and/or controlled operating
subsidiaries become an unregistered investment company, then we
would need to modify our business philosophy and/or make other
changes to our asset composition.
 
Neither
we nor any of our majority-owned and/or controlled subsidiaries
intends to register as an investment company under the Investment
Company Act of 1940. If we or our subsidiaries were obligated to
register as investment companies, then we would have to comply with
a variety of regulatory requirements under the Investment Company
Act that impose, among other things:
 
●             
limitations
on capital structure;
●             
restrictions
on specified investments;
●             
prohibitions
on transactions with affiliates; and
●  
compliance
with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other
rules and regulations that would significantly increase our
operating expenses.
 
Under
the relevant provisions of Section 3(a)(1) of the Investment
Company Act, an investment company is any issuer that:
 
●  
pursuant
to Section 3(a)(1)(A), is or holds itself out as being engaged
primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of
investing, reinvesting or trading in securities (the
“primarily engaged test”); or
 
●  
pursuant
to Section 3(a)(1)(C), is engaged or proposes to engage in the
business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in
securities and owns or proposes to acquire “investment
securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such
issuer’s total assets (exclusive of United States government
securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis (the
“40% asset test”). “Investment securities”
exclude United States government securities and securities of
majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment
companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition
of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7)
(relating to private investment companies).
 
Neither
we nor any of our majority-owned and/or controlled subsidiaries
should be required to register as an investment company under
either of the tests above. With respect to the 40% asset test, most
of the entities through which we and our majority-owned and/or
controlled subsidiaries will own assets will in turn be
majority-owned and/or controlled subsidiaries that will not
themselves be investment companies and will not be relying on the
exceptions from the definition of investment company under Section
3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) (relating to private investment
companies).
 
 
19
 
 
With
respect to the primarily engaged test, we, together with our
majority-owned and/or controlled subsidiaries, are a holding
company and do not intend to invest or trade in securities. Rather,
through our majority-owned and/or controlled subsidiaries, we will
be primarily engaged in the non-investment company businesses of
these subsidiaries, namely, property development, digital
transformation technology and biohealth.
 
To
maintain compliance with the Investment Company Act, our
majority-owned and/or controlled operating subsidiaries may be
unable to sell assets we would otherwise want them to sell and may
need to sell assets we would otherwise wish them to retain. In
addition, our subsidiaries may have to acquire additional assets
that they might not otherwise have acquired or may have to forego
opportunities to buy minority equity interests that we would
otherwise want them to make and would be important to our business
philosophy. Moreover, the SEC or its staff may issue
interpretations with respect to various types of assets that are
contrary to our views and current SEC staff interpretations are
subject to change, which increases the risk of non-compliance and
the risk that we may be forced to make adverse changes to our asset
composition. If we were required to register as an investment
company but failed to do so, we would be prohibited from engaging
in our current business and criminal and civil actions could be
brought against us. In addition, our contracts would be
unenforceable unless a court required enforcement and a court could
appoint a receiver to take control of our company and liquidate our
business.
 
If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights,
we may experience a loss of revenue and our operations may be
materially harmed.
 
We
rely on and expect to continue to rely on a combination of
confidentiality and license agreements with our employees,
consultants and third parties with whom we have relationships, as
well as patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection
laws, to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights.
We cannot assure you that we can adequately protect our
intellectual property or successfully prosecute potential
infringement of our intellectual property rights. Also, we cannot
assure you that others will not assert rights in, or ownership of,
trademarks and other proprietary rights of ours or that we will be
able to successfully resolve these types of conflicts to our
satisfaction. Our failure to protect our intellectual property
rights may result in a loss of revenue and could materially harm
our operations and financial condition.
 
New legislation, regulations or rules related to obtaining patents
or enforcing patents could significantly increase our operating
costs and decrease our revenue.
 
We
spend a significant amount of resources to enforce our patent
assets. If new legislation, regulations or rules are implemented
either by Congress, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the
“USPTO”), any state or the courts that impact the
patent application process, the patent enforcement process or the
rights of patent holders, these changes could negatively affect our
expenses and revenue and any reductions in the funding of the USPTO
could negatively impact the value of our assets.
 
A
number of states have adopted or are considering legislation to
make the patent enforcement process more difficult for
non-practicing entities, such as allowing such entities to be sued
in state court and setting higher standards of proof for
infringement claims. We cannot predict what, if any, impact these
state initiatives will have on the operation of our enforcement
business. However, such legislation could increase the
uncertainties and costs surrounding the enforcement of our patented
technologies, which could have a material adverse effect on our
business and financial condition.
 
In
addition, the U.S. Department of Justice has conducted reviews of
the patent system to evaluate the impact of patent assertion
entities on industries in which those patents relate. It is
possible that the findings and recommendations of the Department of
Justice could impact the ability to effectively license and enforce
standards-essential patents and could increase the uncertainties
and costs surrounding the enforcement of any such patented
technologies.
 
Finally,
new rules regarding the burden of proof in patent enforcement
actions could significantly increase the cost of our enforcement
actions, and new standards or limitations on liability for patent
infringement could negatively impact any revenue we might derive
from such enforcement actions.
 
Tax legislation in the United States may impact our
business.
 
We
are subject to taxation in the United States, as well as in a
number of foreign jurisdictions. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the
“Tax Act”) provided for significant and wide-ranging
changes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The implications most
relevant to our company include (a) a reduction in the U.S. federal
corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, with various “base
erosion” rules that may effectively limit the tax
deductibility of certain payments made by U.S. entities to non-U.S.
affiliates and additional limitations on deductions attributable to
interest expense, and (b) adopting elements of a territorial tax
system. To transition into the territorial tax system, the Tax Act
includes a one-time tax on cumulative retained earnings of
U.S.-owned foreign subsidiaries, at a rate of 15.5% for earnings
represented by cash or cash equivalents and 8.0% for the balance of
such earnings. Taxpayers may make an election to pay this tax over
eight years. These tax reforms will give rise to significant
consequences, both immediately in terms of one-off impacts relating
to the transition tax and the measurement of deferred tax assets
and liabilities and going forward in terms of the company’s
taxation expense. An initial review and estimate have been
undertaken by us. The Tax Act could be subject to potential
amendments and technical corrections, any of which could lessen or
increase adverse impacts of the law. The final transitional impact
of the Tax Act may differ from the estimates provided in this
Report, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations of
the Tax Act, any legislative action to address questions that arise
because of the Tax Act, any changes in accounting standards for
income taxes or related interpretations in response to the Tax Act,
or any updates or changes to estimates we utilized to calculate the
transitional impacts, including impacts related to changes to
current year earnings estimates and the amount of the repatriation
tax. Given the unpredictability of these and other tax laws and
related regulations, and their potential interdependency, it is
difficult to currently assess the overall effect of such changes.
Nonetheless, any material negative effect of such changes to our
earnings and cash flow could adversely impact our financial
results.
 
 
20
 
 
For our property development business, the market for real estate
is subject to fluctuations that may impact the value of the land or
housing inventory that we hold, which may impact the price of our
common stock.
 
Investors
should be aware that the value of any real estate we own may
fluctuate from time to time in connection with broader market
conditions and regulatory issues, which we cannot predict or
control, including interest rates, the availability of credit, the
tax benefits of homeownership and wage growth, unemployment and
demographic trends in the regions in which we may conduct business.
Should the price of real estate decline in the areas in which we
have purchased land, the price at which we will be able to sell
lots to home builders, or if we build houses, the price at which we
can sell such houses to buyers, will decline.
 
Zoning and land use regulations impacting the land development and
homebuilding industries may limit our activities and increase our
expenses, which would adversely affect our financial
results.
 
We
must comply with zoning and land use regulations impacting the land
development and home building industries. We will need to obtain
the approval of various government agencies to expand our
operations into new areas and to commence the building of homes.
Our ability to gain the necessary approvals is not certain, and the
expense and timing of approval processes may increase in ways that
adversely impact our profits.
 
Health and safety incidents that occur in connection with our
potential expansion into the homebuilding business could be costly
with uninsured losses.
 
If
we commence operations in the homebuilding business, we will be
exposed to the danger of health and safety risks to our employees
and contractors. Health and safety incidents could result in the
loss of the services of valued employees and contractors and expose
us to significant litigation and fines. Insurance may not cover, or
may be insufficient to cover, such losses, and premiums may
rise.
 
Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and man-made
disasters may delay our real estate development projects or cause
additional expenses.
 
The
land development operations which we currently conduct and the
construction projects which we may become involved in at a later
date may be adversely impacted by unexpected weather and natural
disasters, including storms, hurricanes, tornados, floods,
blizzards, fires and earthquakes. Man-made disasters including
terrorist attacks, electrical outages and cyber-security incidents
may also impact the costs and timing of the completion of our
projects. Cyber-security incidents, including those that result in
the loss of financial or other personal data, could expose us to
litigation and reputational damage. If insurance is unavailable to
us on acceptable terms, or if our insurance is not adequate to
cover business interruptions and losses from the conditions
described above and similar incidents, our results of operations
will be adversely affected. In addition, damage to new homes caused
by these conditions may cause our insurance costs to
increase.
 
We have a concentration of revenue and credit risk with one
customer.
 
In
our property development segment, we have been highly dependent on
the sales of residential lots to NVR Inc. (“NVR”), a
NYSE publicly-traded U.S. homebuilding and mortgage company.
Pursuant to agreements between NVR and our subsidiary SeD Maryland
Development, LLC, NVR is the sole purchaser of 479 residential lots
at our Ballenger project. During the years 2020 and 2019, we
received $13.6 million and $15.9 million in revenue from lot sales
to NVR, respectively. Therefore, at the present time, a significant
portion of our business depends largely on NVR’s continued
relationship with us. A decision by NVR to discontinue or limit its
relationship with us could have a material adverse impact on our
property development business and our entire company
overall.
 
We may face liability for information displayed on or accessible
via our website, and for other content and commerce-related
activities, which could reduce our net worth and working capital
and increase our operating losses.
 
We
could face claims for errors, defamation, negligence or copyright
or trademark infringement based on the nature and content of
information displayed on or accessible via our website, which could
adversely affect our financial condition. Even to the extent that
claims made against us do not result in liability, we may incur
substantial costs in investigating and defending such
claims.
 
Our
insurance, if any, may not cover all potential claims to which we
are exposed or may not be adequate to indemnify us for all
liabilities that may be exposed. Any imposition of liability that
is not covered by insurance or is in excess of insurance coverage
would reduce our net worth and working capital and increase our
operating losses.
 
 
21
 
 
Any failure of our network could lead to significant disruptions in
our businesses, which could damage our reputation, reduce our
revenues or otherwise harm our businesses.
 
All
of our businesses and, in particular, our digital transformation
technology business unit, are dependent upon providing our
customers with fast, efficient and reliable services. A reduction
in the performance, reliability or availability of our network
infrastructure may harm our ability to distribute our products and
services to our customers, as well as our reputation and ability to
attract and retain customers and content providers. Our systems and
operations are susceptible to, and could be damaged or interrupted
by outages caused by fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications
failure, Internet or mobile network breakdown, earthquakes and
similar events. Our systems are also subject to human error,
security breaches, power losses, computer viruses, break-ins,
“denial of service” attacks, sabotage, intentional acts
of vandalism and tampering designed to disrupt our computer systems
and network communications, and our systems could be subject to
greater vulnerability in periods of high employee turnover. A
sudden and significant increase in traffic on our customers’
websites or demand from mobile users could strain the capacity of
the software, hardware and telecommunications systems that we
deploy or use. This could lead to slower response times or system
failures. Our failure to protect our network against damage from
any of these events could harm our business.
 
Public scrutiny of internet privacy and security issues may result
in increased regulation and different industry standards, which
could deter or prevent us from providing our current products and
solutions to our members and customers, thereby harming our
business.
 
The
regulatory framework for privacy and security issues worldwide is
evolving and is likely to remain in flux for the foreseeable
future. Practices regarding the collection, use, storage, display,
processing, transmission and security of personal information by
companies offering online services have recently come under
increased public scrutiny. The U.S. government, including the White
House, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce and
many state governments, are reviewing the need for greater
regulation of the collection, use and storage of information
concerning consumer behavior with respect to online services,
including regulation aimed at restricting certain targeted
advertising practices and collection and use of data from mobile
devices. The Federal Trade Commission in particular has approved
consent decrees resolving complaints and their resulting
investigations into the privacy and security practices of a number
of online, social media companies. Similar actions may also impact
us directly.
 
Our
business, including our ability to operate and expand
internationally or on new technology platforms, could be adversely
affected if legislation or regulations are adopted, interpreted, or
implemented in a manner that is inconsistent with our current
business practices that may require changes to these practices, the
design of our websites, mobile applications, products, features or
our privacy policy. In particular, the success of our business is
expected to be driven by our ability to responsibly use the data
that our members share with us. Therefore, our business could be
harmed by any significant change to applicable laws, regulations or
industry standards or practices regarding the storage, use or
disclosure of data our members choose to share with us, or
regarding the manner in which the express or implied consent of
consumers for such use and disclosure is obtained. Such changes may
require us to modify our products and features, possibly in a
material manner, and may limit our ability to develop new products
and features that make use of the data that we collect about our
members.
 
Particularly with regard to our biohealth business, product
reliability, safety and effectiveness concerns can have significant
negative impacts on sales and results of operations, lead to
litigation and cause reputational damage.
 
Concerns
about product safety, whether raised internally or by litigants,
regulators or consumer advocates, and whether or not based on
scientific evidence, can result in safety alerts, product recalls,
governmental investigations, regulatory action on the part of the
FDA (or its counterpart in other countries), private claims and
lawsuits, payment of fines and settlements, declining sales and
reputational damage. These circumstances can also result in damage
to brand image, brand equity and consumer trust in our products.
Product recalls could in the future prompt government
investigations and inspections, the shutdown of manufacturing
facilities, continued product shortages and related sales declines,
significant remediation costs, reputational damage, possible civil
penalties and criminal prosecution.
 
Significant challenges or delays in our innovation and development
of new products, technologies and indications could have an adverse
impact on our long-term success.
 
Our
continued growth and success depend on our ability to innovate and
develop new and differentiated products and services that address
the evolving health care needs of patients, providers and
consumers. Development of successful products and technologies is
also necessary to offset revenue losses when our existing products
lose market share due to various factors such as competition and
loss of patent exclusivity. We cannot be certain when or whether we
will be able to develop, license or otherwise acquire companies,
products and technologies, whether particular product candidates
will be granted regulatory approval, and, if approved, whether the
products will be commercially successful.
 
 
22
 
 
We
pursue product development through internal research and
development as well as through collaborations, acquisitions, joint
ventures and licensing or other arrangements with third parties. In
all of these contexts, developing new products, particularly
biotechnology products, requires a significant commitment of
resources over many years. Only a very few biopharmaceutical
research and development programs result in commercially viable
products. The process depends on many factors, including the
ability to discern patients’ and healthcare providers’
future needs; develop new compounds, strategies and technologies;
achieve successful clinical trial results; secure effective
intellectual property protection; obtain regulatory approvals on a
timely basis; and, if and when they reach the market, successfully
differentiate our products from competing products and approaches
to treatment. New products or enhancements to existing products may
not be accepted quickly or significantly in the marketplace for
healthcare providers, and there may be uncertainty over third-party
reimbursement. Even following initial regulatory approval, the
success of a product can be adversely impacted by safety and
efficacy findings in larger real world patient populations, as well
as market entry of competitive products.
 
Our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than
we do and those advantages could make it difficult for us to
compete with them.
 
Our
three principal businesses, property development, digital
transformation technology and biohealth activities are each highly
competitive and constantly changing. We expect that competition
will continue to intensify. Increased competition may result in
price reductions, reduced margins, loss of customers, and changes
in our business and marketing strategies, any of which could harm
our business. Current and potential competitors may have longer
operating histories, greater name recognition, more employees and
significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, public
relations and distribution resources than we do. In addition, new
competitors with potentially unique or more desirable products or
services may enter the market at any time. The competitive
environment may require us to make changes in our products,
pricing, licensing, services or marketing to maintain and extend
our current brand and technology. Price concessions or the
emergence of other pricing, licensing and distribution strategies
or technology solutions of competitors may reduce our revenue,
margins or market share, any of which will harm our business. Other
changes we have to make in response to competition could cause us
to expend significant financial and other resources, disrupt our
operations, strain relationships with partners, or release products
and enhancements before they are thoroughly tested, any of which
could harm our operating results and stock price.
 
Since some members of our board of directors are not residents of
the United States and certain of our assets are located outside of
the United States, you may not be able to enforce a U.S. judgment
for claims you may bring against such directors or
assets.
 
Several
members of our senior management team, including Chan Heng Fai,
have their primary residences and business offices in Asia, and a
portion of our assets and a substantial portion of the assets of
these directors are located outside the United States. As a result,
it may be more difficult for you to enforce a lawsuit within the
United States against these non-U.S. residents than if they were
residents of the United States. Also, it may be more difficult for
you to enforce any judgment obtained in the United States against
our assets or the assets of our non-U.S. resident management
located outside the United States than if these assets were located
within the United States. We cannot assure you that foreign courts
would enforce liabilities predicated on U.S. federal securities
laws in original actions commenced in such foreign jurisdiction, or
judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions based upon the civil
liability provisions of U.S. federal securities laws.
 
We may be required to record a significant charge to earnings if
our real estate properties become impaired.
 
Our
policy is to obtain an independent third-party valuation for each
major project in the United States to identify triggering events
for impairment. Our management may use a market comparison method
to value other relatively small projects, such as the project in
Perth, Australia. In addition to the annual assessment of potential
triggering events in accordance with ASC 360 – Property Plant
and Equipment (“ASC 360”), we apply a fair value based
impairment test to the net book value assets on an annual basis and
on an interim basis if certain events or circumstances indicate
that an impairment loss may have occurred.
 
On
October 12, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. entered into an Amended
and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement for 124 lots. Pursuant to
the Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement, the purchase
price remained $6,175,000. 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. was required to
meet certain closing conditions and the timing for the closing was
extended. On January 18, 2019, the sale of 124 lots at our Black
Oak project in Magnolia, Texas was completed. After allocating
costs of revenue to this sale, we incurred a loss of approximately
$1.5 million from this sale and recognized a real estate impairment
of approximately $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.
On June 30, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $3.9 million
of impairment on the Black Oak project based on discounted
estimated future cash flows after updating the projection of market
value of the project. On December 31, 2019, the Company recorded
approximately $1.3 million of additional impairment on the Black
Oak project based on discounted estimated future cash flows after
updating the projected cost of the project. There can be no
assurance that we will not record additional impairment charges in
the future.
 
 
23
 
 
Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates affect our
operating results.
 
A
portion of our revenues arises from international operations.
Revenues generated and expenses incurred by our international
subsidiaries are often denominated in the currencies of the local
countries. As a result, our consolidated U.S. dollar financial
statements are subject to fluctuations due to changes in exchange
rates as the financial results of our international subsidiaries
are translated from local currencies into U.S. dollars. In
addition, our financial results are subject to changes in exchange
rates that impact the settlement of transactions in non-local
currencies.
 
The
effect of foreign exchange rate changes on the intercompany loans
(under ASC 830), which mostly consist of loans from Singapore to
the United States and were approximately $25 million and $35.8
million on December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, are the reason
for the significant fluctuation of foreign currency transaction
Gain or Loss on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other
Comprehensive Income. Because the intercompany loan balances
between Singapore and United States will remain at approximately
$25 million over the next year, we expect this fluctuation of
foreign exchange rates to still significantly impact the results of
operations in 2021, especially given that the foreign exchange rate
may and is expected to be volatile. If the amount of intercompany
loans is lowered in the future, the effect will also be reduced.
However, at this moment, we do not expect to repay the intercompany
loans in the short term.
 
Our international operations expose us to additional legal and
regulatory risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our
business, results of operations and financial
conditions.
 
At
the present time, the majority of our activities are conducted in
the United States (particularly with regard to our real estate
operations). However, we also have operations worldwide through
employees, contractors and agents, as well as those companies to
which we outsource certain of our business operations. Compliance
with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our
international operations increase our cost of doing business. These
numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include,
among others, labor relations laws, tax laws, anti-competition
regulations, import and trade restrictions, data privacy
requirements, export requirements, and anti-bribery and
anti-corruption laws.
 
Our
business activities currently are subject to no particular
regulation by governmental agencies in the United States or the
other countries in which we operate other than that routinely
imposed on corporate businesses, and no such regulation is
currently anticipated. As our operations expand, we anticipate that
we will need to comply with laws and regulations in additional
jurisdictions.
 
There
is a risk that we may inadvertently breach some provisions which
apply to us at the present time or which may apply to us in the
future. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in
fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our
employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of
business activities in sanctioned countries, implementation of
compliance programs, and prohibitions on the conduct of our
business. Violations of laws and regulations also could result in
prohibitions on our ability to operate in one or more countries and
could materially damage our reputation, our ability to attract and
retain employees, or our business, results of operations and
financial condition.
 
If tariffs or other restrictions are placed on foreign imports or
any related counter-measures are taken by other countries, our
business and results of operations could be harmed.
 
At
the present time, we do not sell any products produced in China and
have no plans to commence manufacturing in China; however, this may
change at some point in the future. The current administration has
put into place tariffs and other trade restrictions. The current or
future administrations may additionally alter trade agreements and
terms between the United States and China, among other countries,
including limiting trade and/or imposing tariffs on imports from
such countries. In addition, China, among others, has either
threatened or put into place retaliatory tariffs of their own.
Should we commence manufacturing in China, and if tariffs or other
restrictions are placed on foreign imports, including on any of our
products manufactured overseas for sale in the United States, or
any related counter-measures are taken by other countries, our
business and results of operations may be materially
harmed.
 
These
tariffs have the potential to significantly raise the cost of any
products we may manufacture in China. In such a case, there can be
no assurance that we will be able to shift manufacturing and supply
agreements to non-impacted countries, including the United States,
to reduce the effects of the tariffs. As a result, we may suffer
margin erosion or be required to raise our prices, which may result
in the loss of customers, negatively impact our results of
operations, or otherwise harm our business. Additionally, the
imposition of tariffs on products that we export to international
markets could make such products more expensive compared to those
of our competitors if we pass related additional costs on to our
customers, which may also result in the loss of customers,
negatively impact our results of operations, or otherwise harm our
business.
 
