Xinyuan Real Estate Co (XIN) Risk Analysis

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time, and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against our directors and us, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and provide significantly less protection to investors. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States. In mergers and consolidations where the merged company or consolidated company will continue to be a Cayman Islands entity, dissenting shareholders have the right to be paid the fair value of their shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands courts) if they follow required procedures, subject to certain exceptions. However, they may not be comparable to the appraisal rights that would ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of a U.S. company. As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests through actions against our management, directors or major shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States.

Holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the underlying common shares represented by our ADSs on an individual basis. Holders of our ADSs appoint the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the common shares represented by the ADSs. Holders of ADSs may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that you, or persons, who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote. As soon as practicable after the depositary receives from us a notice of a shareholders' meeting, the depositary will distribute to registered holders of ADSs a notice stating (a) such information as is contained in such notice and any solicitation materials, (b) that each registered holder on the record date set for such purpose will, subject to any applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law, be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, and (c) the manner in which such instructions may be given, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us. The depositary will not itself exercise any voting discretion in respect of any common shares nor will it provide any instructions with respect to the common shares represented by any ADSs for which voting instructions were not timely and properly received. There can be no guarantee that registered holders of ADSs will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable them to return any voting instructions to the depositary in a timely manner. To the extent you hold your ADSs through a bank, broker or other nominee, you will be relying upon such institutions with respect to voting matters.

Our ADSs are listed on the NYSE. The NYSE corporate governance listing standards permit a foreign private issuer, like us, to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the NYSE corporate governance listing standards. For example, Cayman Islands does not require us to comply with the following corporate governance listing standards of the NYSE: - having the majority of our board of directors composed of independent directors;- having a minimum of three members in our audit committee;- holding annual shareholders' meetings;- having a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors;- having a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors; and - requiring members of the audit committee to satisfy certain independence criteria in addition to those of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act;- requiring shareholders to approve the adoption or material revision of any equity compensation plan; and - requiring shareholders to approve certain issuances of our equity securities. We are currently following home country practice on the requirements described above. Accordingly, the majority of our board of directors is composed of management or former management directors. Each of our compensation committee and governance and nominating committee include non-independent directors. In addition, we are not required to put forward for a shareholder vote new equity plans or change to existing equity plans or other significant share issuance. For a more detailed discussion of the ways in which our corporate governance differs from that of a U.S. domestic company listed on the NYSE, see "Item 16G. Corporate Governance." As a result of our use of the "home country practice" exception from the NYSE corporate governance rules, you do not have same shareholder protections as you would if we were a U.S. domestic public company or if we complied fully with the corporate governance listing standards.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to United States domestic issuers, including: - the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current report on Form 8-K;- the section of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;- the section of the Exchange Act requiring directors, officers and 10% holders to file public reporting of their stock ownership and trading activities and imposing liability on insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;- the selective disclosure rules under Regulation FD restricting issuers from selectively disclosing material nonpublic information. Accordingly, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC is less extensive and less frequent compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers.

As of December 31, 2023, Mr. Yong Zhang, Chairman of our board of directors, and Ms. Yuyan Yang, also a board member, beneficially owned 27.75% and 25.30%, respectively of our share capital. Accordingly, they each have substantial influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. This concentration of ownership by our major shareholders may result in actions being taken even if opposed by our other shareholders. In addition, it may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our ADSs.

We record our real estate properties projects, completed and under development, at the lower of carrying amounts or fair value less selling costs. In accordance with ASC 360, "Property, Plant and Equipment," real estate property projects, completed and under development, are subject to valuation adjustments when the carrying amount exceeds fair value. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of the assets is not recoverable and exceeds fair value. The carrying amount is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. We have not recognized any fair value losses from our real estate properties projects, completed and under development. If the projected profitability of a given project deteriorates due to a decline in the pace of unit sales, a decline in selling prices, or some other factor, such project is reviewed for possible impairment by comparing the estimated future undiscounted cash flows for the project to its carrying value. If the estimated future undiscounted cash flows are less than the project's carrying value, the project is written down to its estimated fair value. If business conditions deteriorate, there is a potential risk that impairment charges will be recorded, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operation.

We are a holding company established in the Cayman Islands; we operate most of our business and operations through our subsidiaries in China. Our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders and to service our indebtedness outside of China depends significantly upon dividends that we receive from our subsidiaries in China. To the extent our U.S., Malaysia and U.K. operations continue to grow, we may in the future also depend on dividends from our U.S., Malaysia, or U.K. subsidiaries. If our subsidiaries incur indebtedness or losses, such indebtedness or losses may impair their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us. As a result, our ability to pay dividends and to service our indebtedness will be restricted. Regulations in China currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated after-tax profits upon satisfaction of relevant statutory conditions and procedures, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. Each of our PRC subsidiaries, including wholly foreign-owned enterprises and domestic companies, is required to set aside at least 10.0% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50.0% of its respective registered capital and, with the approval of a shareholder meeting or general shareholder meeting, a PRC subsidiary may set aside a certain amount of after-tax profits to its discretionary general reserves. As of December 31, 2023, our statutory reserves amounted to US$179.8 million. Our statutory reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Dividends paid by the PRC subsidiaries may also be subject to PRC withholding tax. In addition, restrictive covenants in bank credit facilities, bonds, other long-term debt agreements, joint venture agreements or other agreements that we or our subsidiaries currently have or may enter into in the future may also restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us and our ability to receive distributions. Therefore, these restrictions on the availability and usage of our major source of funding may impact our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders and to service our indebtedness.