 
24
 
 
We are an “emerging growth company” and our election to
delay adoption of new or revised accounting standards applicable to
public companies may result in our consolidated financial
statements not being comparable to those of some other public
companies. As a result of this and other reduced disclosure
requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, our shares
may be less attractive to investors.
 
As
a company with less than $1.07 billion in revenue during our last
completed fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth
company” under the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may
take advantage of specified reduced reporting requirements that are
otherwise generally applicable to public companies. In particular,
as an emerging growth company, we:
 
●  
are
not required to obtain an attestation and report from our auditors
on our management’s assessment of our internal control over
financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act;
 
●  
are
not required to provide a detailed narrative disclosure discussing
our compensation principles, objectives and elements and analyzing
how those elements fit with our principles and objectives (commonly
referred to as “compensation discussion and
analysis”);
 
●  
are
not required to obtain a non-binding advisory vote from our
stockholders on executive compensation or golden parachute
arrangements (commonly referred to as the “say-on-pay,”
“say-on-frequency” and
“say-on-golden-parachute” votes);
 
●  
are
exempt from certain executive compensation disclosure provisions
requiring a pay-for-performance graph and CEO pay ratio
disclosure;
 
●  
may
present only two years of audited financial statements and only two
years of related Management’s Discussion & Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A;
and
 
●  
are
eligible to claim longer phase-in periods for the adoption of new
or revised financial accounting standards under §107 of the
JOBS Act.
 
We
intend to take advantage of all of these reduced reporting
requirements and exemptions, including the longer phase-in periods
for the adoption of new or revised financial accounting standards
under §107 of the JOBS Act. Our election to use the phase-in
periods may make it difficult to compare our consolidated financial
statements to those of non-emerging growth companies and other
emerging growth companies that have opted out of the phase-in
periods under §107 of the JOBS Act.
 
Certain
of these reduced reporting requirements and exemptions were already
available to us due to the fact that we also qualify as a
“smaller reporting company” under SEC rules. For
instance, smaller reporting companies are not required to obtain an
auditor attestation and report regarding management’s
assessment of internal control over financial reporting, are not
required to provide a compensation discussion and analysis, are not
required to provide a pay-for-performance graph or CEO pay ratio
disclosure, and may present only two years of audited financial
statements and related MD&A disclosure.
 
Under
the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of the above-described reduced
reporting requirements and exemptions for up to five years after
our initial sale of common equity pursuant to a registration
statement declared effective under the Securities Act, or such
earlier time that we no longer meet the definition of an emerging
growth company. In this regard, the JOBS Act provides that we would
cease to be an “emerging growth company” if we have
more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue, have more than $700
million in market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates,
or issue more than $1.0 billion in principal amount of
non-convertible debt over a three-year period. Under current SEC
rules, however, we will continue to qualify as a “smaller
reporting company” for so long as we have a public float
(i.e., the market value of common equity held by non-affiliates) of
less than $250 million as of the last business day of our most
recently completed second fiscal quarter.
 
Investors
may find our shares less attractive due to our reliance on these
exemptions. This could impact our ability to raise funds in the
future.
 
 
25
 
 
We will incur increased costs as a result of being a U.S. public
company, and our management expects to devote substantial time to
public company compliance programs.
 
As
a public company, we will now incur significant legal, insurance,
accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private
company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act, Nasdaq Capital Market listing
requirements and other applicable securities rules and regulations
impose various requirements on public companies. Our management and
administrative staff will need to devote a substantial amount of
time to comply with these requirements. For example, in connection
with becoming a public company, we will need to adopt additional
internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures and bear
all of the internal and external costs of preparing periodic and
current public reports in compliance with our obligations under the
securities laws. We intend to commit resources to comply with
evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this commitment will
result in increased general and administrative expenses and may
divert management’s time and attention away from product
development activities. If for any reason our efforts to comply
with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities
intended by regulatory or governing bodies, regulatory authorities
may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be
harmed.
 
Additionally,
in order to comply with the requirements of being a public company,
we may need to undertake various actions, including implementing
new internal controls and procedures and hiring new accounting or
internal audit staff. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we
maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal
control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and
refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are
designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us
in the reports that we file with the SEC is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the
SEC’s rules and forms, and that information required to be
disclosed in reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the “Exchange Act”), is accumulated and
communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. Any
failure to develop or maintain effective controls could adversely
affect the results of our periodic management evaluations. In the
event that we are not able to demonstrate compliance with the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that our internal control over financial
reporting is perceived as inadequate, or that we are unable to
produce timely or accurate consolidated financial statements,
investors may lose confidence in our operating results and the
price of our common stock could decline. In addition, if we are
unable to continue to meet these requirements, we could be subject
to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other
regulatory authorities, and we may not be able to remain listed on
the Nasdaq Capital Market.
 
Prior
to becoming a public company, we were not required to comply with
the SEC’s rules that implement Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and therefore were not required to make a
formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting for that purpose. We will be required to comply
with certain of these rules, which will require management to
certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual
reports and provide an annual management report on the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting
commencing with our second annual report. This assessment will need
to include the disclosure of any material weaknesses in our
internal control over financial reporting identified by our
management or our independent registered public accounting firm. To
achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period,
we will be engaged in a costly and challenging process to document
and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting. In this
regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources,
potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work
plan to assess and document the adequacy of our internal control
over financial reporting. We will also need to continue to improve
our control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that
our controls are functioning as documented and implement a
continuous reporting and improvement process for our internal
control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a
risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed
timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial
reporting is effective as required by Section 404.
 
If we are unable to address the weaknesses in our internal control
over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in our
company and it could result in material errors in our financial
statements.
 
We
have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over
financial reporting, which resulted in the need to restate our
consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2018. If we do not remediate the material weaknesses
in our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be
able to accurately report our financial results or file our
periodic reports in a timely manner, which may cause investors to
lose confidence in our reported financial information and may lead
to a decline in the market price of our common stock.
 
Our business is subject to reporting requirements that continue to
evolve and change, which could continue to require significant
compliance effort and resources.
 
Because
our common stock will be publicly traded, we will be subject to
certain rules and regulations of federal, state and financial
market exchange entities charged with the protection of investors
and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly
traded. These entities, including the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB), the SEC and the Nasdaq Capital Market
(assuming our common stock has been approved for listing),
periodically issue new requirements and regulations and legislative
bodies also review and revise applicable laws. As interpretation
and implementation of these laws and rules and promulgation of new
regulations continues, we will continue to be required to commit
significant financial and managerial resources and incur additional
expenses to address such laws, rules and regulations, which could
in turn reduce our financial flexibility and create distractions
for management.
 
Any
of these events, in combination or individually, could disrupt our
business and adversely affect our business, financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows.
 
 
26
 
 
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
 
Our stock price may be volatile and your investment could decline
in value.
 
The
market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially as a
result of many factors, some of which are beyond our control. These
fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of the value of
your investment in our common stock. Factors that could cause
fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include the
following:
 
●             
quarterly
variations in our results of operations;
 
●             
results
of operations that vary from the expectations of securities
analysts and investors;
 
●             
results
of operations that vary from those of our competitors;
 
●  
changes
in expectations as to our future financial performance, including
financial estimates by securities analysts;
 
●             
publication
of research reports about us or the industries in which we
participate;
 
●             
announcements
by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions or
capital commitments;
 
●             
announcements
by third parties of significant legal claims or proceedings against
us;
 
●             
changes
affecting the availability of financing for smaller publicly traded
companies like us;
 
●             
regulatory
developments in the property development, digital transformation
technology or biohealth businesses;
 
●             
significant
future sales of our common stock, and additions or departures of
key personnel;
 
●             
the
realization of any of the other risk factors presented in this
Report; and
 
●             
general
economic, market and currency factors and conditions unrelated to
our performance.
 
In
addition, the stock market in general has experienced significant
price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or
disproportionate to operating performance of individual companies.
These broad market factors may seriously harm the market price of
our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. In the
past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a
company’s securities, securities class action litigation has
often been instituted. A class action suit against us could result
in significant liabilities and, regardless of the outcome, could
result in substantial costs and the diversion of our
management’s attention and resources.
 
Investors purchasing our common stock may be diluted by the
issuance of stock options.
 
To
the extent stock options are issued pursuant to our 2018 Incentive
Compensation Plan in the future and ultimately exercised, there
will be further dilution of the common stock. See
“Dilution”.
 
 
27
 
 
Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of a substantial
amount of our shares of common stock could depress the trading
price of our common stock.
 
If
we or our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our shares of
common stock in the public market or if the market perceives that
these sales could occur, the market price of shares of our common
stock could decline. These sales may make it more difficult for us
to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time
and price that we deem appropriate, or to use equity as
consideration for future acquisitions.
 
As
of April 14, 2021, we have 20,000,000 shares of common stock
authorized and 8,580,000 shares of common stock outstanding. Of
these shares, the 2,160,000 shares are freely tradable. We, our
executive officers and directors, and our majority stockholder have
entered into agreements with the underwriters not to sell or
otherwise dispose of shares of our common stock for a period of six
months commencing as of November 23, 2020, with certain exceptions.
Immediately upon the expiration of this lock-up period, 6,400,000
shares will be eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144 under the
Securities Act, subject to the volume, manner of sale, holding
period and other limitations of Rule 144.
 
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease
publishing research or reports about us, our business or our
market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock
adversely, or if our actual results differ significantly from our
guidance, our stock price and trading volume could
decline.
 
The
trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the
research and reports that industry or securities analysts may
publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If
any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation
regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative
recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely
decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of
our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could
lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause
our stock price or trading volume to decline.
 
In
addition, from time to time, we may release earnings guidance or
other forward-looking statements in our earnings releases, earnings
conference calls or otherwise regarding our future performance that
represent our management’s estimates as of the date of
release. Some or all of the assumptions of any future guidance that
we furnish may not materialize or may vary significantly from
actual future results. Any failure to meet guidance or
analysts’ expectations could have a material adverse effect
on the trading price or volume of our stock.
 
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents could discourage,
delay or prevent a change in control of our company and may affect
the trading price of our common stock.
 
Our
corporate documents and the Delaware General Corporation Law
contain provisions that may enable our board of directors to resist
a change in control of our company even if a change in control were
to be considered favorable by you and other stockholders. These
provisions include:
 
●  
authorize
the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that
could be issued by our board of directors to help defend against a
takeover attempt;
 
●  
establish
that advance notice requirements for nominating directors and
proposing matters to be voted on by stockholders at stockholder
meetings will be as provided in the bylaws; and
 
●  
provide
that stockholders are only entitled to call a special meeting upon
written request by 33.3% of the outstanding common
stock.
 
In
addition, Delaware law prohibits large stockholders, in particular
those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from
merging or consolidating with us except under certain
circumstances. These provisions and other provisions under Delaware
law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a
change in control of our company. These provisions could also
discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and
other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and cause us
to take other corporate actions you desire.
 
Concentration of ownership of our common stock by our principal
stockholder will limit new investors from influencing significant
corporate decisions.
 
As
of April 14, 2021, our principal stockholder Chan Heng Fai owns
approximately 74.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock. He
will be able to make decisions such as (i) making amendments to our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws, (ii) whether to issue
additional shares of common stock and preferred stock, including to
himself, (iii) employment decisions, including compensation
arrangements, (iv) whether to enter into material transactions with
related parties, (v) election and removal of directors and (vi) any
merger or other significant corporate transactions. The interests
of Chan Heng Fai may not coincide with our interests or the
interests of other stockholders.
 
 
28
 
 
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the
listing standards of Nasdaq and, as a result, we qualify for
exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will
not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies
that are subject to such requirements.
 
Chan
Heng Fai, through HFE Holdings Limited, controls a majority of the
combined voting power of all classes of our voting stock. As a
result, we qualify as a “controlled company” within the
meaning of the listing standards of Nasdaq, and we have elected not
to comply with certain Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
Under these rules, a “controlled company” may elect not
to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including
the requirement that we have a majority of independent directors on
our board of directors. Accordingly, our stockholders may not have
the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are
subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance
requirements.
 
We do not expect to pay any dividends on our common stock for the
foreseeable future.
 
We
currently expect to retain all future earnings, if any, for future
operation, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans
to pay any cash dividends to holders of our common stock for the
foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in
the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors
and will depend on, among other things, our operating results,
financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions
and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In
addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants
of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our
subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on
an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock
for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
 
We have 5,000,000 authorized unissued shares of preferred stock,
and our board has the ability to designate the rights and
preferences of this preferred stock without your vote.
 
Our
certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to
issue “blank check” preferred stock and to fix the
rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting
rights, of these shares, without further stockholder approval. The
rights of the holders of common stock will be subject to and may be
adversely affected by the rights of holders of any preferred stock
that may be issued in the future. As indicated in the preceding
risk factor, the ability to issue preferred stock without
stockholder approval could have the effect of making it more
difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of the voting
stock of our company thereby discouraging, delaying or preventing a
change in control of our company. We currently have no outstanding
shares of preferred stock, or plans to issue any such shares in the
future.
 
Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of
Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for
substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which
could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable
judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or
employees.
 
Our
certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in
writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of
Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive
forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our
behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary
duty owed by our directors, officers or other employees to us or to
our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us or
any director, officer or other employee arising pursuant to any
provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate
of incorporation or bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim
that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in all cases to
the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court having
personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as
defendants; provided that these provisions of our certificate of
incorporation will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or
liability created by the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which
the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate of
incorporation further provides that the federal district courts of
the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for
resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under
the Securities Act, unless we consent in writing to the selection
of an alternative forum.
 
These
exclusive-forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability
to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for
disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees and
may discourage these types of lawsuits. Further, the enforceability
of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’
certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal
proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types
of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable.
  
I tem
1B.   U nresolved Staff Comments.
 
Not Applicable.
 
I tem
2.   P roperties.
 
Black Oak
 
The
Black Oak property is located in Montgomery County in Magnolia,
Texas. This property is located east of FM 2978 via Standard Road
to Dry Creek Road and South of the Woodlands, one of the most
successful, fastest growing master planned communities in Texas.
This residential land development consisted of approximately 162
acres. On January 13, 2021, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. purchased an
approximately 6.297 acre tract of land in Montgomery County. The
Company’s strategic acquisition contiguous to the Black Oak
project is intended to provide additional lot yield, potential
additional amenities and/or a solar farm to support the
Company’s sustainable, healthy living concept. Together with
the additional tract of land there are approximately 648 lots to be
platted for the Company’s future endeavors. This does not
include the 124 lots sold to Rausch Coleman in Phase I. 150 CCM
Black Oak Ltd is the primary developer responsible for all
infrastructure development. This property is included in Harris
County Improvement District #17.
 
 
 
29
 
 
Ballenger Run
 
Ballenger
Run is a residential land development project located in Frederick
County in Frederick, Maryland. This property is located
approximately 40 miles from Washington, DC, 50 miles from Baltimore
and is located less than four miles from I-70 and I-270. Ballenger
Run is situated on approximately 197 acres of land and entitled for
689 residential units consisting of 479 residential Lots and 210
multi-family units. SeD Maryland Development, LLC is the primary
developer responsible for all infrastructure
development.
 
I tem
3.   L egal Proceedings
 
On
September 27, 2019, iGalen International Inc., which was at that
time one of our majority-owned subsidiaries, and iGalen Inc., its
wholly-owned subsidiary, filed a complaint in the Superior Court of
the State of California, County of San Diego, Central Division,
against Gara Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and certain
affiliated or related entities, including the Chief Executive
Officer of the Gara Group (collectively these entities are referred
to herein as the “Gara Group”). A similar complaint had
been filed in Utah on September 26, 2019, but subsequently re-filed
in California. The complaint, as amended on October 24, 2019,
enumerates causes of action for breach of contract, breach of
covenant of good faith and fair dealing and intentional
interference with economic relations.
 
iGalen
Inc. and Gara Group are parties to a Specialized Services
Agreement, dated March 29, 2017 (the “Specialized Services
Agreement”). iGalen Inc. contracted with Gara Group to
provide for services that include, among other things, (i) product
fulfillment; (ii) software development and maintenance of an onsite
“Platform,” which includes a company website and
interactive portal referred to as the “Back Office”;
and (iii) managing iGalen’s social media sites. The Gara
Group had previously claimed that iGalen Inc. owed Gara Group
certain amounts, including (i) $125,000 for “Back Office
Fees”; (ii) $150,000 for “Speaking Fees”; and
(iii) $67,299 for services related to iGalen’s merchant
account, back office, and shipping fulfillment, invoiced on August
28 and 31, and September 15, 2019. iGalen Inc.’s amended
complaint notes that no provision in the Specialized Services
Agreement allows for the particular “Back Office Fees”
of $125,000 and that no provision in the Specialized Services
Agreement allows for the so-called “Speaking Fees” of
$150,000. Gara Group cut off services to iGalen following
iGalen’s indication that it was disputing the amounts owed.
iGalen’s amended complaint notes that the actions of Gara
Group and Mr. Gara have caused, and continue to cause, iGalen to
suffer substantial harm by, among other things, making it so iGalen
was unable to communicate with distributors via its website and
Back Office, fulfill orders made by distributors, or pay commission
to distributors. iGalen is seeking damages.
 
On
October 10, 2019, Gara Group filed a complaint in the Superior
Court of the State of California, County of San Diego, Central
Division against iGalen International Inc., iGalen Inc., Alset
International Limited, Chan Heng Fai, Dr. Rajen Manicka and David
Price, an executive of iGalen Inc. Gara Group’s complaint for
damages asserts that the Gara Group is entitled to general damages
of $9,000,000 and liquidated damages of $50,000,000. Alset
International Limited intends to vigorously contest this matter. No
trial date has been set as of the date of this Report. iGalen
International Inc. was sold by one of the Company’s
subsidiaries on December 30, 2020.
 
In
addition, from time to time, during the normal course of our
businesses, we may be subject to various litigation claims and
legal disputes, including in the area of intellectual property
(e.g., trademarks, copyrights and patents). Our intellectual
property rights extend to our technology, business processes and
the content on our website. We use the intellectual property of
third parties in marketing and providing our services through
contractual and other rights. Despite our efforts, from time to
time, third parties may allege that we have violated their
intellectual property rights.
 
Although the
results of claims, lawsuits and proceedings in which we may be
involved cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not currently
believe that the final outcome of the matters discussed above will
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
or results of operations. However, defending and prosecuting any
such claims is costly and may impose a significant burden on our
management and employees. In addition, we may receive unfavorable
preliminary or interim rulings in the course of litigation, and
there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be
obtained. With regard to intellectual property matters which may
arise, if we are unable to obtain an outcome which sufficiently
protects our rights, successfully defends our use or allows us time
to develop non-infringing technology and content or to otherwise
alter our business practices on a timely basis in response to the
claims against us, our business, prospects and competitive position
may be adversely affected.
 
I tem
4.   M ine Safety Disclosures
 
Not applicable.
 
 
 
30
 
 
P ART II
 
I tem
5.   M arket for Company’s Common Equity, Related
Stockholder Matters and Small Business Issuer Purchases of Equity
Securities
 
Market Information
 
Since
November 24, 2020, the principal market on which our common stock
is traded is the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company’s common
stock initially traded under the symbol “HFEN.” In
connection with our name change from “HF Enterprises
Inc.” to “Alset EHome International Inc.”, our
symbol was changed to “AEI.”
 
Prior
to our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market there was no public
trading market for our securities.
 
Holders
 
As
of April 14, 2021, the Company had six shareholders of record. Such
number does not include shareholders holing shares in nominee or
"street name".
 
Dividends
 
Since
inception we have not paid any dividends on our common stock. We
currently do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the
foreseeable future on our common stock. Although we intend to
retain our earnings, if any, to finance the exploration and growth
of our business, our board of directors will have the discretion to
declare and pay dividends in the future. Payment of dividends in
the future will depend upon our earnings, capital requirements, and
other factors, which our board of directors may deem
relevant.
 
Securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation
plans.
 
Under
our 2018 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “Plan”),
adopted by our board of directors and holders of a majority of our
outstanding shares of common stock in September 2018, 500,000
shares of common stock (subject to certain adjustments) are
reserved for issuance upon exercise of stock options and grants of
other equity awards. No options or other equity awards have been
granted under the Plan.
 
Performance graph
 
Not
applicable to smaller reporting companies.
 
Recent sales of unregistered securities; use of proceeds from
registered securities
 
The
Company has not sold any unregistered shares during the period
covered by this Report or through April 14, 2021; however, on
November 27, 2020, the Company issued 10,000 shares of its common
stock for legal services rendered and on January 19, 2021, the
Company issued 10,000 shares of its common stock for public
relations services.  Such securities were not registered under
the Securities Act of 1933 and were issued pursuant to the
exemption under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act.
 
On November 23, 2020, the Company entered into an underwriting
agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) with Aegis
Capital Corp., as representative of the underwriters
(“Aegis”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell
to the underwriters in a firm commitment underwritten public
offering (the “Offering”) an aggregate of 2,160,000
shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per
share (the “Common Stock”), at an initial public
offering price of $7.00 per share (the transaction contemplated by
the Underwriting Agreement is the “Offering”). The
Offering was made pursuant to the Company’s registration
statement on Form S-1 (File Number 333-235693), which was declared
effective on November 12, 2020.  Aegis had a 60-day
over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 324,000
shares of Common Stock at $6.475 per share under the Underwriting
Agreement. The Offering closed on November 27, 2020 for gross
proceeds of $15,120,000. The Offering was the Company’s
initial public offering and the Company’s common shares
commenced trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on November 24, 2020
under the symbol “HFEN.”  Also, under the terms of
the Underwriting Agreement, the Company, upon closing of the
Offering, issued to Aegis a warrant (the
“Representative’s Warrant”) to purchase an
aggregate of 108,000 shares of common stock (5% of the total shares
issued in the Offering). The Representative’s Warrant is
exercisable at a per share price of $9.80 (equal to 140% of the
initial public offering price of the Common Stock) and is
exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part,
during the three-year period commencing from the date of issuance.
Aegis acted as lead book-running manager for the Offering and
Westpark Capital, Inc. acted as co-manager.
 
The
net proceeds to the Company from the Offering, after deducting the
underwriting discount, underwriters’ fees and expenses and
other expenses of the Offering, were approximately $13.2
million.  Out of the net proceeds of $13.2 million,
approximately $8.5 million were used to exercise warrants to
purchase shares of Alset International. Accordingly, such funds
will be used by Alset International. $1.2 million was used to
purchase shares of Alset International from our founder, Chan Heng
Fai, to increase our ownership of Alset International. In addition,
approximately $1,000,000 of these proceeds was used for investment,
$200,000 was used to repay outstanding debt, and $300,000 has been
used for operations.
 
Purchases of Equity Securities by the issuer and affiliated
purchasers
 
The
Company did not repurchase any shares of the Company’s common
stock during 2020.
 
 
31
 
 
I tem 6. S elected Financial Data.
 
Not
applicable to smaller reporting companies.
 
I tem
7.   M anagement’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations.
 
Business Overview
 
We
are a diversified holding company principally engaged through our
subsidiaries in property development, digital transformation
technology and biohealth activities with operations in the United
States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea. We manage
our three principal businesses primarily through our 60.2% owned
subsidiary, Alset International Limited, a public company traded on
the Singapore Stock Exchange. Through this subsidiary (and
indirectly, through other public and private U.S. and Asian
subsidiaries), we are actively developing two significant real
estate projects near Houston, Texas and in Frederick, Maryland in
our property development segment. We have designed applications for
enterprise messaging and e-commerce software platforms in the
United States and Asia in our digital transformation technology
business unit. Our recent foray into the biohealth segment includes
research to treat neurological and immune-related diseases,
nutritional chemistry to create a natural sugar alternative,
research regarding innovative products to slow the spread of
disease, and natural foods and supplements.
 
We
opportunistically identify global businesses for acquisition,
incubation and corporate advisory services, primarily related to
our existing operating business segments. We also have ownership
interests outside of Alset International, including an indirect
16.8% equity interest in Holista CollTech Limited, a public
Australian company that produces natural food ingredients, and an
indirect 13.1% equity interest in Vivacitas Oncology Inc., a
U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company, but neither of which company
has material asset value relative to our principal businesses.
Under the guidance of Chan Heng Fai, our founder, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, who is also our largest stockholder, we
have positioned ourselves as a participant in these key markets
through a series of strategic transactions. Our growth strategy is
both to pursue acquisition opportunities that we can leverage on
our global network using our capital and management resources and
to accelerate the expansion of our organic businesses.
 
We
generally acquire majority and/or control stakes in innovative and
promising businesses that are expected to appreciate in value over
time. Our emphasis is on building businesses in industries where
our management team has in-depth knowledge and experience, or where
our management can provide value by advising on new markets and
expansion. We have at times provided a range of global capital and
management services to these companies in order to gain access to
Asian markets. We have historically favored businesses that improve
an individual’s quality of life or that improve the
efficiency of businesses through technology in various industries.
We believe our capital and management services provide us with a
competitive advantage in the selection of strategic acquisitions,
which creates and adds value for our company and our
stockholders.
 
Our Revenue Model
 
Our
total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were
$16,238,200 and $24,257,953, respectively. Our net losses for the
years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $4,398,435 and
$8,053,428, respectively.
 
We
currently recognize revenue from the sale of our subdivision
development properties and the sale of our biohealth products.
Sales of real properties accounted for approximately 84% and sales
of biohealth products accounted for approximately 11% of our total
revenue in the year ended December 31, 2020. Sales of properties
accounted for approximately 94% and sales of biohealth products
accounted for approximately 6% of our total revenue in
2019.
 
From
a geographical perspective, we recognized 84% and 100% of our total
revenue in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively, in the United States. 16% of our revenue in 2020 was
recognized from our sales in South Korea.
 
We
believe that, on an ongoing basis, revenue generated from our
property development business will decline as a percentage of our
total revenue as we expect to experience greater revenue
contribution from our digital transformation technology, biohealth
businesses and future business acquisitions.
 
 
32
 
 
Financial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
 
Real Estate Projects
 
The
extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may impact our business will
depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and
cannot be predicted. The COVID-19 pandemic’s far-reaching
impact on the global economy could negatively affect various
aspects of our business, including demand for real estate. From
March through December 2020, we continued to sell lots at our
Ballenger Run project (in Maryland) for the construction of town
homes to NVR. Sales of such homes by NVR were at the same level in
2020 as in the 2019. In 2020 we sold 121 lots to NVR and in 2019,
123 lots.  Such town homes are often a first home that
generally did not require buyers to sell an existing home. We
believe low interest rates have encouraged home sales. Many buyers
opted to see home models at the project virtually. This technology
allowed them to ask questions to sales staff and see the town
homes. Home closings were able to occur
electronically.
 
We
have received strong indications that buyers and renters across the
country are expressing interest in moving from more densely
populated urban areas to the suburbs. We believe that our Ballenger
Run project is well suited and positioned to accommodate those
buyers. Our latest phase for sale at Ballenger Run, involving
single-family homes, has seen a high number of interested potential
buyers signing up for additional information and updates on home
availability.
 
The
COVID-19 pandemic could impact the ability of our staff and
contractors to continue to work, and our ability to conduct our
operations in a prompt and efficient manner. To date, we
experienced a slowdown in the construction of a clubhouse at the
Ballenger Run project, which was completed behind schedule. We
believe this delay was caused in part by policies requiring lower
numbers of contractors working in indoor spaces.
 
The
COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact the timeliness of local
government in granting required approvals. Accordingly, the
COVID-19 pandemic may cause the completion of important stages in
our real estate projects to be delayed.
 
At
our Black Oak project in Texas, we have strategically redesigned
the lots over the past year for a smaller “starter
home” products that we believe will be more resilient in
fluctuating markets. Should we initiate sales at Black Oak, we
believe the same implications described above, regarding our
Ballenger Run project, may apply to our Black Oak project
(including the general trend of customers’ interest shifting
from urban to suburban areas). Unlike our Ballenger Run project,
our Black Oak project may include our involvement in single family
rental home development.
 
On
April 6, 2020, the Company entered into a term note with M&T
Bank with a principal amount of $68,502 pursuant to the Paycheck
Protection Program (“PPP Term Note”) under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The PPP Loan is
evidenced by a promissory note. The PPP Term Note bears interest at
a fixed annual rate of 1.00%, with the first ten months
of principal and interest deferred. On November 26, 2020,
$64,502 of this loan was forgiven by the United States Small
Business Administration and $64,502 was recorded as other income.
The remaining balance of $4,000 was paid back in December
2020.
 
On
February 11, 2021, the Company entered into a term note with
M&T Bank with a principal amount of $68,502 pursuant to the
Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP Term Note”) under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the
“CARES Act”). The PPP Loan is evidenced by a promissory
note. The PPP Term Note bears interest at a fixed annual rate of
1.00%, with the first sixteen months of principal
and interest deferred or until we apply for the loan
forgiveness. The PPP Term Note may be accelerated upon the
occurrence of an event of default.
 
On
June 18, 2020, Alset EHome Inc. (formerly known as SeD Home Inc.,
SeD Home & REITs Inc. and then Alset iHome Inc.) entered into a
Loan Agreement with M&T Bank. Pursuant to this Loan Agreement,
M&T Bank provided a non-revolving loan to Alset EHome Inc. in
an aggregate amount of up to $2,990,000, as described in
“Liquidity and Capital Resources” below. It is intended
that this loan will be utilized to commence our residential
initiatives.
 
Our
subsidiaries are reviewing plans for potential additional
fundraising to fund single family rental operations and the
acquisition of additional real estate projects.
 
 
33
 
 
Other Business Activities
 
The
COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact our potential to expand our
business activities in ways that are difficult to assess or
predict. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. The COVID-19
pandemic has impacted, and may continue to impact, the global
supply of certain goods and services in ways that may impact the
sale of products to consumers that we, or companies we may invest
in or partner with, will attempt to make. The COVID-19 pandemic may
prevent us from pursuing otherwise attractive
opportunities.
 
Impact on Staff
 
Most
of our U.S. staff works out of our Bethesda, Maryland office. At
our office in Texas, we received a 50% rent abatement for the month
of May 2020.
 
Our
U.S. staff has shifted to mostly working from home since March
2020, but this has had a minimal impact on our operations to date.
Our staff in Singapore and Hong Kong has been able to work from
home when needed with minimal impact on our operations, however our
staff’s ability to travel between our Hong Kong and Singapore
offices has been significantly limited, and our staff’s
travel between the U.S. and non-U.S. offices has been suspended
since March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted the
frequency with which our management would otherwise travel to the
Black Oaks project; however, we have a contractor in Texas
providing supervision of the project. Management continues to
regularly supervise the Ballenger Run project. Limitations on the
mobility of our management and staff may slow down our ability to
enter into new transactions and expand existing
projects.
 
We
have not reduced our staff in connection with the COVID-19
pandemic. To date, we did not have to expend significant resources
related to employee health and safety matters related to the
COVID-19 pandemic. We have a small staff, however, and the
inability of any significant number of our staff to work due to
illness or the illness of a family member could adversely impact
our operations.
 
Matters that May or Are Currently Affecting Our
Business
 
In
addition to the matters described above, the primary challenges and
trends that could affect or are affecting our financial results
include:
 
●  
Our
ability to improve our revenue through cross-selling and
revenue-sharing arrangements among our diverse group of
companies;
 
●  
Our
ability to identify complementary businesses for acquisition,
obtain additional financing for these acquisitions, if and when
needed, and profitably integrate them into our existing
operation;
 
●  
Our
ability to attract competent, skilled technical and sales personnel
for each of our businesses at acceptable compensation levels to
manage our overhead; and
 
●  
Our
ability to control our operating expenses as we expand each of our
businesses and product and service offerings.
 
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
 
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
 
The
Common Control Transactions resulted in the following basis of
accounting for the financial reporting periods: The acquisitions of
Heng Fai Enterprises Pte. Ltd. and Global eHealth Limited were
accounted for prospectively as of October 1, 2018 and they did not
represent a change in reporting entity.
 
ASC
805-50-45 defines the transfer of a business among entities under
common control at carrying amount with retrospective adjustment of
prior period financial statements when reporting entity is changed.
ASC 250 defines a change in the reporting entity as a change that
results in financial statements that, in effect, are those of a
different reporting entity. Our management believed that the
acquisitions of Hengfai International Pte. Ltd. and LiquidValue
Asset Management Pte. Ltd. led to change in the reporting entities
and the acquisitions of Heng Fai Enterprises Pte. Ltd. and Global
eHealth Limited did not.
 
 
34
 
 
Our
consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated financial
statements include all accounts of the Company and its majority
owned and controlled subsidiaries. The Company consolidates
entities in which it owns more than 50% of the voting common stock
and controls operations. All intercompany transactions and balances
among consolidated subsidiaries have been eliminated.
 
Use of Estimates and Critical Accounting Estimates and
Assumptions
 
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP
requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect
the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial
statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during
the reporting periods. Significant estimates made by management
include, but are not limited to, allowance for doubtful accounts,
recoverability and useful lives of property, plant and equipment,
valuation of real estate assets, allocation of development costs
and capitalized interest to sold lots, the valuation allowance of
deferred taxes, contingencies and equity compensation. Actual
results could differ from those estimates.
 
Revenue Recognition and Cost of Sales
 
The
following represents a disaggregation of our revenue recognition
policies by segment:
 
Property Development
 
              ●
Property
Sales. The Company's main
business is land development. The Company purchases land and
develops it into residential communities. The developed lots are
sold to builders (customers) for the construction of new homes. The
builders enter into a sales contract with the Company before they
take the lots. The prices and timeline are determined and agreed
upon in the contract. The builders do the inspections to make sure
all conditions and requirements in contracts are met before
purchasing the lots. A detailed breakdown of the five-step process
for the revenue recognition of the Ballenger and Black Oak
projects, which represented approximately 84% and 94% of the
Company’s revenue in the years ended on December 31, 2020 and
2019, respectively, is as follows:
 
Identify
the contract with a customer. The Company has signed agreements
with the builders for developing the raw land to ready to build
lots. The contract has agreed upon prices, timelines, and
specifications for what is to be provided.
 
Identify
the performance obligations in the contract. Performance
obligations of the Company include delivering developed lots to the
customer, which are required to meet certain specifications that
are outlined in the contract. The customer inspects all lots prior
to accepting title to ensure all specifications are
met.
 
Determine
the transaction price. The transaction price per lot is fixed and
specified in the contract. Any subsequent change orders or price
changes are required to be approved by both parties.
 
Allocate
the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract.
Each lot is considered to be a separate performance obligation, for
which the specified price in the contract is allocated
to.
 
Recognize
revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies performance obligation.
The builders do the inspections to make sure all
conditions/requirements are met before taking title of lots. The
Company recognizes revenue at a point in time when title is
transferred. The Company does not have further performance
obligations or continuing involvement once title is
transferred.
 
 
35
 
 
● Sale of the Front Foot Benefit
Assessments. We have
established a front foot benefit (“FFB”) assessment on
all of the lots sold to NVR. This is a 30-year annual assessment
allowed in Frederick County which requires homeowners to reimburse
the developer for the costs of installing public water and sewer to
the lots. These assessments become effective as homes are settled,
at which time we can sell the collection rights to investors who
will pay an upfront lump sum, enabling us to more quickly realize
the revenue. The selling prices range from $3,000 to $4,500 per
home depending on the type of home. Our total expected revenue from
the front foot benefit assessment is approximately $1 million. To
recognize revenue of the FFB assessment, both our and NVR’s
performance obligations have to be satisfied. Our performance
obligation is completed once we complete the construction of water
and sewer facilities and close the lot sales with NVR, which
inspects these water and sewer facilities prior to the close of lot
sales to ensure all specifications are met. NVR’s performance
obligation is to sell homes they build to homeowners. Our FFB
revenue is recognized upon NVR’s sales of homes to
homeowners. The agreement with these FFB investors is not subject
to amendment by regulatory agencies and thus our revenue from FFB
assessment is not either. During the years ended December, 2020 and
2019, we recognized revenue in the amounts of $273,620 and $548,457
from FFB assessments, respectively.
 
● Cost of Sales.
Land acquisition costs are allocated
to each lot based on the area method, the size of the lot comparing
to the total size of all lots in the project. Development costs and
capitalized interest are allocated to lots sold based on the total
expected development and interest costs of the completed project
and allocating a percentage of those costs based on the selling
price of the sold lot compared to the expected sales values of all
lots in the project.
 
If
the allocation of development costs and capitalized interest based
on the projection and relative expected sales value is
impracticable, those costs could also be allocated based on an area
method, which uses the size of the lots compared to the total
project area and allocates costs based on their size.
 
 Digital Transformation Technology
 
● Software Development
Income. Revenue is recognized
when (or as) the Company transfers promised goods or services to
its customers in amounts that reflect the consideration to which
the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods
or services, which occurs when (or as) the Company satisfies its
contractual obligations and transfers over control of the promised
goods or services to its customers. We generate revenue from a
project involving provision of services and web/software
development for customers. In respect to the provision of services,
the agreements are less than one year with a cancellation clause
and customers are typically billed on a monthly
basis.
 
Biohealth
 
● Product Direct Sales.
The Company’s net sales consist
of product sales. The Company's performance obligation is to
transfer its products to its third-party independent distributors
(“Distributors”). The Company generally recognizes
revenue when product is shipped to its
Distributors.
 
The
Company’s Distributors may receive distributor allowances,
which are comprised of discounts, rebates and wholesale commission
payments from the Company. Distributor allowances resulting from
the Company’s sales of its products to its Distributors are
recorded against net sales because the distributor allowances
represent discounts from the suggested retail price.
 
In
addition to distributor allowances, the Company compensates its
sales leader Distributors with leadership incentives for services
rendered, relating to the development, retention, and management of
their sales organizations. Leadership Incentives are payable based
on achieved sales volume, which are recorded in general and
administrative expenses. The Company recognizes revenue when it
ships products. The Company receives the net sales price in cash or
through credit card payments at the point of sale.
 
 
36
 
 
If
a Distributor returns a product to the Company on a timely basis,
they may obtain a replacement product from the Company for such
returned product. In addition, the Company maintains a buyback
program pursuant to which it will repurchase products sold to a
Distributor who has decided to leave the business. Allowances for
product returns, primarily in connection with the Company’s
buyback program, are provided at the time the sale is recorded.
This accrual is based upon historical return rates for each country
and the relevant return pattern, which reflects anticipated returns
to be received over a period of up to 12 months following the
original sale.
 
● Annual Membership.
The Company collects an annual
membership fee from its Distributors. The fee is fixed, paid in
full at the time of joining the membership and not refundable. The
Company’s performance obligation is to provide members to
purchase products, access to certain back office services, receive
commissions and attend corporate events. The obligation is
satisfied over time. The Company recognizes revenue associated with
the membership over the one-year period of the membership. Before
the membership fee is recognized as revenue, it is recorded as
deferred revenue.
 
Real Estate Assets
 
Real
estate assets are recorded at cost, except when acquired real
estate assets meet the definition of a business combination in
accordance with ASC 805, “Business Combinations,” which
are recorded at fair value. Interest, property taxes, insurance and
other incremental costs (including salaries) directly related to a
project are capitalized during the construction period of major
facilities and land improvements. The capitalization period begins
when activities to develop the parcel commence and ends when the
asset constructed is completed. The capitalized costs are recorded
as part of the asset to which they relate and are reduced when lots
are sold.
 
We
capitalized interest from the third-party borrowings of $0 and
$526,297 and capitalized construction costs of approximately $10.3
million and $8.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and
2019, respectively.
 
On
December 31, 2019, total real estate property under development was
$23.9 million, including:
 
●  
land
held for development in the amount of $14.3 million (consisting of
$6.9 million for Black Oak, $6.9 million for Ballenger Run and $0.5
million for our Perth project);
 
●  
capitalized
development costs in the amount of $5.7 million (consisting of $0.3
million for Black Oak and $5.4 million for Ballenger Run);
and
 
●             
capitalized
finance costs were $3.9 million.
 
On
December 31, 2020, total real estate property under development was
$20.5 million, including:
 
●  
land
held for development in the amount of $10.9 million (consisting of
$6.9 million for Black Oak, $3.5 million for Ballenger Run and $0.5
million for our Perth project);
 
●  
capitalized
development costs in the amount of $6.1 million (consisting of $1.2
million for Black Oak, $4.8 million for Ballenger Run and $0.1
million for our Perth project); and
 
●             
capitalized
finance costs were $3.5 million.
 
On
June 30, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $3.9 million of
impairment on the Black Oak project.
 
On
December 31, 2019, Black Oak recognized additional real estate
impairment of approximately $1.3 million.
 
 
37
 
 
On
December 31, 2020, the capitalized construction costs were as
follows:
 
 
 
  Ballenger
Run
 
 
  Black
Oak
 
 
  Perth
Project
 
 
  Total
 
Land
held for development
  $ 3,484,903  
  $ 6,891,937  
  $ 560,910  
  $ 10,937,750  
Capitalized
development Costs
       
       
       
       
Hard
Construction Costs
    26,542,028  
    8,636,434  
       
    35,178,462  
Engineering
    3,516,161  
    1,885,761  
       
    5,401,922  
Consultation
    340,528  
    105,667  
       
    446,195  
Project
Management
    3,682,400  
    915,424  
       
    4,597,824  
Legal
    359,353  
    235,961  
       
    595,314  
Taxes
    1,273,587  
    770,983  
       
    2,044,570  
Other
Services
    1,060,667  
    222,475  
    70,272  
    1,353,414  
BAN
reimbursement
       
    (4,988,461 )
       
    (4,988,461 )
Impairment
Reserve
       
    (5,230,828 )
       
    (5,230,828 )
Construction
- Sold Lots
    (31,979,301 )
    (1,364,805 )
       
    (33,344,106 )
Total
capitalized development costs
  $ 4,795,423  
  $ 1,188,611  
  $ 70,272  
  $ 6,054,306  
 
       
       
       
       
Capitalized
finance costs
       
       
       
  $ 3,513,535  
 
       
       
       
       
Total
property under development
       
       
       
  $ 20,505,591  
 
On
December 31, 2019, the capitalized construction costs were as
follows:
 
 
 
  Ballenger
Run
 
 
  Black
Oak
 
 
  Perth
Project
 
 
  Total
 
Land
held for development
  $ 6,886,163  
  $ 6,886,937  
  $ 510,240  
  $ 14,283,340  
Capitalized
construction Costs
       
       
       
       
Hard
construction costs
    18,857,552  
    8,354,986  
       
    27,212,538  
Engineering
    2,890,373  
    1,804,034  
       
    4,694,407  
Consultation
    330,387  
    105,267  
       
    435,654  
Project
management
    3,042,600  
    800,505  
       
    3,843,105  
Legal
    327,011  
    234,106  
       
    561,117  
Taxes
    1,092,247  
    556,194  
       
    1,648,441  
Other
services
    488,717  
    29,398  
    48,874  
    566,989  
BAN
reimbursement
       
    (4,988,461 )
       
    (4,988,461 )
Impairment
reserve
       
    (5,230,828 )
       
    (5,230,828 )
Construction
- Sold Lots
    (21,713,668 )
    (1,364,805 )
       
    (23,078,473 )
Total
capitalized development costs
  $ 5,315,219  
  $ 300,396  
  $ 48,874  
  $ 5,664,489  
 
       
       
       
       
Capitalized
finance costs
       
       
       
  $ 3,936,875  
 
       
       
       
       
Total
property under development
       
       
       
  $ 23,884,704  
 
Through
December 31, 2020, there were no sales from the Perth project. In
addition, no sales agreement had been signed for this
project.
 
 
38
 
 
Results of Operations
 
Summary
of  Consolidated
Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss for
the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
 
 
 
Years
Ended December 31,
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2019
 
Revenue
  $ 16,238,200  
  $ 24,257,953  
Operating
Expenses
    (17,928,641 )
    (31,200,994 )
Other
Expenses
    (2,282,013 )
    (17,527 )
Loss
from Discontinued Operations
    (417,438 )
    (661,472 )
Net
Loss
  $ (4,398,435 )
  $ (8,053,428 )
 
Revenue
 
The
following table sets forth period-over-period changes in revenues
for each of our reporting segments:
 
 
 
  Years Ended December
31,
 
 
  Change
 
 
 
  2020
 
 
2019
 
 
  Dollars
 
 
  Percentage
 
Property
development
  $ 13,643,689  
  $ 22,855,446  
  $ (9,211,757 )
    -40 %
Biohealth
    2,594,511  
    1,371,298  
    1,223,213  
    89 %
Digital
transformation technology
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
Other
    -  
    31,209  
    (31,209 )
    -100 %
 Total
revenue
  $ 16,238,200  
  $ 24,257,953  
  $ (8,019,753 )
    -33 %
 
Revenue
was $16,238,200 and $24,257,953 for the years ended December 31,
2020 and 2019, respectively. An increase in property sales from the
Ballenger Project and first sale of a section of Black Oak Project
in the first quarter of 2019 contributed to higher revenue in that
period. Pursuant to a lot purchase agreement dated July 3, 2018,
150 CCM Black Oak Ltd sold 124 lots located in the Company’s
Black Oak project to Houston LD, LLC for a total purchase price of
$6,175,000 in January 2019. As for our Ballenger Project, builders
are required to purchase a minimum number of lots based on their
applicable sale agreements. We collect revenue only from the sale
of lots to builders. We are not involved in the construction of
homes at the present time. The revenue from the sale of lots in our
Ballenger project was similar in both 2019 and 2020.
 
Income
from the sale of Front Foot Benefits (“FFBs”), assessed
on Ballenger Run project lots, decreased from $548,457 in the year
ended December 31, 2019 to $273,620 in year ended December 31,
2020. The decrease is a mixed result of the decreased sale of
properties to homebuyers in 2020 and sale of FFBs of a smaller
value.
 
 
39
 
 
Revenues from our biohealth segment in 2019 come
from the direct sales by iGalen Inc. (formerly known as iGalen USA,
LLC), which is 100% owned by iGalen International Inc., Alset
International’s 53%-owned subsidiary. On December 30,
2020 Alset International’s ownership of iGalen
International was sold to one of the directors of iGalen
International. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019,
the revenue from iGalen Inc. was $89,567 and $1,371,298,
respectively.
 
In October 2019, the Company expanded its
biohealth segment to Korean market through one of the subsidiaries
of Health Wealth Happiness Pte. Ltd., HWH World Inc (“HWH
World”). HWH World, similarly to iGalen Inc., operates based
on a direct sale model of health supplements. HWH World
recognized $2,504,944 in revenue in the year ended December 31,
2020. No revenue was recognized in the year ended on December 31,
2019.
 
The
category described as “Other” includes corporate and
financial services and new venture businesses. "Other" includes
certain costs that are not allocated to the reportable segments,
primarily consisting of unallocated corporate overhead costs,
including administrative functions not allocated to the reportable
segments from global functional expenses.
 
The
financial services and new venture businesses are small and
diversified, and accordingly they are not separately addressed as
one independent category. In the years ended December 31, 2020 and
2019, the revenue from other businesses was $0 and $31,209,
respectively, generated by fund management services.
 
Operating Expenses
 
The
following table sets forth period-over-period changes in cost of
sales for each of our reporting segments:
 
  
 
Years Ended
December 31,
 
 
  Change
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2019
 
 
Dollars
 
 
Percentage
 
Property
development
  $ 11,747,540  
  $ 19,510,275  
  $ (7,762,735 )
    -40 %
Biohealth
    338,034  
    458,482  
    (120,448 )
    -26 %
Digital
transformation technology
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
Other
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
 Total cost of
sales
  $ 12,085,574  
  $ 19,968,757  
  $ (7,883,183 )
    -39 %
 
Cost
of sales decreased from $19,968,757 in the year ended December 31,
2019 to $12,085,574 in the year ended December 31, 2020, as a
result of the decrease in sales in the Ballenger Run and Black Oak
projects. Capitalized construction expenses, finance costs and land
costs are allocated to sales. We anticipate the total cost of sales
to increase as revenue increases.
 
The
gross margin decreased from $4,289,196 to $4,152,626 in the years
ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. The decrease of
gross margin was caused by the decrease of gross margin of
Ballenger Run project, mostly due to the decrease in the sales. The
gross margin from sale of Black Oak section one lots was
approximately $0 after real estate impairment of $1.5 million was
recorded in 2018.
 
The following table sets forth period-over-period changes in
operating expenses for each of our reporting segments.
 
 
 
Years
Ended
December 31,
 
 
Change
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2019
 
 
Dollars
 
 
Percentage
 
Property
development
  $ 660,647  
  $ 6,064,563  
  $ (5,403,916 )
    -89 %
Biohealth
    1,535,103  
    2,268,802  
    (733,699 )
    -32 %
Digital
transformation technology
    54,673  
    284,158  
    (229,485 )
    -81 %
Other
    3,592,644  
    2,614,714  
    977,930  
    37 %
Discontinued
Operations
    416,968  
    526,871  
    (109,903 )
    -21 %
 Total
operating expenses
  $ 6,260,035  
  $ 11,759,108  
  $ (5,499,073 )
    -47 %
 
 
40
 
 
The
decrease of operating expenses of property development in 2020
compared with 2019 was mostly caused by the recognition of $5.2
million impairment in 2019. The decrease of research and
development expense in biohealth segment was the main reason of
decrease of operating expenses in biohealth segment in 2020
compared with 2019. The increase expense in other segment was
mostly due to the issuance of Alset International’s stock for
performance award program at the expense of $1,417,523 in second
quarter of 2020.
 
Other Income (Expense)
 
In
the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company had other expense of
$2,282,013 compared to other expense of $17,527 in the year ended
December 31, 2019. The change from unrealized gain (loss) on
securities investment explained the volatility in these two
periods. In the year ended December 31, 2020, the unrealized loss
on securities investment was $1,750,454 comparing to unrealized
gain on security investment of $320,032 in the year ended December
31, 2019. Additionally, loss on investment in security by equity
method at December 31, 2020 was $227,643, compared to $0 loss for
the year ended December 31, 2019.
 
Discontinued Operations
 
On
October 25, 2018, HotApps International Pte. Ltd.
(“HIP”) entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement with
DSS Asia Limited (“DSS Asia”), a Hong Kong subsidiary
of DSS International Inc. (“DSS International”),
pursuant to which HIP agreed to sell to DSS Asia all of the issued
and outstanding shares of HotApps Information Technology Co. Ltd.,
also known as Guangzhou HotApps Technology Ltd. (“Guangzhou
HotApps”). Guangzhou HotApps was a wholly owned subsidiary of
HIP, which was primarily engaged in engineering work for software
development, mainly voice over internet protocol. Guangzhou HotApps
was also involved in a number of outsourcing projects, including
projects related to real estate and lighting.
 
The
parties to the Equity Purchase Agreement agreed that the purchase
price for this transaction would be $100,000, which would be paid
in the form of a two-year, interest free, unsecured, demand
promissory note in the principal amount of $100,000, and that such
note would be due and payable in full in two years. In
2020, this promissory note was fully paid. As of December 31, 2020
and December 31, 2019, the outstanding receivable of this
promissory note was $0 and $100,000, respectively. The
closing of the Equity Purchase Agreement was subject to certain
conditions; these conditions were met and the transaction closed on
January 14, 2019.
 
During
the year ended December 31, 2020, no income or loss from this
discontinued operation was recognized. During the year ended on
December 31, 2019, the discontinued loss was $3,712.
 
On
April 27, 2020, Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”), one
of our subsidiaries, entered into a share exchange agreement with
DSS BioHealth Security, Inc. (“DBHS”), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Document Securities Systems Inc. (“DSS”),
pursuant to which, DBHS agreed to acquire all of the outstanding
capital stock of Impact BioMedical Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary
of GBM, through a share exchange. It was agreed that the aggregate
consideration to be issued to GBM for the Impact BioMedical shares
would be the following: (i) 483,334 newly issued shares of DSS
common stock; and (ii) 46,868 newly issued shares of a new series
of DSS perpetual convertible preferred stock with a stated value of
$46,868,000 ($1,000 per share). The convertible preferred stock
will be convertible into shares of DSS common stock at a conversion
price of $6.48 of preferred stock stated value per share of common
stock, subject to a 19.9% beneficial ownership conversion
limitation (a so-called “blocker”) based on the total
issued outstanding shares of common stock of DSS beneficially owned
by GBM. Holders of the convertible preferred stock will have no
voting rights, except as required by applicable law or regulation,
and no dividends will accrue or be payable on the convertible
preferred stock. The holders of convertible preferred stock will be
entitled to a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share, and DSS
will have the right to redeem all or any portion of the then
outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock, pro rata among
all holders, at a redemption price per share equal to such
liquidation value per share.
 
Under
ASU 2014-08, a disposal transaction meets the definition of a
discontinued operation if all of the following criteria are
met:
 
1.             
The
disposal group constitutes a component of an entity or a group of
components of an entity.
2.  
The
component of an entity (or group of components of an entity) meets
the held-for-sale classification criteria, is disposed of by sale,
or is disposed of other than by sale (e.g., “by abandonment,
in an exchange measured based on the recorded amount of the
nonmonetary asset relinquished, or in a distribution to owners in a
spinoff”).
3.  
The
disposal of a component of an entity (or group of components of an
entity) “represents a strategic shift that has (or will have)
a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial
results”.
 
 
41
 
 
Impact
BioMedical Inc and its subsidiaries have financial reporting. The
transaction is a disposal by sale and has a major effect on our
financial results. Since it meets all of the test criteria set
forth above, we have treated this disposal transaction as a
discontinued operations in our financial statements.
 
On
August 21, 2020, the transaction closed and Impact BioMedical Inc
became a direct wholly owned subsidiary of DBHS. GBM received
483,334 shares of DSS common stock and 46,868 shares of DSS
preferred stock, which preferred shares could be converted to
7,232,716 common shares (however, any conversion will be subject to
the blocker GBM has agreed to, as described above). After this
transaction, we held 500,001 shares of the common stock of DSS,
representing 9.7% of the outstanding common stock of DSS. Our CEO,
Chan Heng Fai is an owner of the common stock of DSS (not including
any common or preferred shares we held) and is the executive
chairman of the board of directors of DSS. The Company has elected
the fair value option for the DSS common stock that would otherwise
be accounted for under the equity method of accounting. ASC 820,
Fair Value Measurement and Disclosures, defines the fair value of
the financial assets. We value DSS common stock under level 1
category through quoted prices and preferred stock under level 2
category through the value of the common shares into which the
preferred shares are convertible. The quoted price of DSS common
stock was $6.95 as of August 21, 2020. The total fair value of DSS
common and preferred stocks GBM received as consideration for the
disposal of Impact BioMedical was $46,284,171. As of August 21,
2020, the net asset value of Impact BioMedical was $94,011. The
difference of $46,190,160 was recorded as additional paid in
capital. We did not recognize gain or loss from this transaction as
it was a related party transaction.
 
During
the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the discontinued
operation loss from Impact BioMedical Inc was $417,438 and
$657,760, respectively.
 
On
October 16, 2020, GBM converted an aggregate of 4,293 shares of
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into 662,500 shares of the
common stock of DSS. As of December 31, 2020, we owned
approximately 19.9% of the common stock of DSS, and our CEO, Chan
Heng Fai, is also an owner of common stock of DSS (not including
any common or preferred shares we hold).
 
Net Loss
 
In
the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company had net loss of
$4,398,435 compared to net loss of $8,053,428 in the year ended
December 31, 2019.
 
Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
Our
real estate assets have decreased to $20,505,591 as of December 31,
2020 from $23,884,704 as of December 31, 2019. This decrease
primarily reflects a decrease of land held for development due to
our sales to NVR and increase in the cost of sales. Our cash has
increased from $2,774,587 as of December 31, 2019 to $22,124,491 as
of December 31, 2020. Our liabilities decreased from $13,649,449 at
December 31, 2019 to $8,592,724 at December 31, 2020. Our total
assets have increased to $103,316,578 as of December 31, 2020 from
$35,872,780 as of December 31, 2019 due to the increase in cash and
investments in securities.
 
On
November 23, 2015, SeD Maryland Development, LLC and Union Bank
(formerly Xenith Bank and The Bank of Hampton Roads) entered into a
Construction Loan Agreement, as amended by the Loan Modification
Commitment Letter, as further amended by the Loan Modification
Commitment Letter, dated as of August 30, 2017 and as further
amended by the Third Loan Modification Agreement, dated as of
September 18, 2017. The loan from Union Bank was repaid in January
2019 and the agreement between Union Bank and SeD Maryland
Development was terminated on April 17, 2019.
 
On
April 17, 2019, SeD Maryland Development LLC entered into a
Development Loan Agreement with Manufacturers and Traders Trust
Company (“M&T Bank”) in the principal amount not to
exceed at any one time outstanding the sum of $8,000,000, with a
cumulative loan advance amount of $18,500,000. The line of credit
bears interest rate on LIBOR plus 375 basis points. SeD Maryland
Development LLC was also provided with a Letter of Credit
(“L/C”) Facility in an aggregate amount of up to
$900,000. The L/C commission will be 1.5% per annum on the face
amount of the L/C. Other standard lender fees will apply in the
event the L/C is drawn down. The loan is a revolving line of
credit. The L/C Facility is not a revolving loan, and amounts
advanced and repaid may not be re-borrowed. Repayment of the Loan
Agreement is secured by a $2,600,000 collateral fund and a Deed of
Trust issued to the Lender on the property owned by SeD
Maryland.
 
 
42
 
 
On
June 18, 2020, Alset EHome Inc. (previously known as SeD Home Inc.,
SeD Home & REITs Inc., and then Alset iHome Inc.), entered into
a Loan Agreement with M&T Bank. Pursuant to this Loan
Agreement, M&T Bank provided a non-revolving loan to Alset
EHome Inc. in an aggregate amount of up to $2,990,000. Repayment of
this loan is secured by a deed of trust issued to the Lender on the
property owned by certain subsidiaries of Alset EHome Inc. The
maturity date of this loan is May 1, 2022. Certain subsidiaries of
our company are the guarantors of this loan.
 
Currently
the Black Oak project does not have any financing from third
parties. On July 20, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd. was reimbursed
$4,592,079 from the Harris County Improvement District No. 17 for
previous expenses incurred by 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd. in the
development and installation of infrastructure within the Black Oak
project. The future development timeline of Black Oak project is
based on multiple limiting conditions, such as the amount of the
funds raised from capital market, the loans from third party
financial institutions, and the government reimbursements. The
development proceed in stages and expenses will be contingent on
the amount of funding we will receive.
 
On
November 29, 2016, Alset EHome Inc. entered into three $500,000
bonds for a total of $1.5 million that were to incur annual
interest at 8% and the principal was paid in full on November 29,
2019.
 
On
April 6, 2020, the Company entered into a term note with M&T
Bank with a principal amount of $68,502 pursuant to the Paycheck
Protection Program (“PPP Term Note”) under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The PPP Loan is
evidenced by a promissory note. The PPP Term Note bears interest at
a fixed annual rate of 1.00%, with the first ten months
of principal and interest deferred. On November 26, 2020,
$64,502 of this loan was forgiven by the United States Small
Business Administration and $64,502 was recorded as other income.
The remaining balance of $4,000 was paid back in December
2020.
 
On
February 11, 2021, the Company entered into a term note with
M&T Bank with a principal amount of $68,502 pursuant to the
Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP Term Note”) under the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the
“CARES Act”). The PPP Loan is evidenced by a promissory
note. The PPP Term Note bears interest at a fixed annual rate of
1.00%, with the first sixteen months of principal
and interest deferred or until we apply for the loan
forgiveness. The PPP Term Note may be accelerated upon the
occurrence of an event of default.
 
During
the year ended on December 31, 2017, Chan Heng Fai provided
non-interest loans of $7,156,680 for the general operations of the
Company. The loans are interest free, not tradable, unsecured, and
repayable on demand. On October 15, 2018, a formal lending
agreement between Alset International and Chan Heng Fai was
executed. Under the agreement, Chan Heng Fai provides a lending
credit limit of approximately $10 million for Alset International
with an interest rate of 6% per annum for the outstanding borrowed
amount, which commenced retroactively from January 1, 2018. The
loans are still not tradable, unsecured and repayable on demand. As
of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding principal balance of
the Related Party Loan was $0 and $4,246,604, respectively. Chan
Heng Fai confirmed through a letter that he would not demand the
repayment within a year. Interest started to accrue on January 1,
2018 at 6% per annum. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and
2019, the interest expenses were $130,667 and $358,203,
respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the accrued
interest total was $0 and $822,405, respectively.
 
Chan
Heng Fai provided an interest-free, due on demand, advance to the
Company for the general operations of the Company. On both December
31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding balance was
$1,511,429.
 
On May
1, 2018, Rajen Manicka, CEO and one of the directors of iGalen
International Inc., which holds 100% of iGalen Inc., provided a
loan of approximately $367,246 to iGalen Inc. (the “2018
Rajen Manicka Loan”). The term of 2018 Rajen Manicka Loan is
ten years. The 2018 Rajen Manicka Loan has an interest rate of 4.7%
per annum. On March 8, March 27 and April 23, 2019, iGalen borrowed
additional monies of $150,000, $30,000 and $50,000, respectively,
from Rajen Manicka, total $230,000 (the “2019 Rajen Manicka
Loan”). The 2019 Rajen Manicka Loan is interest free, not
tradable, unsecured, and repayable on demand. As of December 31,
2019, the total outstanding principal balance of the loans was
$546,397, and was included in the Notes Payable – Related
Parties balance on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company
incurred $0 and $8,084 of interest expense, respectively. The
Company accrued interest of $0 at December 31, 2020 and 2019. On
December 30, 2020, Company’s subsidiary Health Wealth
Happiness Pte. Ltd., sold its 53% interest in iGalen International
to an officer of the Company.
 
On
August 13, 2019, iGalen International Inc., which holds 100% of
iGalen Inc., borrowed $250,000 from Decentralized Sharing Services,
Inc., a company whose sole shareholder and director is Chan Heng
Fai, our CEO. The term of the loan is 12 months, with an interest
rate of 10% per annum. In addition, Decentralized Sharing Services,
Inc. received the right to receive 3% of any revenue received by
iGalen International Inc. for 99 years.  During the year
ended December 31, 2020 the Company incurred $9,729 of interest
expense and $0 from the right to receive 3% of revenue. During the
year ended December 31, 2019 the Company incurred $0 of interest
expense and $0 from the right to receive 3% of revenue. The amount
outstanding on the loan as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $0 and
$250,000, respectively. The principal of $250,000 was paid off in
June 2020.
 
 
43
 
 
On
November 3, 2019, iGalen Inc. borrowed $160,000 from iGalen Funding
Inc., a company whose directors and shareholders include two
members of the Board of iGalen Inc. The term of the loan was 6
months, with an interest rate of 10% per annum. The expiration term
was changed to due on demand after 6 months. The amount outstanding
on the loan as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $0 and $160,000,
respectively. The accrued interest was $16,000 and $2,542 as of
December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
 
From
January to December, 2020, the Company sold 497,300 shares of
GigWorld to international investors with the amount of $478,300,
which was booked as addition paid-in capital. The Company held
505,667,376 shares of the total outstanding shares 506,898,576
before the sale. After the sale, the Company still owns
approximately 99% of GigWorld’s total outstanding
shares. 
 
From
January to December, 2019, the Company sold 439,900 shares of
GigWorld to international investors with the amount of $303,700,
which was booked as addition paid-in capital. The Company held
500,821,889 shares of the total outstanding shares 506,898,576
before the sale. After the sale, the Company still owns
approximately 99% of GigWorld’s total outstanding
shares.
 
Summary of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and
2019
 
 
 
Years Ended
December 31,
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2019
 
Net
cash provided by operating activities
  $ 1,644,698  
  $ 5,958,434  
Net
cash used in investing activities
  $ (120,927 )
  $ (130,632 )
Net cash p rovided by ( used in) financing activities
  $ 20,099,461  
  $ (3,986,857 )
 
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
 
Net
cash provided by operating activities was $1,644,698 in the year
ended December 31, 2020, as compared to net cash provided by
operating activities of $5,958,434 in the same period of 2019. The
lower sales and more property development expenses explain the
increased cash flow used in operating activities. We received
approximately $13.6 million from sales in the Ballenger Run project
and invested approximately $4.2 million in land development
projects of both Ballenger Run and Black Oak during the year ended
December 31, 2020.
 
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
 
In
2020, we received $301,976 from the liquidation of Global
Opportunity Fund. We also invested $200,000 in a promissory note of
a related party and invested $201,229 in stock.
 
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
 
Net
cash provided by financing activities was $20,099,461 in the year
ended December 31, 2020, comparing to net cash used of $3,986,857
in the year ended December 31, 2019. During the year ended December
31, 2020, we received cash proceeds of $11,380,460 from the
exercise of subsidiary warrants, $487,300 from the sale of our
GigWorld shares to individual investors and $13,202,123 from stock
issuance. The Company also distributed $411,250 to one minority
interest investor, repaid $250,000 of promissory note and
$4,991,264 to related party. During the year ended December 31,
2019, we received cash proceeds of $333,029 from the sale of our
GigWorld shares to individual investors, repaid remaining $13,899
back to the Union Bank loan and repaid approximately $3.6 million
of related party loans. Additionally, we received $1,856,551 from
exercise of subsidiary warrants and distributed $1,069,250 to
minority shareholder.
 
 
44
 
 
Real Property Financing Arrangements
 
Through
Alset International, we have three property development projects.
Ballenger Run and Black Oak projects are the major
projects.
 
The
Company anticipates that the estimated construction costs (not
including land costs and financing costs) for the final phases of
the Ballenger Run project will be $3 million. The expected
completion date for the final phases of the Ballenger Run project
is June of 2022.
 
The
following table shows the Company’s forecasts of the phases
of the development and costs for each phase of development for the
Black Oak project, however, we are presently exploring alternate
plans for Black Oak, which could lead to an expansion of the depth
and breadth of our involvement in this project, depending on market
interest, the outcome of discussions with potential partners and
the availability of capital. Should we expand or otherwise alter
our plans at the Black Oak project, the later stages of such
project may have different time frames and costs.
 
Black
Oak
 
Estimated
Construction Costs
 
Expected
Completion Date
Phase
1
  $ 7,080,000  
Completed
Phase
2
  $ 330,671  
November
2022
Phase
3
  $ 422,331  
November
2022
Phase
4
  $ 142,788  
November
2022
Phase
5
  $ 3,293,000  
April
2022
Total
  $ 11,268,790  
 
 
Our
Perth project in Australia is relatively small, representing
approximately 2% of our total projects included in the estimated
property costs and forecasted revenue, and the development plan of
this project is contingent on the local market. We have been
monitoring the local market, which has seen no significant
improvement to date, and we will consider development once it is
more confident in the market.
 
Black Oak
 
Black
Oak is a 162-acre land infrastructure and subdivision project
situated in Magnolia, Texas, north of Houston. This project is
owned by certain subsidiaries of Alset International.
 
On
July 20, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd received $4,592,079 in
reimbursement for previous construction costs incurred in the land
development. Of this amount, $1,650,000 will remain on deposit in
the District's Capital Projects Fund for the benefit of 150 CCM
Black Oak Ltd and will be released upon receipt of the evidence of
(a) execution of a purchase agreement between 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd
and a home builder with respect to the Black Oak development and
(b) completion, finishing and making ready for home construction of
at least 105 unfinished lots in the Black Oak development. In 2019,
$1,112,861 was released to reimburse the construction costs leaving
a balance of $90,394 on December 31, 2019. The remaining balance
was released in the first half on 2020, leaving $0 on December 31,
2020.
 
Ballenger Run
 
In
November 2015, through LiquidValue Development, we completed the
$15.7 million acquisition of Ballenger Run, a 197-acre land
subdivision development located in Frederick County, Maryland.
Previously, on May 28, 2014, the RBG Family, LLC entered into the
Assignable Real Estate Sales Contract with NVR, Inc.
(“NVR”) by which RBG Family, LLC would sell the 197
acres for $15 million to NVR. On December 10, 2014, NVR assigned
this contract to SeD Maryland Development, LLC in the Assignment
and Assumption Agreement and entered into a series of Lot Purchase
Agreements by which NVR would purchase subdivided lots from SeD
Maryland Development, LLC (the “Lot Purchase
Agreements”).
 
 
45
 
 
On
November 23, 2015, SeD Maryland Development, LLC and Union Bank
(formerly Xenith Bank and The Bank of Hampton Roads) entered into a
Construction Loan Agreement, as amended by the Loan Modification
Commitment Letter, as further amended by the Loan Modification
Commitment Letter, dated as of August 30, 2017 and as further
amended by the Third Loan Modification Agreement, dated as of
September 18, 2017 (the “Union Bank Revolving Loan”).
The Union Bank Revolving Loan closed simultaneous with the
settlement on the land on November 23, 2015, and provided (i) for a
maximum of $11 million outstanding; (ii) maturity on December 31,
2019; and (iii) an $800,000 letter of credit facility, with an
annual rate of 15% on all issued letters of credit. On December 31,
2020 and 2019, the principal balance was $0. As part of the
transaction, we incurred loan origination fees and closing fees,
totaling $480,947, which were recorded as debt discount and were
amortized over the life of the loan. The unamortized debt discounts
were $0 on both December 31, 2020 and 2019.
 
The
loan was secured by a deed of trust on the property, a minimum
$2,600,000 of collateral cash, and a Limited Guaranty Agreement
with SeD Ballenger. In September 2017, SeD Maryland Development,
LLC and the Union Bank modified the related Revolving Credit Note,
which increased the original principal amount from $8,000,000 to
$11,000,000 and extended the maturity date of the loan and letter
of credit to December 31, 2019.
 
The
Union Bank Revolving Loan was intended to fund the development of
the first 276 lots, the multi-family parcel and senior living
parcel, the amenities associated with these phases, and certain
road improvements. The Union Bank Revolving Loan was repaid in
January 2019. On April 17, 2019, SeD Maryland Development LLC and
Union Bank terminated the agreement.
 
On
April 17, 2019, SeD Maryland Development LLC entered into a
Development Loan Agreement with Manufacturers and Traders Trust
Company (“M&T Bank”) in the principal amount not to
exceed at any one time outstanding the sum of $8,000,000, with a
cumulative loan advance amount of $18,500,000. The line of credit
bears interest of LIBOR plus 375 basis points. SeD Maryland
Development LLC was also provided with a Letter of Credit
(“L/C”) Facility in an aggregate amount of $900,000.
The L/C commission is 1.5% per annum on the face amount of the L/C.
Other standard lender fees will apply in the event the L/C is drawn
down. The L/C Facility is not a revolving loan, and amounts
advanced and repaid may not be re-borrowed. Repayment of the Loan
Agreement is secured by $2.6 million collateral fund and a Deed of
Trust issued to the Lender on the property owned by SeD
Maryland.
 
LIBOR
is expected to be discontinued after 2021. Our line of credit
agreement provides procedures for determining a replacement or
alternative rate in the event that LIBOR is unavailable. However,
there can be no assurances as to whether such replacement or
alternative rate will be more or less favorable than LIBOR. We
intend to monitor the developments with respect to the potential
phasing out of LIBOR after 2021 and will work with our lenders to
ensure any transition away from LIBOR will have minimal impact on
our financial condition. We, however, can provide no assurances
regarding the impact of the discontinuation of LIBOR on the
interest rate that we would be required to pay or on our financial
condition.
 
As
of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the principal balance of the loan
was $0. During 2019, as part of the transaction, the Company
incurred loan origination fees and closing fees in the amount of
$381,823 and capitalized them into construction in
process.
 
Equity Security Investments
 
Investment Securities at Fair Value
 
The
Company commonly holds investments in equity securities with
readily determinable fair values, equity investments without
readily determinable fair values, investments accounted for under
the equity method, and investments at cost. Certain of the
Company’s investments in marketable equity securities and
other securities are long-term, strategic investments in companies
that are in various stages of development.
 
Prior
to the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board
(“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update
(“ASU”) 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall
(Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets
and Financial Liabilities, investments in equity securities were
classified as either 1) available-for-sale securities, stated at
fair value, and unrealized holding gains and losses, net of related
tax effects, were recorded directly to accumulated other
comprehensive income (loss) or 2) trading securities, stated at
fair value, and unrealized holding gains and losses, net of related
tax benefits, were recorded directly to net income (loss). With the
adoption of ASU 2016-01, investments in equity securities are still
stated at fair value, quoted by market prices, but all unrealized
holding gains and losses are credited or charged to net income
(loss) based on fair value measurement as the respective reporting
date.
 
 
46
 
 
The
Company accounts for certain of its investments in equity
securities in accordance with ASU 2016-01 Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic
825- 10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and
Financial Liabilities (“ASU 2016-01”) . In
accordance with ASU 2016-01, the Company records all equity
investments with readily determinable fair values at fair value
calculated by the publicly traded stock price at the close of the
reporting period. Amarantus BioScience Holdings
(“AMBS”) is publicly traded company. The Company does
not have significant influence over AMBS as the Company is the
beneficial owner of approximately 5.4% of the common shares of
AMBS. The stock fair value is determined by quoted stock
prices.
 
The
Company has elected the fair value option for the equity securities
noted below that would otherwise be accounted for under the equity
method of accounting. Holista CollTech Limited
(“Holista”), Document Securities Systems Inc.
(“DSS”), Alset International and American Premium Water
Corp (“APW”) are publicly traded companies and fair
value is determined by quoted stock prices. The Company has
significant influence but does not have a controlling interest in
these investments, and therefore, the Company’s investment
could be accounted for under the equity method of accounting or
elect fair value accounting.
 
The
Company has significant influence over DSS as we owned
approximately 19.9% of the common stock of DSS as of December 31,
2020, and our Chief Executive Officer, Chan Heng Fai, is an owner
of the common stock of DSS (not including any common or preferred
shares we hold). In addition, our Chief Executive Officer is the
Chairman of the Board of Directors of DSS. The Company did not have
a controlling interest and therefore the Company’s investment
would be accounted for under equity method accounting or could
elect the fair value option accounting.
 
The
Company had significant influence over Holista as the Company and
its CEO are the beneficial owner of approximately 16.8% of the
outstanding shares of Holista and our CEO has a position on the
Board of Directors of Holista. The Company did not have a
controlling interest and therefore the Company’s investment
would be accounted for under equity method accounting or could
elect the fair value option accounting.
 
The
Company has significant influence over APW as the Company is the
beneficial owner of approximately 9.99% of the common shares of APW
and one officer from the Company holds a director position of
APW’s board. The Company did not
have a controlling interest and therefore the Company’s
investment would be accounted for under equity method accounting or
could elect the fair value option accounting.
 
The
Company had significant influence over Alset International during
the period of deconsolidation as the company’s beneficial
ownership ranged between 49.62% and 49.11% in that period and our
CEO is the CEO of Alset International. Chan Heng Fai is a director
of both companies.
 
The
Company has elected the fair value options for the equity
securities noted above that would otherwise be accounted for under
the equity method of accounting to better match the measurement of
assets and liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of
Operations. APW, Holista and DSS are publicly traded companies and
fair value of these equity investments is determined by the quoted
stock prices. On December 31, 2020 and 2019, the fair value
(calculated by market trading prices on the end dates of the
periods) of total held equity stock of American Premium Water,
Holista and DSS was $10,075,758 and $2,711,582,
respectively.
 
The
Company accounts for certain of its investments in real estate
funds without readily determinable fair values in accordance with
ASU No. 2015-07, Fair Value
Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosures for Investments in Certain
Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its
Equivalent) (“ASC 820”). As of December 31, 2019
the Company maintained an investment in a real estate fund, The
Global Opportunity Fund. This fund invests primarily in the U.S.
and met the criteria within ASC 820. Chan Heng Fai, the Chairman
and CEO of the Company, was also one of the directors of the Global
Opportunity Fund. The fair values of the investments in this class
have been estimated using the net asset value of the
Company’s ownership interest in Global Opportunity Fund. The
fund was closed during November 2019 and is being liquidated. As of
December 31, 2019, the Company recorded a receivable $307,944 from
the Global Opportunity Fund. These monies were received on January
23, 2020.
 
The Company invested $50,000 in a convertible
promissory note of Sharing Services, Inc. (“Sharing Services
Convertible Note”), a company quoted on the US OTC market.
The value of the convertible note was estimated by management using
a Black-Scholes valuation model. The fair value of the note
was $66,978 and $26,209 on December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively.
 
 
47
 
 
On
March 2, 2020, the Company received warrants to purchase shares of
American Medical REIT Inc. (“AMRE”), a related party
private startup company, in conjunction with the Company lending a
$200,000 promissory note . For
further details on this transaction, refer to Note 8 to
Company’s Financial Statements, Related Party Transactions,
Note Receivable from a Related Party Company. The Company holds a
stock option to purchase 250,000 shares of Vivacitas common stock
at $1 per share at any time prior to the date of a public offering
by Vivacitas. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, both AMRE and
Vivacitas were private companies. Based on management’s
analysis, the fair value of the warrants and the stock option was
$0 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
 
On July
17, 2020, the Company purchased 122,039,000 shares, approximately
9.99% ownership, and 1,220,390,000 warrants with an exercise price
of $0.0001 per share, from APW, for an aggregated purchase price of
$122,039. We value APB warrants under
level 3 category through a Black Scholes option pricing model
and the fair value of the warrants from APW were $860,342 as
of July 17, 2020, the purchase date and $862,723 as of December 31,
2020.
 
On
April 27, 2020, Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”), one
of our subsidiaries, entered into a share exchange agreement with
DSS BioHealth Security, Inc. (“DBHS”), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Document Securities Systems Inc. (“DSS”),
a related party of the Company, pursuant to which, DBHS agreed to
acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Impact BioMedical
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GBM, through a share exchange.
On August 21, 2020, the transaction
closed and Impact BioMedical Inc became a direct wholly owned
subsidiary of DBHS. GBM received 483,334 shares of DSS common stock
and 46,868 shares of DSS preferred stock, which preferred shares
could be converted to 7,232,716 common shares. On October 5, 2020
the Company converted 4,293 of these preferred shares into 662,500
common shares. The Company has elected the fair value option for
the DSS common stock that would otherwise be accounted for under
the equity method of accounting. We value DSS preferred stock under
level 3 category through the Option-Pricing Method
(“OPM”) to allocate the equity value between common and
preferred shares. The OPM relies on the Black-Scholes-Merton model.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair market value of the DSS preferred
stock was $37,675,000. For further details on this
transaction, refer to Note 8 to Company’s Financial
Statements – Related Party Transactions, Note 11 –
Discontinued Operations and Note 12 – Investments Measured at
Fair Value.
 
The
changes in the fair values of the investment were recorded directly
to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). Due to the
inherent uncertainty of these estimates, these values may differ
materially from the values that would have been used had a ready
market for these investments existed.
 
Investment Securities at Cost
 
The
Company has a holding of 13.1% in Vivacitas Oncology Inc.
(“Vivacitas”), a private company that is currently not
listed on an exchange, with a purchase cost of $200,128. Vivacitas
was acquired after the adoption of ASU 2016-01. The Company applied
ASC 321 and elected the measurement alternative for equity
investments that do not have readily determinable fair values and
do not qualify for the practical expedient in ASC 820 to estimate
fair value using the NAV per share. Under the alternative, we
measure Vivacitas at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus
changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly
transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same
issuer.
 
On
September 8, 2020, the Company acquired 1,666 shares, approximately
1.45% ownership, from Nervotec Pte Ltd (“Nervotec”), a
private company, at the purchase price of $36,628. The Company
applied ASC 321 and measured Nervotec at cost, less any impairment,
plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in
orderly transactions for an identical or similar investment of the
same issuer. 
 
On
September 30, 2020, the Company acquired 20,000 shares,
approximately 19% ownership, from Hyten Global
(“Hyten”), a private company, at a purchase price of
$42,562. Hyten Global is a direct sales company in Thailand. The
Company does not have significant influence on Hyten and applied
ASC 321 and measured Hyten at cost, less any impairment, plus or
minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly
transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same
issuer. 
 
There
has been no indication of impairment or changes in observable
prices via transactions of similar securities and is still carried
at a cost.
 
 
48
 
 
Investment Securities under Equity Method Accounting
 
American Medical REIT Inc.
 
LiquidValue Asset Management Pte. Ltd.
(“LiquidValue”), a subsidiary of the Company owns 36.1%
of American Medical REIT Inc. (“AMRE”), a startup REIT
company concentrating on medical real estate. AMRE acquires
state-of-the-art, purpose-built healthcare facilities and leases
them to leading clinical operators with dominant market share under
secure triple net leases. AMRE targets hospitals (both Critical
Access and Specialty Surgical), Physician Group Practices,
Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and other licensed medical treatment
facilities. Chan Heng Fai, our CEO, is the executive chairman and
director of AMRE. LiquidValue did not invest equity but lend a loan
to AMRE. See detail in Note 8 to Company’s Financial
Statements, Related Party Transactions. On balance sheet, the
prorate loss from AMRE was recorded as a liability, accumulated
losses on equity method investment. During years ended
December 31, 2020 and 2019, the investment losses from AMRE were
$227,643 and $0, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019,
the accumulated losses on equity method investment were $265,929
and $0, respectively.
 
Sweet Sense Inc.
 
On
April 25, 2018, BioLife Sugar, Inc. ("BioLife"), a subsidiary
consolidated under Alset International, entered into joint venture
agreement with Quality Ingredients, LLC ("QI"). The agreement
created an entity called Sweet Sense, Inc. ("Sweet Sense"), which
was 50% owned by BioLife and 50% owned by QI. Management believes
its investment of 50% represents significant influence over Sweet
Sense and accounts for the investment under the equity method of
accounting. As of December 31, 2018, BioLife had contributed
$55,000 to the joint venture and recorded its proportionate share
losses totaling $44,053 recorded as loss on investment in security
by equity method in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of
Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss.
 
On November 8, 2019, Impact BioMedical Inc., a
subsidiary of the Company, purchased 50% of Sweet Sense from QI for
$91,000 and recorded a loss from acquisition in the amount of
$90,001. As of November 8, 2019, the total investment in joint
venture was equal to $91,000 and the proportionate losses totaled
$90,001. The transaction was not in the scope of ASC 805 Business
Combinations since the acquisition was accounted for an asset
purchase instead of a business combination. As an asset
acquisition, the Company recorded the transaction at cost and
applied ASC 730 to expense in-process research and development
cost, the major cost of Sweet Sense. Consequently, Sweet Sense was
an 81.8% owned subsidiary of Alset International, and therefore,
was consolidated into the Company’s condensed consolidated
financial statements as of December 31, 2019. During the
year ended December 31, 2019, the investment losses from Sweet
Sense was $44,053. As a subsidiary of Impact BioMedical Inc., Sweet
Sense was in the discontinued operations of Impact BioMedical
Inc.
 
Discontinued Operations
 
HotApps Information Technology Co. Ltd.
 
On
October 25, 2018, HotApps International Pte. Ltd.
(“HIP”) entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement with
DSS Asia Limited (“DSS Asia”), a Hong Kong subsidiary
of DSS International Inc. (“DSS International”),
pursuant to which HIP agreed to sell to DSS Asia all of the issued
and outstanding shares of HotApps Information Technology Co. Ltd.,
also known as Guangzhou HotApps Technology Ltd. (“Guangzhou
HotApps”). Guangzhou HotApps was a wholly owned subsidiary of
HIP, which was primarily engaged in engineering work for software
development, mainly voice over internet protocol. Guangzhou HotApps
was also involved in a number of outsourcing projects, including
projects related to real estate and lighting.
 
The
parties to the Equity Purchase Agreement agreed that the purchase
price for this transaction would be $100,000, which would be paid
in the form of a two-year, interest free, unsecured, demand
promissory note in the principal amount of $100,000, and that such
note would be due and payable in full in two years. In 2020, this
promissory note was fully paid. As of December 31, 2020 and
December 31, 2019, the outstanding receivable of this promissory
note was $0 and $100,000, respectively. The closing of the Equity
Purchase Agreement was subject to certain conditions; these
conditions were met and the transaction closed on January 14,
2019.
 
 
49
 
 
Impact BioMedical Inc.
 
On
April 27, 2020, Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”), one
of our subsidiaries, entered into a share exchange agreement with
DSS BioHealth Security, Inc. (“DBHS”), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Document Securities Systems Inc. (“DSS”),
pursuant to which, DBHS agreed to acquire all of the outstanding
capital stock of Impact BioMedical Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary
of GBM, through a share exchange. It was agreed that the aggregate
consideration to be issued to GBM for the Impact BioMedical shares
would be the following: (i) 483,334 newly issued shares of DSS
common stock; and (ii) 46,868 newly issued shares of a new series
of DSS perpetual convertible preferred stock with a stated value of
$46,868,000, or $1,000 per share. The convertible preferred stock
can be convertible into shares of DSS common stock at a conversion
price of $6.48 of preferred stock stated value per share of common
stock, subject to a 19.9% beneficial ownership conversion
limitation (a so-called “blocker”) based on the total
issued outstanding shares of common stock of DSS beneficially owned
by GBM. Holders of the convertible preferred stock will have no
voting rights, except as required by applicable law or regulation,
and no dividends will accrue or be payable on the convertible
preferred stock. The holders of convertible preferred stock will be
entitled to a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share, and DSS
will have the right to redeem all or any portion of the then
outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock, pro rata among
all holders, at a redemption price per share equal to such
liquidation value per share.
 
Under
ASU 2014-08, a disposal transaction meets the definition of a
discontinued operation if all of the following criteria are
met:
 
1.             
The
disposal group constitutes a component of an entity or a group of
components of an entity.
 
2.  
The
component of an entity (or group of components of an entity) meets
the held-for-sale classification criteria, is disposed of by sale,
or is disposed of other than by sale (e.g., “by abandonment,
in an exchange measured based on the recorded amount of the
nonmonetary asset relinquished, or in a distribution to owners in a
spinoff”).
 
3.  
The
disposal of a component of an entity (or group of components of an
entity) “represents a strategic shift that has (or will have)
a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial
results”.
 
Impact
BioMedical Inc and its subsidiaries have financial reporting. The
transaction is a disposal by sale and has a major effect on our
financial results. Since it meets all of the test criteria set
forth above, we have treated this disposal transaction as a
discontinued operation in our financial statements.
 
On
August 21, 2020, the transaction closed and Impact BioMedical Inc
became a direct wholly owned subsidiary of DBHS. GBM received
483,334 shares of DSS common stock and 46,868 shares of DSS
preferred stock, which preferred shares could be converted to
7,232,716 common shares (however, any conversion will be subject to
the blocker GBM has agreed to, as described above). After this
transaction, we held 500,001 shares of the common stock of DSS,
representing 9.7% of the outstanding common stock of DSS. Our CEO,
Chan Heng Fai is the owner of the common stock of DSS (not
including any common or preferred shares we held) and is the
executive chairman of the board of directors of DSS. The Company
has elected the fair value option for the DSS common stock that
would otherwise be accounted for under the equity method of
accounting. ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement and Disclosures,
defines the fair value of the financial assets. We value DSS common
stock under level 1 category through quoted prices and preferred
stock under level 2 category through the value of the common shares
into which the preferred shares are convertible. The quoted price
of DSS common stock was $6.95 as of August 21, 2020. The total fair
value of DSS common and preferred stocks GBM received as
consideration for the disposal of Impact BioMedical was
$46,284,171. As of August 21, 2020, the net asset value of Impact
BioMedical was $94,011. The difference of $46,190,160 was recorded
as additional paid in capital. We did not recognize gain or loss
from this transaction as it was a related party
transaction.
 
On
October 16, 2020, GBM converted an aggregate of 4,293 shares of
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into 662,500 shares of the
common stock of DSS. We owned approximately 19.9% of the common
stock of DSS, and our CEO, Chan Heng Fai, is also an owner of the
common stock of DSS (not including any common or preferred shares
we hold).
 
 
50
 
 
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
 
We
do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that are reasonably
likely to have a current or future effect on our financial
condition, revenues, results of operations, liquidity or capital
expenditures.
 
Impact of Inflation
 
We
believe that inflation has not had a material impact on our results
of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. We
cannot assure you that future inflation will not have an adverse
impact on our operating results and financial
condition.
 
Impact of Foreign Exchange Rates
 
The
effect of foreign exchange rate changes on the intercompany loans
(under ASC 830), which mostly consist of loans from Singapore to
the United States and which were approximately $24.8 million and
$35.8 million on December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, are the
reason for the significant fluctuation of foreign currency
transaction Gain or Loss on the Consolidated Statements of
Operations and Other Comprehensive Income. Because the intercompany
loan balances between Singapore and United States will remain at
approximately $25 million over the next year, we expect this
fluctuation of foreign exchange rates to still significantly impact
the results of operations in 2021, especially given that the
foreign exchange rate may and is expected to be volatile. If the
amount of intercompany loan is lowered in the future, the effect
will also be reduced. However, at this moment, we do not expect to
repay the intercompany loans in the short term.
 
Emerging Growth Company Status
 
We
are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the
JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from
various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public
companies that are not “emerging growth companies.”
Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth
company” can take advantage of the extended transition period
provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying
with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an
“emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of
certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise
apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of
these exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company
or until we affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of this
exemption.
 
Controls and Procedures
 
We
are not currently required to maintain an effective system of
internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated
filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with
the independent registered public accounting firm attestation
requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth
company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of
certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are
applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth
companies including, but not limited to, not being required to
comply with the independent registered public accounting firm
attestation requirement.
 
Management
is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the
financial statements included in this Report. The financial
statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America and
reflect management’s judgment and estimates concerning
effects of events and transactions that are accounted for or
disclosed.
 
Management
is also responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate
internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control
over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that pertain to our ability to record, process, summarize and
report reliable data. Management recognizes that there are inherent
limitations in the effectiveness of any internal control over
financial reporting, including the possibility of human error and
the circumvention or overriding of internal control. Accordingly,
even effective internal control over financial reporting can
provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial
statement presentation. Further, because of changes in conditions,
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may
vary over time.
 
In
order to ensure that our internal control over financial reporting
is effective, management regularly assesses controls and did so
most recently for its financial reporting as of December 31, 2019.
This assessment was based on criteria for effective internal
control over financial reporting described in the Internal Control
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission. In connection with
management’s evaluation of the effectiveness of our
company’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2019, management determined that our company did not
maintain effective controls over financial reporting due to having
a limited staff with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting experience.
Management determined that the ineffective controls over financial
reporting constitute a material weakness. To remediate such
weaknesses, we plan to appoint additional qualified personnel with
financial accounting, GAAP and SEC experience.
 
This
Report does not include an attestation report of our registered
public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial
reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation
by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary
rules of the SEC that permit us to provide only management’s
report in this Report.
   
I tem 7A.   Q uantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
 
Not
applicable to smaller reporting companies.
 
 
51
 
 
8. F inancial Statements
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2020 and 2019
 
Table of Contents
Reports of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms
53
 
 
Consolidated
Balance Sheets at December 31, 2020 and 2019
55
 
 
Consolidated
Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss for the Years
Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
56
 
 
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended
December 31, 2020 and 2019
56
 
 
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and
2019
58
 
 
Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements
59
 
 
52
 
 
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
To the
Board of Directors and
Stockholders of
Alset EHome International Inc.
 
Opinion
on the Financial Statements
 
We have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Alset EHome
International Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2020, and the
related consolidated statements of operations and other
comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for
the year ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes
(collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our
opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31,
2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the
year ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of
America.
 
Basis
for Opinion
 
These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the
Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a
public accounting firm registered with the Public CompanyAccounting
Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be
independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S.
federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of
the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
   
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements
are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.
The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to
perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.
As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of
internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose
of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
 
Our
audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of
material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to
error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those
risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis,
evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as
well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial
statements. We believe that our audit provide a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
 
 
/s/
Briggs & Veselka Co.
We have
served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Houston,
Texas
April
14, 2021
 
 
 
53
 
 
R EPORT OF INDEPENDNT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
 
To the
Board of Directors and
Stockholders
of Alset EHome International Inc.
 
 
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
 
 
We have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Alset EHome
International Inc. (the Company) (formerly HF Enterprises Inc.) as
of December 31, 2019 and the related consolidated statement of
operations and other comprehensive loss, stockholders’
equity, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2019, and
the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated
financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial
statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial
position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and the results of
its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31,
2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America.
 
Basis for Opinion
 
These
consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the
Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements
based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered
with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States)
(PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the
Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the
applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the PCAOB.
 
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated
financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due
to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we
engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial
reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an
understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not
for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of
the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
 
Our
audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of
material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements,
whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that
respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a
test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the
consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included
evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation
of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
 
/s/
Rosenberg Rich Baker Berman, P.A.
 
We
served as the Company’s auditor from 2018 to
2019
 
Somerset,
New Jersey
July
30, 2020
 
54
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated B alance
Sheets
 
 
 
December 31,
2020
 
 
December 31,
2019
 
Assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Current
Assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Cash
  $ 22,124,491  
  $ 2,774,587  
    Restricted
Cash
    6,769,533  
    4,447,678  
    Account
Receivables, Net
    1,366,194  
    170,442  
    Other
Receivables
    270,222  
    681,677  
    Note
Receivables - Related Parties
    624,986  
    -  
    Prepaid
Expenses
    1,470,680  
    145,186  
    Inventory
    90,068  
    116,698  
    Investment
in Securities at Fair Value
    48,857,483  
    3,015,698  
    Investment
in Securities at Cost
    280,516  
    200,128  
    Deposits
    47,019  
    70,208  
   Current
Assets from Discontinued Operations
    -  
    139,431  
         Total
Current Assets
    81,901,192  
    11,761,733  
 
       
       
Real
Estate
       
       
Properties
under Development
    20,505,591  
    23,884,704  
Operating
Lease Right-Of-Use Asset
    574,754  
    146,058  
Deposit
    249,676  
    -  
Property
and Equipment, Net
    85,365  
    80,285  
         Total
Assets
  $ 103,316,578  
  $ 35,872,780  
 
       
       
Liabilities
and Stockholders' Equity:
       
       
Current
Liabilities:
       
       
    Accounts
Payable and Accrued Expenses
  $ 1,553,132  
  $ 3,995,001  
    Accrued
Interest - Related Parties
    -  
    834,536  
    Deferred
Revenue
    2,867,226  
    258,594  
    Builder
Deposits
    1,262,336  
    890,069  
    Operating
Lease Liability
    381,412  
    58,865  
    Notes
Payable
    172,706  
    157,105  
    Notes
Payable - Related Parties
    1,526,208  
    410,000  
    Income
Tax Payable
    -  
    420,327  
   Current
Liabilities from Discontinued Operations
    -  
    7,021  
         Total
Current Liabilities
    7,763,020  
    7,031,518  
Long-Term
Liabilities:
       
       
    Builder
Deposits
    -  
    1,555,200  
    Operating
Lease Liability
    193,342  
    91,330  
    Note
Payable, Net of Discount
    636,362  
    -  
    Notes
Payable - Related Parties
    -  
    4,971,401  
         Total
Liabilities
    8,592,724  
    13,649,449  
 
       
       
Stockholders'
Equity:
       
       
    Preferred
Stock, $0.001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized, none issued
and outstanding
       
       
       Common
Stock, $0.001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 8,570,000
and 10,001,000 shares
       
       
       issued
and outstanding on December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively
    8,570  
    10,001  
    Additional
Paid In Capital
    97,950,440  
    54,263,717  
    Accumulated
Deficit
    (43,010,991 )
    (40,494,115 )
    Accumulated
Other Comprehensive Income
    2,153,318  
    1,468,269  
        Total
Alset Ehome International Stockholders' Equity
    57,101,337  
    15,247,872  
    Non-controlling
Interests
    37,622,517  
    6,975,459  
       Total
Stockholders' Equity
    94,723,854  
    22,223,331  
 
       
       
       Total
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
  $ 103,316,578  
  $ 35,872,780  
 
See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial
statements.
 
 
55
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other C omprehensive Loss
For the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2019
 
Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
Property
Sales
  $ 13,643,689  
  $ 22,855,446  
Biohealth
Product Sales
    2,594,511  
    1,371,298  
  Others
    -  
    31,209  
        Total
Revenue
    16,238,200  
    24,257,953  
Operating
Expenses
       
       
Cost
of Sales
    12,085,574  
    19,968,757  
General
and Administrative
    5,843,067  
    5,860,144  
Inventory
Written Off
    -  
    141,265  
Impairment
of Real Estate
    -  
    5,230,828  
         Total
Operating Expenses
    17,928,641  
    31,200,994  
 
       
       
Operating
Losses From Continuing Operations
    (1,690,441 )
    (6,943,041 )
 
       
       
Other
Income (Expense)
       
       
Interest
Income
    16,321  
    52,145  
Interest
Expense
    (147,640 )
    (372,902 )
Gain
on Disposal of Subsidiary
    -  
    299,255  
Net
Gain on Investment in Alset International during the Unconsolidated
Period
    61,346  
    -  
Foreign
Exchange Transaction Loss
    (354,392 )
    (341,415 )
Unrealized
Gain (Loss) on Securities Investment
    (1,750,454 )
    320,032  
Realized
Gain on Securities Investment
    1,115  
    7,944  
Loss
on Investment on Security by Equity Method
    (227,643 )
    -  
Other
Income
    119,334  
    17,414  
        Total
Other Expense, Net
    (2,282,013 )
    (17,527 )
 
       
       
Net
Loss from Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes
    (3,972,454 )
    (6,960,568 )
 
       
       
Income
Tax Expense from Continuing Operations
    (8,543 )
    (431,388 )
 
       
       
Net
Loss Income from Continuing Operations
    (3,980,997 )
    (7,391,956 )
 
       
       
Loss
from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax
    (417,438 )
    (661,472 )
Net
Loss
    (4,398,435 )
    (8,053,428 )
 
       
       
Net
Loss Attributable to Non-Controlling Interest
    (1,881,559 )
    (2,822,963 )
 
       
       
Net
Loss Income Attributable to Common Stockholders
  $ (2,516,876 )
  $ (5,230,465 )
 
       
       
Other
Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net
       
       
   Unrealized
Gain on Securities Investment
    19,486  
    (55,213 )
   Foreign
Currency Translation Adjustment
    1,148,898  
    10,028  
Comprehensive
Loss
    (3,230,051 )
    (8,098,613 )
 
       
       
Comprehensive
Loss Attributable to Non-controlling Interests
    (1,314,761 )
    (2,836,998 )
 
       
       
Comprehensive
Loss Attributable to Common Stockholders
  $ (1,915,290 )
  $ (5,261,615 )
 
       
       
Net
Loss Per Share - Basic and Diluted
       
       
Continuing
Operations
  $ (0.27 )
  $ (0.47 )
Discontinued
Operations
  $ (0.03 )
  $ (0.05 )
Net
Loss Per Common Share
  $ (0.30 )
  $ (0.52 )
 
       
       
Weighted
Average Common Shares Outstanding - Basic and Diluted
    8,352,425  
    10,001,000  
 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial
statements.
 
 
56
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ E quity
For Two Year Period Ended December 31, 2020
 
 
 
Preferred
Stock
 
 
Common
Stock
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shares
 
 
Par
Value $0.001
 
 
Shares
 
 
Par
Value $0.001
 
 
Additional Paid in
Capital
 
 
Accumulated Other
Comprehensive Income
 
 
Accumulated
Deficit
 
 
Total
Alset EHome International Stockholders' Equity
 
 
Non-Controlling
Interests
 
 
Total
Stockholders' Equity
 
Balance at January 1,
2019
    -   
    -   
    10,001,000  
  $ 10,001  
  $ 53,717,424  
  $ 1,582,788  
  $ (35,263,650 )
  $ 20,046,563  
  $ 9,155,051  
  $ 29,201,614  
 
 
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Subsidiary's Issuance
of Stock
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    1,214,184  
    -  
    -  
    1,214,184  
    642,367  
    1,856,551  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Change in
Non-Controlling Interest
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (885,692 )
    (84,968 )
    -  
    (970,660 )
    970,660  
    -  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Proceeds from Selling
of Subsidiary Equity
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    217,801  
    -  
    -  
    217,801  
    115,228  
    333,029  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Change in Unrealized
Loss on Investment
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (36,109 )
    -  
    (36,109 )
    (19,104 )
    (55,213 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Foreign Currency
Translations
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    6,558  
    -  
    6,558  
    3,470  
    10,028  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Distribution to
Non-Controlling Shareholders
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (1,069,250 )
    (1,069,250 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Net
Loss
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (5,230,465 )
    (5,230,465 )
    (2,822,963 )
    (8,053,428 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Balance at January 1,
2020
    -  
    -  
    10,001,000  
  $ 10,001  
  $ 54,263,717  
  $ 1,468,269  
  $ (40,494,115 )
  $ 15,247,872  
  $ 6,975,459  
  $ 22,223,331  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Cancellation of
Outstanding Stock
    -  
    -  
    (3,601,000 )
    (3,601 )
    3,601  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Issuance of
Stock
    -  
    -  
    2,170,000  
    2,170  
    13,199,953  
    -  
    -  
    13,202,123  
    -  
    13,202,123  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Subsidiary's Issuance
of Stock
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    11,182,574  
    -  
    -  
    11,182,574  
    8,394,761  
    19,577,335  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Proceeds from
Selling  of Subsidiary Equity
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    278,346  
    -  
    -  
    278,346  
    208,954  
    487,300  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Sale of Impact
BioMedical Inc. to Related Party
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    26,307,872  
    -  
    -  
    26,307,872  
    19,846,288  
    46,154,160  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Contribution
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    539,088  
    -  
    -  
    539,088  
    406,681  
    945,769  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Transfer iGalen
International Inc. to Related Party
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    2,132,407  
    -  
    -  
    2,132,407  
    1,608,658  
    3,741,065  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Change in
Non-Controlling Interest
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (9,957,118 )
    19,047  
    -  
    (9,938,071 )
    1,972,143  
    (7,965,928 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Change in Unrealized
Gain on Investment
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    11,130  
    -  
    11,130  
    8,356  
    19,486  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Foreign Currency
Translations
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    654,872  
    -  
    654,872  
    494,026  
    1,148,898  
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Distribution to
Non-Controlling Shareholders
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (411,250 )
    (411,250 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Net
Loss
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    -  
    (2,516,876 )
    (2,516,876 )
    (1,881,559 )
    (4,398,435 )
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
 
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
Balance at December 31,
2020
    -  
    -  
    8,570,000  
  $ 8,570  
  $ 97,950,440  
  $ 2,153,318  
  $ (43,010,991 )
  $ 57,101,337  
  $ 37,622,517  
  $ 94,723,854  
 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial
statements.  
 
 
57
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of C ash
Flows
For the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
 
 
 
 2020
 
 
 2019
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash
Flows from Operating Activities
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net
Loss from Operations
  $ (4,398,435 )
  $ (7,391,956 )
Adjustments
to Reconcile Net Loss from Continuing Operations to Net Cash
Provided by Operating Activities:
       
       
Depreciation
    24,309  
    23,140  
Amortization
of Right -Of - Use Asset
    333,543  
    73,872  
Amortization
of Debt Discount
    18,772  
    -  
Gain
on Disposal of Subsidiary
    -  
    (299,255 )
Shared-based
Compensation
    1,564,376  
    -  
Inventory
Written Off
    -  
    141,265  
PPP
Loan Forgiveness
    (64,502 )
    -  
Foreign
Exchange Transaction Gain
    354,392  
    341,415  
Unrealized
Loss (Gain) on Securities Investment
    1,750,454  
    (320,032 )
Loss
on Equity Method Investment
    227,643  
    -  
Net
Gain on Investment in Alset International during the Uncosolidated
Period
    (61,346 )
    -  
Impairment
of Real Estate
    -  
    5,230,828  
Changes
in Operating Assets and Liabilities
       
       
Real
Estate
    4,227,504  
    9,996,644  
Account
Receivables
    (851,514 )
    (294,954 )
Prepaid
Expense
    (1,521,281 )
    23,982  
Deposits
    (226,487 )
    -  
Inventory
    (36,873 )
    (56,809 )
Accounts
Payable and Accrued Expenses
    308,730  
    (352,868 )
Accrued
Interest - Related Parties
    -  
    358,473  
   Deferred
Revenue
    2,608,632  
    173,596  
Operating
Lease Liability
    (329,404 )
    (83,610 )
Builder
Deposits
    (1,182,933 )
    (1,433,573 )
Income
Tax
    (678,694 )
    420,327  
Net
Cash Provided by Continuing Operating Activities
    2,066,886  
    6,550,485  
Net
Cash Used in Discontinued Operating Activities
    (422,188 )
    (592,051 )
Net
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
    1,644,698  
    5,958,434  
 
       
       
Cash
Flows From Investing Activities
       
       
Purchase
of Fixed Assets
    (21,674 )
    (3,632 )
Proceeds
from Global Opportunity Fund Liquidation
    301,976  
    -  
Purchase
of Investment Securities
    (201,229 )
    -  
Promissory
Note to Related Party
    (200,000 )
    -  
Net
Cash Used in Continuing Investing Activities
    (120,927 )
    (3,632 )
Net
Cash from Discontinued Investing Activities
    -  
    (127,000 )
Net
Cash Used in Investing Activities
    (120,927 )
    (130,632 )
 
       
       
Cash
Flows From Financing Activities
       
       
Proceeds
from Sale of Common Stock
    13,202,123  
       
Proceeds
from Exercise of Subsidiary Warrants
    11,380,460  
    1,856,551  
Proceeds
from Sale of Subsidiary Shares
    487,300  
    333,029  
Borrowing
from M&T Loan
    617,590  
    -  
Borrowing
from PPP Loan
    68,502  
    -  
Repayment
to PPP Loan
    (4,000 )
    -  
Repayments
of Bond
    -  
    (1,500,000 )
Repayments
of Note Payable
    (250,000 )
    (13,899 )
Distribution
to Minority Shareholder
    (411,250 )
    (1,069,250 )
Repayment
to Notes Payable - Related Parties
    (4,991,264 )
    (3,593,288 )
Net
Cash Provided by (Used in) Continuing Financing
Activities
    20,099,461  
    (3,986,857 )
Net
Cash Provided by Discontinued Financing Activities
    -  
    -  
Net
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
    20,099,461  
    (3,986,857 )
 
       
       
Net
Increase in Cash and Restricted Cash
    21,623,232  
    1,840,945  
Effects
of Foreign Exchange Rates on Cash
    48,527  
    (18,147 )
Cash
and Restricted Cash - Beginning of Year
    7,222,265  
    5,508,198  
Cash
and Restricted Cash- End of Year
  $ 28,894,024  
  $ 7,330,996  
 
       
       
Supplementary
Cash Flow Information
       
       
Cash
Paid for Interest
  $ 855,381  
  $ 16,893  
Cash
Paid for Taxes
  $ 688,316  
  $ -  
 
       
       
Supplemental
Disclosure of Non-Cash Investing and Financing
Activities
       
       
Amortization
of Debt Discount Capitalized
  $ -  
  $ 381,823  
Disposal
of Impact BioMedical Inc. to Related Party
  $ 46,154,160  
  $ -  
Disposal
of iGalen International Inc. to Related Party
  $ 3,741,065  
  $ -  
Contribution
  $ 945,769  
  $ -  
Unrealized
Gain on Investment
  $ 19,486  
  $ -  
Change
in Non-Controlling Interest
  $ 1,333,229  
  $ -  
Initial
Recognition of ROU / Lease Liability
  $ 762,239  
  $ -  
 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial
statements .  
 
 
 
58
 
 
Alset EHome International Inc. and Subsidiaries
N otes to Consolidated Financial
Statements
December 31, 2020 and 2019
 
   1.
NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
 
Nature of Operations
 
Alset
EHome International Inc. (the “Company” or
“AEI”), formerly known as HF Enterprises Inc., was
incorporated in the State of Delaware on March 7, 2018 and 1,000
shares of common stock was issued to Chan Heng Fai, the founder,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. AEI is a
diversified holding company principally engaged in property
development, digital transformation technology and biohealth
businesses with operations in the United States, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Australia and South Korea. The Company manages its principal
businesses primarily through its subsidiary, Alset International
Limited (“Alset International”, f.k.a. Singapore
eDevelopment Limited), a company publicly traded on the Singapore
Stock Exchange. 
 
On
October 1, 2018, Chan Heng Fai transferred his 100% interest in
Hengfai International Pte. Ltd. (“Hengfai
International”) to Alset EHome International Inc. in exchange
for 8,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Hengfai
International holds a 100% interest in Hengfai Business Development
Pte. Ltd. (“Hengfai Business Development”). Both
Hengfai International and Hengfai Business Development are holding
companies with no business operations. On December 31, 2020, the
Company held 1,011,150,294 shares and 139,834,471 warrants of
Alset International , which is
the primary operating company of AEI . The Company held 761,185,294 shares and
359,834,471 warrants of Alset
International on December 31, 2019. On December 31, 2020 and
2019, the Company’s ownership of Alset International was
57.1% and 65.4%, respectively.
 
Also,
on October 1, 2018, Chan Heng Fai transferred his 100% ownership
interest in Impact Oncology Pte. Ltd. (“Impact
Oncology”, formerly known as Heng Fai Enterprises Pte. Ltd.)
and Global eHealth Limited (“Global eHealth”) to AEI in
exchange for 500,000 and 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s
common stock, respectively.
 
The
contributions to AEI on October 1, 2018 of Hengfai International,
Impact Oncology, and Global eHealth from Chan Heng Fai represented
transactions under common control with a related
party.
 
On June
24, 2020, HFE Holdings Limited surrendered 3,600,000 shares of our
common stock to the treasury of our Company, and Chan Heng Fai
surrendered 1,000 shares of our common stock to the treasury of our
Company, and all such shares were cancelled.
 
On
November 24, 2020 the Company held its initial public offering and
the Company’s common stock began trading on Nasdaq Capital
Market. As a result, 2,160,000 shares were issued to public
investors. The Company’s net proceeds from this offering were
approximately $13.2 million. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the
total outstanding common shares of the Company were 8,570,000 and
10,001,000, respectively.
 
The
Company has four operating segments based on the products and
services we offered, which include three of our principal
businesses – property development, digital transformation
technology and biohealth – as well as a fourth category
consisting of certain other business activities. 
 
Property Development
 
The
Company’s property development segment is comprised of
LiquidValue Development Inc. ("LiquidValue Development") and SeD
Perth Pty Ltd.
 
In
2014, Alset International
commenced operations developing property projects and participating
in third-party property development projects. LiquidValue
Development Inc. (f.k.a. SeD Intelligent Home Inc.), a 99.9%-owned
subsidiary of Alset International and
a publicly listed company in the United States , owns,
operates and manages real estate development projects with a focus
on land subdivision developments. 
 
 
59
 
 
Development
activities are generally contracted out, including planning, design
and construction, as well as other work with engineers, surveyors,
architects and general contractors. The developed lots are then
sold to builders for the construction of new homes. LiquidValue
Development's primary real estate projects are two subdivision
development projects, one near Houston, Texas, known as Black Oak,
consisting of 162 acres and currently projected to have
approximately 512 units, and one in Frederick, Maryland, known as
Ballenger Run, consisting of 197 acres and currently projected to
have approximately 689 units. 
 
Digital Transformation Technology
 
The
Company’s digital transformation technology segment is
comprised of GigWorld Inc. (f.k.a. HotApp Blockchain Inc.) and its
subsidiaries, a publicly listed company in the United
States.
 
The
Company’s digital transformation technology business is
involved in mobile application product development and other
businesses, providing information technology services to end-users,
service providers and other commercial users through multiple
platforms. This technology platform consists of instant messaging
systems, social media, e-commerce and payment systems, direct
marketing platforms, e-real estate, brand protection and
counterfeit and fraud detection. GigWorld Inc.
(“GigWorld”), a 99.9%-owned subsidiary of Alset International , focuses on
business-to-business solutions such as enterprise messaging and
workflow. Through GigWorld, the Company has successfully
implemented several strategic platform developments for clients,
including a mobile front-end solution for network marketing, a
hotel e-commerce platform for Asia and a real estate agent
management platform in China.  
 
On
October 25, 2018, HotApps International Pte. Ltd.
(“HIP”) entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement with
DSS Asia Limited (“DSS Asia”), a Hong Kong subsidiary
of DSS International Inc. (“DSS International”),
pursuant to which HIP agreed to sell to DSS Asia all of the issued
and outstanding shares of HotApps Information Technology Co. Ltd.,
also known as Guangzhou HotApps Technology Ltd. (“Guangzhou
HotApps”). The transaction was closed on January 14, 2019.
Chan Heng Fai is the CEO of DSS Asia and DSS
International . For further
details related to this transaction, refer to Note 11 –
Discontinued Operations and Note 8 – Related Party
Transactions. 
 
Biohealth
 
The
Company’s biohealth segment is comprised of Global BioMedical
Pte. Ltd. and Health Wealth Happiness Pte. Ltd. and is committed to
both funding research and developing and selling products that
promote a healthy lifestyle.
 
Impact
BioMedical Inc., a subsidiary of Global BioMedical Pte. Ltd, is
focusing on research in three main areas: (i) development of a
universal therapeutic drug platform; (ii) a new sugar substitute;
and (iii) a multi-use fragrance. Global BioLife established a joint
venture, Sweet Sense, Inc., with Quality Ingredients, LLC for the
development, manufacture, and global distribution of the new sugar
substitute. On November 8, 2019, Impact BioMedical Inc. purchased
50% of Sweet Sense Inc. from Quality Ingredients, LLC for $91,000.
Sweet Sense Inc. is an 81.8% owned subsidiary of Impact BioMedical
Inc.
 
On
April 27, 2020, Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”), a
wholly owned subsidiary of Alset International, entered into a
share exchange agreement with DSS BioHealth Security, Inc.
(“DBHS”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Document
Securities Systems Inc. (“DSS”), pursuant to which,
DBHS will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Impact
BioMedical Inc., through a share exchange. The transaction was
closed on August 21, 2020 and Impact BioMedical became a direct
wholly owned subsidiary of DBHS . For further details on this transaction,
refer to Note 11, Discontinued Operations.
 
On
December 30, 2020, Alset International’s ownership of 53% of
iGalen International was sold to one of the directors of iGalen
International. The disposal of this entity does not meet the
criteria of ASU 2014-08 and therefore is not treated as a
discontinued operation. For more details, refer to Note 8 –
Related Party Transactions. iGalen International Inc. owns 100% of
iGalen Inc. (f.k.a. iGalen USA, LLC). During the years ended
December 31, 2020 and 2019, the revenue from iGalen Inc. was
$89,567 and $1,371,298, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and
2019, the deferred revenue was $0 and $37,120,
respectively.
 
In
October 2019, the Company expanded its biohealth segment to the
Korean market through one of the subsidiaries of Health Wealth
Happiness Pte. Ltd., HWH World Inc (“HWH World”). HWH
World, similarly to iGalen Inc., operates based on a direct sale
model of health supplements. HWH World recognized $2,504,944 in
revenue in the year ended December 31, 2020. No revenue was
recognized in the year ended on December 31, 2019. As of December
31, 2020 and 2019, the deferred revenue was $2,867,226 and
$221,421, respectively. All deferred revenue came from unrecognized
sales.
 
 
60
 
 
Other Business Activities
 
In
addition to the segments identified above, the Company provides
corporate strategy and business development services, asset
management services, corporate restructuring and leveraged buy-out
expertise. These service offerings build relationships with
promising companies for potential future collaboration and
expansion. We believe that our other business activities complement
our three principal businesses. 
 
The
Company’s other business activities segment is primarily
comprised of Alset
International , SeD Capital Pte. Ltd., BMI Capital Partners
International Limited and Singapore Construction & Development
Pte. Ltd. 
  
2.
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
 
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
 
The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”)
and following the requirements of the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC").
 
The consolidated financial statements include all accounts of the
Company and its majority owned and controlled subsidiaries. The
Company consolidates entities in which it owns more than 50% of the
voting common stock and controls operations. All intercompany
transactions and balances among consolidated subsidiaries have been
eliminated.  
  
The Company's consolidated financial statements include the
financial positions, results of operations and cash flows of the
following entities as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 as
follows:  
 
 
 
 
Attributable
interest 
 
 
 
 
as
of,
 
Name
of subsidiary consolidated under AEI
State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation
or organization
 
December
31,
2020
 
 
December
31,
2019
 
 
 
 
%
 
 
%
 
Hengfai
International Pte. Ltd
Singapore
    100  
    100  
Hengfai Business
Development Pte. Ltd
Singapore
    100  
    100  
Impact Oncology
Pte. Ltd. (f.k.a. Heng Fai Enterprises Pte. Ltd.)
Singapore
    100  
    100  
Global eHealth
Limited
Hong
Kong
    100  
    100  
Alset International
Limited (f.k.a. Singapore eDevelopment Limited)
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Singapore
Construction & Development Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Art eStudio Pte.
Ltd.
Singapore
    29.1 *
    33.4 *
Singapore
Construction Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Global BioMedical
Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Alset Innovation
Pte. Ltd. (f.k.a. SeD Investment Pte. Ltd.)
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Health Wealth
Happiness Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
iGalen
International Inc.
United States of
America
    -  
    34.4 *
iGalen Inc. (f.k.a
iGalen USA LLC)
United States of
America
    -  
    34.4 *
SeD Capital Pte.
Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
LiquidValue Asset
Management Pte. Ltd. (f.k.a. HengFai Asset Management Pte.
Ltd.)
Singapore
    46.9 *
    53.6  
SeD Home
Limited
Hong
Kong
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Reits
Management Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Global TechFund of
Fund Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
Singapore
eChainLogistic Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    65.4  
 
 
61
 
 
BMI Capital
Partners International Limited
Hong
Kong
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Perth Pty.
Ltd.
Australia
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Intelligent
Home Inc. (f.k.a SeD Home International, Inc.) 
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
LiquidValue
Development Inc. (f.k.a. SeD Intelligent Home Inc.)
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
Alset EHome Inc.
(f.k.a. Alset iHome Inc., SeD Home & REITs Inc. and SeD Home,
Inc.)
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD USA,
LLC
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
150 Black Oak GP,
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Development USA
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
150 CCM Black Oak,
Ltd.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Texas Home,
LLC
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Ballenger,
LLC
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD Maryland
Development, LLC
United States of
America
    47.8 *
    54.6  
SeD Development
Management, LLC
United States of
America
    48.6 *
    55.6  
SeD Builder,
LLC
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
GigWorld Inc.
(f.k.a. HotApp Blockchain Inc.)
United States of
America
    57.0  
    65.4  
HotApp BlockChain
Inc (f.k.a. HotApps International Pte. Ltd.)
Singapore
    57.0  
    65.4  
HotApp
International Limited
Hong
Kong
    57.0  
    65.4  
HWH International,
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
Health Wealth &
Happiness Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
HWH Multi-Strategy
Investment, Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeDHome Rental
Inc
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
SeD REIT
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    65.4  
Crypto Exchange
Inc
United States of
America
    57.0  
    65.4  
HWH World
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.0  
    65.4  
HWH World Pte.
Ltd.
Singapore
    57.0  
    65.4  
UBeauty
Limited
Hong
Kong
    57.1  
    65.4  
WeBeauty Korea
Inc
South
Korea
    57.1  
    65.4  
HWH World
Limited
Hong
Kong
    57.1  
    65.4  
HWH World
Inc.
South
Korea
    57.1  
    65.4  
Alset BioHealth
Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    -  
Alset Energy Pte.
Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    -  
Alset Payment
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Alset World Pte.
Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    -  
BioHealth Water
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Impact BioHealth
Pte. Ltd.
Singapore
    57.1  
    -  
American Home REIT
Inc.
United States of
America
    46.9 *
    -  
Alset Solar
Inc.
United States of
America
    45.7 *
    -  
HWH KOR
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
 
 
62
 
 
Open House
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Open Rental
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Hapi Cafe Inc.
(Nevada)
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Global Solar REIT
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
OpenBiz
Inc.
United States of
America
    57.1  
    -  
Hapi Cafe Inc.
(Texas)
United States of
America
    100  
    -  
 
*Although
the Company indirectly holds percentage of shares of these entities
less than 50%, the subsidiaries of the Company directly hold more
than 50% of shares of these entities, and therefore, they are still
consolidated into the Company. 
  
Use of Estimates
 
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with
U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions
that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the
consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of
revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant
estimates made by management include, but are not limited to,
allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of real estate assets,
allocation of development costs and capitalized interest to sold
lots, fair value of the investments, the valuation allowance of
deferred taxes, and contingencies. Actual results could differ from
those estimates.
 
In our
property development business, land acquisition costs are allocated
to each lot based on the area method, the size of the lot compared
to the total size of all lots in the project. Development costs and
capitalized interest are allocated to lots sold based on the total
expected development and interest costs of the completed project
and allocating a percentage of those costs based on the selling
price of the sold lot compared to the expected sales values of all
lots in the project. 
 
If the
allocation of development costs and capitalized interest based on
the projection and relative expected sales value is impracticable,
those costs could also be allocated based on area method, the size
of the lot compared to the total size of all lots in the
project. 
 
Cash and Cash Equivalents
 
The
Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of
three months or less at the date of acquisition to be cash
equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and at
the bank and short-term deposits with financial institutions that
are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject
to an insignificant risk of changes in values. There were no cash
equivalents as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. 
 
Restricted Cash
 
As a
condition to the loan agreement with the Manufacturers and Traders
Trust Company (“M&T Bank”), the Company is required
to maintain a minimum of $2,600,000 in an interest-bearing account
maintained by the lender as additional security for the loans. The
fund is required to remain as collateral for the loan until the
loan is paid off in full and the loan agreement terminated. The
Company also has an escrow account with M&T Bank to deposit a
portion of cash proceeds from lot sales. The fund in the escrow
account is specifically used for the payment of the loan from
M&T Bank. The fund is required to remain in the escrow account
for the loan payment until the loan agreement terminates. As of
December 31, 2020 and 2019, the total balance of these two accounts
was $5,729,067 and $4,229,149, respectively. 
 
 
63
 
 
As a
condition to the loan agreement with National Australian Bank
Limited in conjunction with the Perth project, an Australian real
estate development project, the Company is required to maintain
Australian Dollar 50,000, in a non-interest-bearing account. As of
December 31, 2020 and 2019, the account balance was $38,550 and
$35,068, respectively. These funds will remain as collateral for
the loans until paid in full. 
 
On July
20, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak Ltd received $4,592,079 in district
reimbursement payments for previous construction costs incurred in
land development. Of this amount, $1,650,000 will remain on deposit
in the District’s Capital Projects Fund for the benefit of
150 CCM Black Oak Ltd and will be released upon receipt of the
evidence of: (a) the execution of a purchase agreement between 150
CCM Black Oak Ltd and a home builder with respect to the Black Oak
development and (b) the completion, finishing and readying for home
construction of at least 105 unfinished lots in the Black Oak
development. After entering the purchase agreement with Houston LD,
LLC, the above requirements were met. The amount of the deposit
will be released to the Company by presenting the invoices paid for
land development. After releasing funds to the Company, the amount
on deposit was $0 and $90,394 on December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively. 
 
As a
condition to use the credit card services for the Company’s
bio product direct sale business, provided by Global Payroll
Gateway, Ltd. (“GPG”), a financial service company, the
Company is required to deposit 10% revenue from the direct sales to
a non-interest-bearing GPG reserve account with a maximum amount of
$200,000. The Company is allowed to temporarily use the money in
this deposit account upon request and pay back on a short-term
basis. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the balance in the reserve
account was $0 and $93,067, respectively.
 
The
Company put $1 million into a brokerage account specifically for
equity investment in December 2020. As of December 31, 2020, the
cash balance in that brokerage account is $1,001,916.
 
Account Receivables and Allowance for Doubtful
Accounts
 
Account
receivables is stated at amounts due from buyers, contractors, and
all third parties, net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. As of
December 31 2020 and 2019, the balance of account receivables was
$1,366,194 and $170,442, respectively. Approximately $1.3 million
of account receivables as of December 31, 2020 was from DSS with a
merchant agreement, under which the Company uses DSS credit card
platform to collect money from our direct sales.
 
The
Company monitors its account receivables balances on a monthly
basis to ensure that they are collectible. On a quarterly basis,
the Company uses its historical experience to estimate its
allowance for doubtful account receivables. The Company’s
allowance for doubtful accounts represents an estimate of the
losses expected to be incurred based on specifically identified
accounts as well as nonspecific amount, when determined
appropriate. Generally, the amount of the allowance is primarily
decided by division management’s historical experience, the
delinquency trends, the resolution rates, the aging of receivables,
the credit quality indicators and financial health of specific
customers. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the allowance was
$0.
 
Inventories
 
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is
determined using the first-in, first-out method and includes all
costs in bringing the inventories to their present location and
condition. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in
the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs necessary
to make the sale. As of December 31, 2020, inventory consisted of
finished goods from HWH World Inc. As of December 31, 2019,
inventory consisted of finished goods from iGalen Inc and HWH World
Inc. The Company continuously evaluates the need for reserve for
obsolescence and possible price concessions required to write-down
inventories to net realizable value.
 
Investment Securities
 
Investment Securities at Fair Value
 
The
Company holds investments in equity securities with readily
determinable fair values, equity investments without readily
determinable fair values, investments accounted for under the
equity method, and investments at cost.
 
Prior
to the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board
(“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update
(“ASU”) 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic
825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and
Financial Liabilities , investments in equity securities were
classified as either 1) available-for-sale securities, stated at
fair value, and unrealized holding gains and losses, net of related
tax effects, were recorded directly to accumulated other
comprehensive income (loss) or 2) trading securities, stated at
fair value, and unrealized holding gains and losses, net of related
tax benefits, were recorded directly to net income (loss). With the
adoption of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018, investments in equity
securities are still stated at fair value, quoted by market prices,
but all unrealized holding gains and losses are credited or charged
to net income (loss) based on fair value measurement as the
respective reporting date. 
 
 
64
 
 
The
Company accounts for certain of its investments in equity
securities in accordance with ASU 2016-01 Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic
825- 10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and
Financial Liabilities (“ASU 2016-01”) . In
accordance with ASU 2016-01, the Company records all equity
investments with readily determinable fair values at fair value
calculated by the publicly traded stock price at the close of the
reporting period. Amarantus BioScience Holdings
(“AMBS”) is publicly traded company. The Company does
not have significant influence over AMBS as the Company is the
beneficial owner of approximately 5.4% of the common shares of
AMBS. The stock fair value is determined by quoted stock
prices.
 
The
Company has elected the fair value option for the equity securities
noted below that would otherwise be accounted for under the equity
method of accounting. Holista CollTech Limited
(“Holista”), Document Securities Systems Inc.
(“DSS”), Alset International and American Premium Water
Corp (“APW”) are publicly traded companies and fair
value is determined by quoted stock prices. The Company has
significant influence but does not have a controlling interest in
these investments, and therefore, the Company’s investment
could be accounted for under the equity method of accounting or
elect fair value accounting.
 
●
The
Company has significant influence over DSS. As of December 31,
2020, the Company owned 19.9% of the common stock of DSS and 42,575
shares of preferred stock, which could covert to 6,570,216 common
shares, subject to a 19.9% beneficial ownership conversion
limitation (a so-called “blocker”) based on the total
issued outstanding shares of common stock of DSS beneficially owned
by Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”), one of our
subsidiaries. Our CEO is the owner of the outstanding shares of DSS
(not including any common or preferred shares we hold) and is a
member of the Board of Directors of DSS. Chan Tung Moe, the son of
Chan Heng Fai, is also a director of DSS.
  
●
The
Company has significant influence over Holista. Our CEO is the
beneficial owner of approximately 16.8% of the outstanding shares
of Holista, and holds a position on Holista's Board of
Directors.
 
●
The
Company has significant influence over APW as the Company is the
beneficial owner of approximately 8.7% of the common shares of APW
and one officer from the Company holds a director position of
APW’s board.
 
●
The
Company had significant influence over Alset International during
the period of deconsolidation as the company’s beneficial
ownership ranged between 49.62% and 49.11% in that period and our
CEO is the CEO of Alset International. Chan Heng Fai is a director
of both companies.
 
The
Company accounts for certain of its investments in real estate
funds without readily determinable fair values in accordance with
ASU No. 2015-07, Fair Value
Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosures for Investments in Certain
Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its
Equivalent) (“ASC 820”). As of December 31, 2019
the Company maintained an investment in a real estate fund, The
Global Opportunity Fund. This fund invests primarily in the U.S.
and met the criteria within ASC 820. Chan Heng Fai, the Chairman
and CEO of the Company, was also one of the directors of the Global
Opportunity Fund. The fair values of the investments in this class
have been estimated using the net asset value of the
Company’s ownership interest in Global Opportunity Fund. The
fund was closed during November 2019 and is being liquidated. As of
December 31, 2019, the Company recorded a receivable $307,944 from
the Global Opportunity Fund. These monies were received on January
23, 2020.
 
The Company invested $50,000 in a convertible promissory note of
Sharing Services, Inc. (“Sharing Services Convertible
Note”), a company quoted on the US OTC market. The value of
the convertible note was estimated by management using a
Black-Scholes valuation model.  The fair value of the
note was $66,978 and $26,209 on December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively.
  
On
March 2, 2020, the Company received warrants to purchase shares of
American Medical REIT Inc. (“AMRE”), a related party
private startup company, in conjunction with the Company lending a
$200,000 promissory note . For
further details on this transaction, refer to Note 8 Related Party
Transactions, Note Receivable from a Related Party Company. The
Company holds a stock option to purchase 250,000 shares of
Vivacitas common stock at $1 per share at any time prior to the
date of a public offering by Vivacitas. As of December 31, 2020 and
2019, both AMRE and Vivacitas were private companies. Based on
management’s analysis, the fair value of the warrants and the
stock option was $0 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
 
 
65
 
 
On July
17, 2020, the Company purchased 122,039,000 shares, and
1,220,390,000 warrants with an exercise price of $0.0001 per share,
from APW, for an aggregated purchase price of $122,039.
We value APB warrants under level 3
category through a Black Scholes option pricing model and
the fair value of the warrants from APW were $860,342 as of July
17, 2020, the purchase date and $862,723 as of December 31, 2020.
For further details on this transaction, refer to Note 8 –
Related Party Transactions and Note 12 – Investments Measured
at Fair Value.
 
On April 27, 2020, Global BioMedical Pte Ltd (“GBM”),
one of our subsidiaries, entered into a share exchange agreement
with DSS BioHealth Security, Inc. (“DBHS”), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Document Securities Systems Inc.
(“DSS”), a related party of the Company, pursuant to
which, DBHS agreed to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock
of Impact BioMedical Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of GBM,
through a share exchange. On August 21, 2020, the
transaction closed and Impact BioMedical Inc became a direct wholly
owned subsidiary of DBHS. GBM received 483,334 shares of DSS common
stock and 46,868 shares of DSS preferred stock, which preferred
shares could be converted to 7,232,716 common shares. On October 5,
2020 the Company converted 4,293 of these preferred shares into
662,500 common shares. The Company has elected the fair value
option for the DSS common stock that would otherwise be accounted
for under the equity method of accounting. We value DSS preferred
stock under level 3 category and use the Option-Pricing Method
(“OPM”) to allocate the equity value between common and
preferred shares. The OPM relies on the Black-Scholes-Merton model.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair market value of the DSS preferred
stock was $37,675,000. For
further details on this transaction, refer to Note 8 –
Related Party Transactions, Note 11 – Discontinued Operations
and Note 12 – Investments Measured at Fair Value.
The changes in the
fair values of the investment were recorded directly to Unrealized
Gain (Loss) on Securities Investment. Due to the inherent
uncertainty of these estimates, these values may differ materially
from the values that would have been used had a ready market for
these investments existed.
  
Investment Securities at Cost
 
The
Company held 2,480,000 of shares, approximately 13.1%, of Vivacitas
Oncology Inc. (“Vivacitas”), a private company that is
currently not listed on an exchange, as of December 31, 2020.
Vivacitas was acquired after the adoption of ASU 2016-01. The
Company applied ASC 321, Investments – Equity Securities, and
elected the measurement alternative for equity investments that do
not have readily determinable fair values and do not qualify for
the practical expedient in ASC 820 to estimate fair value using the
NAV per share. Under the alternative, we measure Vivacitas at cost,
less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from
observable price changes in orderly transactions for an identical
or similar investment of the same issuer. 
 
On
September 8, 2020, the Company acquired 1,666 shares, approximately
1.45% ownership, from Nervotec Pte Ltd (“Nervotec”), a
private company, at the purchase price of $37,826. The Company
applied ASC 321 and measured Nervotec at cost, less any impairment,
plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in
orderly transactions for an identical or similar investment of the
same issuer. 
 
On
September 30, 2020, the Company acquired 20,000 shares,
approximately 19% ownership, from Hyten Global
(“Hyten”), a private company, at a purchase price of
$42,562. Hyten Global is a direct sales company in Thailand. The
Company does not have significant influence on Hyten and applied
ASC 321 and measured Hyten at cost, less any impairment, plus or
minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly
transactions for an identical or similar investment of the same
issuer. 
 
There
has been no indication of impairment or changes in observable
prices via transactions of similar securities and investments are
still carried at cost.
 
Investment Securities under Equity Method Accounting
 
American Medical REIT Inc.
 
LiquidValue
Asset Management Pte. Ltd. (“LiquidValue”), a
subsidiary of the Company owns 36.1% of American Medical REIT Inc.
(“AMRE”), a startup REIT company concentrating on
medical real estate. AMRE acquires state-of-the-art, purpose-built
healthcare facilities and leases them to leading clinical operators
with dominant market share under secure triple net leases. AMRE
targets hospitals (both Critical Access and Specialty Surgical),
Physician Group Practices, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and other
licensed medical treatment facilities. Chan Heng Fai, our CEO, is
the executive chairman and director of AMRE. LiquidValue did not
invest equity but provided a loan to AMRE (For further details on
this transaction, refer to Note 8, Related Party Transactions). On
balance sheet, the prorate loss from AMRE was recorded as a
liability, accumulated losses on equity method investment. During
years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the investment losses from
AMRE were $227,643 and $0, respectively. As of December 31, 2020
and 2019, the accumulated losses on equity method investment were
$265,929 and $0, respectively.
 
 
66
 
 
Sweet Sense, Inc.
 
BioLife
Sugar, Inc. (“BioLife’), a subsidiary consolidated
under Alset International ,
entered into a joint venture agreement on April 25, 2018 with
Quality Ingredients, LLC (“QI”). The agreement created
an entity called Sweet Sense, Inc. (“Sweet Sense”)
which is 50% owned by BioLife and 50% owned by QI. Management
believes its 50% investment represents significant influence over
Sweet Sense and accounts for the investment under the equity method
of accounting.
 
On
November 8, 2019, Impact BioMedical Inc., a subsidiary of the
Company, purchased 50% of Sweet Sense from QI for $91,000 and
recorded a loss from acquisition $90,001. As of November 8, 2019,
the total investment in joint venture was equal to $91,000 and the
proportionate losses totaled $90,001. The transaction was not in
the scope of ASC 805 Business Combinations since the acquisition
was accounted for an asset purchase instead of a business
combination. As an asset acquisition, the Company recorded the
transaction at cost and applied ASC 730 to expense in-process
research and development cost, the major cost of Sweet Sense.
Consequently, Sweet Sense was an 81.8% owned subsidiary of Impact
BioMedical Inc. and therefore, was consolidated into the
Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December
31, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the investment
losses from Sweet Sense was $44,053. As a subsidiary of Impact
BioMedical Inc., Sweet Sense was in the discontinued operations of
Impact BioMedical Inc. For further details on this transaction,
refer to Note 11 - Discontinued Operations.
   
Real Estate Assets
 
Real
estate assets are recorded at cost, except when real estate assets
are acquired that meet the definition of a business combination in
accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board
(“FASB”) ASC 805 - “Business Combinations”,
which acquired assets are recorded at fair value. Interest,
property taxes, insurance and other incremental costs (including
salaries) directly related to a project are capitalized during the
construction period of major facilities and land improvements. The
capitalization period begins when activities to develop the parcel
commence and ends when the asset constructed is completed. The
capitalized costs are recorded as part of the asset to which they
relate and are reduced when lots are sold. 
 
The
Company capitalized interest and finance expenses from third-party
borrowings of $0 and $526,297 for the years ended December 31, 2020
and 2019, respectively. The Company capitalized construction costs
of approximately $10.3 millions and $8.5 millions for the years
ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. 
 
The
Company’s policy is to obtain an independent third-party
valuation for each major project in the United States as part of
our assessment of identifying potential triggering events for
impairment. Management may use the market comparison method to
value other relatively small projects, such as the project in
Perth, Australia. In addition to the annual assessment of potential
triggering events in accordance with ASC 360 – Property Plant and Equipment
(“ASC 360”), the Company applies a fair value based
impairment test to the net book value assets on an annual basis and
on an interim basis if certain events or circumstances indicate
that an impairment loss may have occurred. 
 
On
October 12, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. entered into an Amended
and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement for 124 lots. Pursuant to
the Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement, the purchase
price remained $6,175,000, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. was required to
meet certain closing conditions and the timing for the closing was
extended. On January 18, 2019, the sale of 124 lots at the
Company’s Black Oak project in Magnolia, Texas was completed.
After allocating costs of revenue to this sale, the Company
incurred a loss of approximately $1.5 million from this sale and
recognized a real estate impairment of approximately $1.5 million
for the year ended December 31, 2018. 
 
On June
30, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $3.9 million of
impairment on the Black Oak project based on discounted estimated
future cash flows after updating the projection of market value of
the project.
 
On
December 31, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $1.3 million
of additional impairment on the Black Oak project based on
discounted estimated future cash flows after updating the projected
cost of the project.
 
The
Company did not record any impairment in the year ended on December
31, 2020.
 
 
67
 
 
Properties under development
 
Properties
under development are properties being constructed for sale in the
ordinary course of business, rather than to be held for the
Company’s own use, rental or capital
appreciation. 
 
Equipment
Property
and equipment are recorded at cost, less depreciation. Repairs and
maintenance are expensed as incurred. Expenditures incurred as a
consequence of acquiring or using the asset, or that increase the
value or productive capacity of assets are capitalized (such as
removal, and restoration costs). When property and equipment is
retired, sold, or otherwise disposed of, the asset’s carrying
amount and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the
accounts and any gain or loss is included in operations.
Depreciation is computed by the straight-line method (after
considering their respective estimated residual values) over the
estimated useful lives of the respective assets as
follows: 
 
Office
and computer equipment
3 - 5
years
Furniture
and fixtures
3 - 5
years
Vehicles
10
years
Leasehold
Improvements
Remaining
life of the lease
 
The
Company reviews the carrying value of property and equipment for
impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the
carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable from the
estimated future cash flows expected to result from its use and
eventual disposition. In cases where undiscounted expected future
cash flows are less than the carrying value, an impairment loss is
recognized equal to an amount by which the carrying value exceeds
the fair value of assets. The factors considered by management in
performing this assessment include current operating results,
trends, and prospects, as well as the effects of obsolescence,
demand, competition, and other economic factors.
 
Revenue Recognition and Cost of Sales
 
ASC 606
- Revenue from Contracts with
Customers ("ASC 606"), establishes principles for reporting
information about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of
revenue and cash flows arising from the entity's contracts to
provide goods or services to customers. The Company adopted this
new standard on January 1, 2018 under the modified retrospective
method. The adoption of this new standard did not have a material
effect on our financial statements. 
 
In
accordance with ASC 606, revenue is recognized when a customer
obtains control of promised goods or services. The amount of
revenue recognized reflects the consideration to which the Company
expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for these goods or
services. The provisions of ASC 606 include a five-step process by
which the determination of revenue recognition, depicting the
transfer of goods or services to customers in amounts reflecting
the payment to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange
for those goods or services. ASC 606 requires the Company to apply
the following steps:
 
(1)
identify the contract with the customer; (2) identify the
performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the
transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the
performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognize revenue
when, or as, performance obligations are satisfied.
 
The
following represents the Company’s revenue recognition
policies by Segments:
 
 
68
 
 
Property Development
 
Property Sales
 
The
Company's main business is land development. The Company purchases
land and develops it for building into residential communities. The
developed lots are sold to builders (customers) for the
construction of new homes. The builders enter a sales contract with
the Company before they take the lots. The prices and timeline are
determined and agreed upon in the contract. The builders do the
inspections to make sure all conditions and requirements in
contracts are met before purchasing the lots. A detailed breakdown
of the five-step process for the revenue recognition of the
Ballenger and Black Oak projects, which represented approximately
84% and 94%, respectively, of the Company’s revenue in the
years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, is as
follows: 
  
●
Identify
the contract with a customer.
 
The
Company has signed agreements with the builders for developing the
raw land to ready to build lots. The agreements have agreed upon
prices, timelines, and specifications for what is to be
provided.
 
●
Identify
the performance obligations in the contract.
 
Performance
obligations of the Company include delivering developed lots to the
customer, which are required to meet certain specifications that
are outlined in the contract. The customer inspects all lots prior
to accepting title to ensure all specifications are
met.
 
 ●
Determine
the transaction price.
 
The
transaction price per lot is fixed and specified in the contract.
Any subsequent change orders or price changes are required to be
approved by both parties.
 
●
Allocate
the transaction price to performance obligations in the
contract.
 
Each
lot or a group of lots is considered to be a separate performance
obligation, for which the specified price in the contract is
allocated to.
 
●
Recognize
revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance
obligation.
 
The
builders do the inspections to make sure all
conditions/requirements are met before taking title of lots. The
Company recognizes revenue at a point in time when title is
transferred. The Company does not have further performance
obligations or continuing involvement once title is
transferred.
 
 
69
 
 
Sale of the Front Foot Benefit Assessments
 
We have
established a front foot benefit (“FFB”) assessment on
all of the NVR lots. This is a 30-year annual assessment allowed in
Frederick County which requires homeowners to reimburse the
developer for the costs of installing public water and sewer to the
lots. These assessments become effective as homes are settled, at
which time we can sell the collection rights to investors who will
pay an upfront lump sum, enabling us to more quickly realize the
revenue. The selling prices range from $3,000 to $4,500 per home
depending on the type of home. Our total revenue from the front
foot benefit assessment is approximately $1 million. To recognize
revenue of FFB assessment, both our and NVR’s performance
obligation have to be satisfied. Our performance obligation is
completed once we complete the construction of water and sewer
facility and close the lot sales with NVR, which inspects these
water and sewer facility prior to close lot sales to ensure all
specifications are met. NVR’s performance obligation is to
sell homes they build to homeowners. Our FFB revenue is recognized
on quarterly basis after NVR closes sales of homes to homeowners.
The agreement with these FFB investors is not subject to amendment
by regulatory agencies and thus our revenue from FFB assessment is
not either. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we
recognized revenue of $273,620 and $548,457 from FFB assessment,
respectively.
 
Cost of Sales
 
Land
acquisition costs are allocated to each lot based on the area
method, the size of the lot comparing to the total size of all lots
in the project. Development costs and capitalized interest are
allocated to lots sold based on the total expected development and
interest costs of the completed project and allocating a percentage
of those costs based on the selling price of the sold lot compared
to the expected sales values of all lots in the
project. 
 
If the
allocation of development costs and capitalized interest based on
the projection and relative expected sales value is impracticable,
those costs could also be allocated based on area method, the size
of the lot comparing to the total size of all lots in the
project. 
 
Biohealth
 
Product Direct Sales
 
The
Company’s net sales consist of product sales. The Company's
performance obligation is to transfer its products to its
third-party independent distributors (“Distributors”).
The Company generally recognizes revenue when product is shipped to
its Distributors. 
 
The
Company’s Distributors may receive distributor allowances,
which are comprised of discounts, rebates and wholesale commission
payments from the Company. Distributor allowances resulting from
the Company’s sales of its products to its Distributors are
recorded against net sales because the distributor allowances
represent discounts from the suggested retail price.
 
In
addition to distributor allowances, the Company compensates its
sales leader Distributors with leadership incentives for services
rendered, relating to the development, retention, and management of
their sales organizations. Leadership Incentives are payable based
on achieved sales volume, which are recorded in general and
administrative expenses. The Company recognizes revenue when it
ships products. The Company receives the net sales price in cash or
through credit card payments at the point of
sale. 
 
If a
Distributor returns a product to the Company on a timely basis,
they may obtain a replacement product from the Company for such
returned products. In addition, the Company maintains a buyback
program pursuant to which it will repurchase products sold to a
Distributor who has decided to leave the business. Allowances for
product returns, primarily in connection with the Company’s
buyback program, are provided at the time the sale is recorded.
This accrual is based upon historical return rates for each country
and the relevant return pattern, which reflects anticipated returns
to be received over a period of up to 12 months following the
original sale. 
 
 
70
 
 
Annual Membership
 
The
Company collects an annual membership fee from its Distributors.
The fee is fixed, paid in full at the time joining the membership
and non-refundable. The membership provides the member access to
purchase products at a discount, use to certain back office
services, receive commissions for signing up new members, and
attend corporate events. The Company recognizes revenue associated
with the membership over the period of the membership. Before the
membership fee is recognized as revenue, it is recorded as deferred
revenue. Deferred revenue relating to membership was
$2,867,226 and $258,594 at December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively.
 
Shipping and Handling
 
Shipping
and handling services relating to product sales are recognized as
fulfillment activities. Shipping and handling expenses were $54,902
and $183,528 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019,
respectively. Shipping and handling costs paid by the Company
are included in general and administrative
expenses. 
 
Other Businesses
 
Mutual Fund Management Service Income
 
Revenue
is recognized when (or as) the Company performs services to its
customers in amounts that reflect the consideration to which the
Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services,
which occurs when (or as) the Company satisfies its contractual
obligations and performs services to its
customers. 
 
The
Company generates revenue from providing management services for
mutual fund customers. In respect to the provision of services, the
agreements are less than one year with a cancellable clause and
customers are typically billed on a monthly
basis. 
 
During
the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized
revenue of $0 and $31,209, respectively.
 
Remaining performance obligations
 
As of
December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no remaining performance
obligations or continuing involvement, as all service obligations
within the other business activities segment have been
completed. 
 
Stock-Based Compensation
 
The
Company accounts for stock-based compensation to employees in
accordance with ASC 718, “Compensation-Stock
Compensation”. ASC 718 requires companies to measure the cost
of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity
instruments, including stock options, based on the grant date fair
value of the award and to recognize it as compensation expense over
the period the employee is required to provide service in exchange
for the award, usually the vesting period. Stock option forfeitures
are recognized at the date of employee termination. Effective
January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2018-07 for the accounting
of share-based payments granted to non-employees for goods and
services. During the years ended on December 31, 2020 and 2019, the
Company recorded $1,564,376 and $0 as stock-based compensation
expense.
 
 
71
 
 
Advertising
 
Costs
incurred for advertising for the Company are charged to operations
as incurred. Advertising expenses for the years ended December 31,
2020 and 2019 were $3,829 and $165,850,
respectively. 
 
Foreign Currency
 
Functional and reporting currency
 
Items
included in the financial statements of each entity in the Company
are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment
in which the entity operates (“functional currency”).
The financial statements of the Company are presented in U.S.
dollars (the “reporting currency”).
 
The
functional and reporting currency of the Company is the United
States dollar (“U.S. dollar”). The financial records of
the Company’s subsidiaries located in Singapore, Hong Kong,
Australia and South Korea are maintained in their local currencies,
the Singapore Dollar (S$), Hong Kong Dollar (HK$), Australian
Dollar (“AUD”) and South Korean Won
(“KRW”), which are also the functional currencies of
these entities. 
 
Transactions in foreign currencies
 
Transactions
in currencies other than the functional currency during the year
are converted into functional currency at the applicable rates of
exchange prevailing when the transactions occurred. Transaction
gains and losses are recognized in the statement of
operations. 
 
The
majority of the Company’s foreign currency transaction gains
or losses come from the effects of foreign exchange rate changes on
the intercompany loans between Singapore entities and U.S.
entities. The Company recorded $354,392 loss on foreign exchange
during the year ended on December 31, 2020 and a $341,415 loss
during the year ended on December 31, 2019. The foreign currency
transactional gains and losses are recorded in
operations.
  
Translation of consolidated entities’ financial
statements
 
Monetary
assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the
functional currency are translated into the functional currency at
the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. The
Company’s entities with functional currency of Singapore
Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, AUD and KRW, translate their operating
results and financial positions into the U.S. dollar, the
Company’s reporting currency. Assets and liabilities are
translated using the exchange rates in effect on the balance sheet
date. Revenue, expense, gains and losses are translated using the
average rate for the year. Translation adjustments are reported as
cumulative translation adjustments and are shown as a separate
component of comprehensive income (loss). 
 
For the
year ended on December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded
other comprehensive income from foreign currency translation of
$1,148,898 and $10,029, respectively, in accumulated other
comprehensive loss. 
 
Income Taxes
 
US Income Taxes
 
Income
tax expense represents the sum of the current tax expense and
deferred tax expense.
 
Income
tax for current and prior periods is recognized at the amount
expected to be paid to or recovered from the tax authorities, using
the tax rates and tax laws that have been enacted or substantially
enacted by the balance sheet date.
 
 
72
 
 
Deferred
income tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on
temporary differences at the balance sheet date between the tax
bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the
financial statements.
 
Deferred
tax assets and liabilities are recognized for all temporary
differences, except:
 
●
Where the deferred tax arises from the initial recognition of an
asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business
combination and at the time of the transaction affects neither the
accounting profit nor taxable profit or loss.
 
●
In respect of temporary differences associated with investments in
subsidiaries, where the timing of the reversal of the temporary
differences can be determined and it is probable that the temporary
differences will not reverse in the foreseeable future;
and
 
●
In respect of deductible temporary differences and carry-forward of
unutilized tax losses, if it is not probable that taxable profits
will be available against which those deductible temporary
differences and carry-forward of unutilized tax losses can be
utilized.
 
The
carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance
sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable
that sufficient taxable profit will be available to allow all or
part of the deferred tax asset to be utilized. Unrecognized
deferred tax assets are reassessed at each balance sheet date and
are recognized to the extent that it has become probable that
future taxable profit will allow the deferred tax asset to be
utilized.
 
Deferred
tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax rates that are
expected to apply to the year when the asset is realized or the
liability is settled, based on tax rates and tax laws that have
been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet
date.
 
Current
and deferred income tax are recognized as income or expense in the
profit or loss, except to the extent that the tax arises from a
business combination or a transaction which is recognized either in
other comprehensive income or directly in equity. Deferred tax
arising from a business combination is adjusted against goodwill on
acquisition.
 
Deferred
tax assets and liabilities are offset if there is a legally
enforceable right to offset current tax liabilities and assets and
they relate to income taxes levied by the same tax authorities on
the same taxable entity, or on different tax entities, provided
they intend to settle current tax liabilities and assets on a net
basis or their tax assets and liabilities will be realized
simultaneously.
 
Deferred
income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the
estimated future tax effects of net operating loss and credit
carry-forwards and temporary differences between the tax basis of
assets and liabilities and their respective financial reporting
amounts measured at the current enacted tax rates. The differences
relate primarily to net operating loss carryforward from date of
acquisition and to the use of the cash basis of accounting for
income tax purposes. The Company records an estimated valuation
allowance on its deferred income tax assets if it is more likely
than not that these deferred income tax assets will not be
realized.
 
The
Company recognizes a tax benefit from an uncertain tax position
only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be
sustained on examination by taxing authorities, based on the
technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in
the consolidated financial statements from such a position are
measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50%
likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The Company
has not recorded any unrecognized tax benefits.
 
The
Company’s 2020, 2019 and 2018 tax returns remain open to
examination.
 
Income Taxes in other countries
 
Significant
judgement is involved in determining the income taxes mainly in
Singapore. There are certain transactions and computations for
which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain during the
ordinary course of business. The Company recognizes liabilities for
expected tax liabilities based on estimates of whether additional
taxes will be due. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is
different from the amounts that were initially recognized, such
differences will impact the income tax and deferred tax provisions
in the period in which such determination is made.
 
 
73
 
 
Earnings (loss) per Share
 
The
Company presents basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share data
for its common shares. Basic earnings (loss) per share is
calculated by dividing the profit or loss attributable to common
stock shareholders of the Company by the weighted-average number of
common shares outstanding during the year, adjusted for treasury
shares held by the Company.
 
Diluted
earnings (loss) per share is determined by adjusting the profit or
loss attributable to common stock shareholders and the
weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, adjusted for
treasury shares held, for the effects of all dilutive potential
ordinary shares, which comprise convertible securities, such as
stock options, convertible bonds and warrants. Due to the limited
operations of the Company, there are no potentially dilutive
securities outstanding during years ended December 31, 2020 and
2019. 
 
Fair Value Measurements
 
ASC
820, Fair Value Measurement and
Disclosures , defines fair value as the exchange price that
would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an
exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the
asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market
participants on the measurement date. This topic also establishes a
fair value hierarchy which requires classification based on
observable and unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. There
are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair
value:
 
Level
1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in an
active market for identical assets or liabilities.
 
Level
2: Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, either
directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar
assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for
identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not
active.
 
Level
3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market
activity; therefore, the inputs are developed by the Company using
estimates and assumptions that the Company expects a market
participant would use, including pricing models, discounted cash
flow methodologies, or similar techniques.
 
The
carrying value of the Company’s financial instruments,
including cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable and
accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value
because of the short-term maturity of these financial instruments.
The liabilities in connection with the conversion and make-whole
features included within certain of the Company’s convertible
notes payable and warrants are each classified as a level 3
liability.
 
Non-controlling Interests
 
Non-controlling
interests represent the equity in subsidiary not attributable,
directly or indirectly, to shareholders of the Company, and are
presented separately in the Consolidated
Statements of Operation and Other Comprehensive Loss , and
within equity in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, separately from
equity attributable to shareholders of the
Company. 
 
On
December 31, 2020 and 2019, the aggregate non-controlling interests
in the Company were $37,622,517 and $6,975,459
respectively. 
 
Impairment of Long-lived Assets
 
Our policy is to obtain an independent third-party valuation for
each major project in the United States to identify triggering
events for impairment. Our management may use a market comparison
method to value other relatively small projects, such as the
project in Perth, Australia. In addition to the annual assessment
of potential triggering events in accordance with ASC 360 –
Property Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360”), we apply a
fair value based impairment test to the net book value assets on an
annual basis and on an interim basis if certain events or
circumstances indicate that an impairment loss may have
occurred.
 
 
74
 
 
On October 12, 2018, 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. entered into an
Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement for 124 lots.
Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Purchase and Sale Agreement,
the purchase price remained $6,175,000. 150 CCM Black Oak, Ltd. was
required to meet certain closing conditions and the timing for the
closing was extended. On
January 18, 2019, the sale of 124 lots at our Black Oak project in
Magnolia, Texas was completed. After allocating costs of revenue to
this sale, we incurred a loss of approximately $1.5 million from
this sale and recognized a real estate impairment of approximately
$1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. On June 30,
2019, the Company recorded approximately $3.9 million of impairment
on the Black Oak project based on discounted estimated future cash
flows after updating the projection of market value of the project.
On December 31, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $1.3
million of additional impairment on the Black Oak project based on
discounted estimated future cash flows after updating the projected
cost of the project.
 
Capitalized Financing Costs
 
Financing costs, such as loan origination fee, administration fee,
interests and other related financing costs, should be capitalized
and recorded on the balan
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