We derive the majority of our revenue from the sale of properties that we have developed. Our results of operations tend to fluctuate from period to period due to a combination of factors, including the overall schedule of our property development projects, the timing of the sale of properties that we have developed, the size of our land bank, our revenue recognition policies and changes in costs and expenses, such as land acquisition and construction costs. The number of properties that we can develop or complete during any particular period is limited due to the size of our land bank, the substantial capital required for land acquisition and construction, as well as the development periods required before positive cash flows may be generated. For real estate sales contracts for which we have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date, revenue is recognized over time by measuring the progress towards complete satisfaction of that performance obligation. Otherwise, revenue is recognized at a point in time when the customer obtains control of the asset. In addition, several properties that we have developed or that are under development are large scale and developed in multiple phases over the course of one to several years. The selling prices of the residential units in larger-scale property developments tend to change over time, which may impact our sales proceeds and, accordingly, our revenue for any given period. Furthermore, our property development projects may be delayed or adversely affected by a combination of factors beyond our control, which may in turn adversely affect our revenue recognition and consequently our cash flows or results of operations. As a result of the fluctuations in our operating results, our period-to-period comparisons of results of operations and cash flow positions may not be indicative of our future results of operations and may not be taken as meaningful measures of our financial performance for any specific period.

As of December 31, 2023, our short-term bank loans and other debt, and current portion of long-term bank loans and other debt amounted to US$1,957.2 million. We did not make payments in full for the June 2022 Senior Secured Notes (as defined below) at maturity on June 29, 2022. The total amount due and payable, including principal and interests, was RMB545.3 million. The default also triggered cross-default of other senior notes issued by us. On August 18, 2023, eligible holders of the defaulted senior notes in the aggregate principal amount of US$307.36 million exchanged their notes and the Company delivered the September 2027 Senior Secured Notes in the aggregate principal amount of US$331.3 million due on September 30, 2027 and US$1.54 million in cash consideration in full satisfaction of the exchange consideration to those eligible holders. The carrying amount of senior notes still in default was US$393.0 million as at December 31, 2023. We also breached certain covenants relating to bank and other borrowings of US$614.0 million as of December 31, 2023. See "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects-B. Liquidity and Capital Resources-Debt Securities-Senior Secured Notes." We are currently exploring a variety of measures to maintain and improve our liquidity and financial position. We have been proactively making effort to resolve debts both from domestic and foreign institutions since June 2022 and have engaged Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance Limited to advise on certain debt matters. We have reached or agreed into resolution or settlement with institutions through various approaches. As of December 31, 2023, we had accumulatively completed debt restructurings amounting to USD$880.6 million, including the rollover of the onshore corporate bonds issued by Xinyuan China, and an exchange offer of the senior secured notes issued by the Company completed in August 2023. The total restructuring amount mentioned above accounts for approximately 45% of the total outstanding balance of our interest-bearing debts. The average maturity extended is around 3 years. The interest saving contributes around RMB350 million annually. However, there is no assurance as to whether such debt restructuring may be completed or successful. If we cannot work out successfully complete such debt restructuring, we may not be able to maintain our liquidity and continue our normal business operation. Even if we successfully enter into arrangements to restructure or resolve our debt, it is possible that our existing creditors and potential financing providers may impose additional conditions, increase interest rates and demand payment of extension fees or penalties in connection with such arrangements, leaving little or no value for our shareholders.

Our property development business is capital intensive. To date, we have funded our operations primarily through bank borrowings, proceeds from sales and pre-sale of our properties and proceeds from issuance of equity and debt securities. We obtain commercial bank financing for our projects through credit lines extended on a case-by-case basis. Our ability to secure sufficient financing for land use rights acquisition and property development and repayment of our existing onshore and offshore debt obligations depends on a number of factors that are beyond our control, including lenders' perceptions of our creditworthiness, sufficiency of collateral, if any, market conditions in the capital markets, investors' perception of our securities, the PRC economy and PRC government regulations that affect the availability and cost of financing for real estate companies or property purchasers. Since 2003, PRC commercial banks have been prohibited, under the guidelines of the PBOC, from advancing loans to fund the payment of land use rights. We generate significant cash flow through pre-sale, which are subject to government restrictions. In particular, PRC regulations on the pre-sale of properties generally provide that the proceeds from the pre-sale of a real estate project may only be used for the construction of such project. Any additional potential government restrictions on pre-sale could significantly increase our financing needs. Moreover, our ability to move cash through inter-company transfers or transfer funds from onshore subsidiaries to our offshore parent company is limited by PRC government regulations, which limits our ability to use excess cash resources in one subsidiary to fund the obligations of another subsidiary or our offshore parent company. In addition, reserve requirement applicable to PRC commercial banks generally limits, and any increases in such reserve requirements could further limit, the amount of commercial bank credit available to businesses in China, including us. Furthermore, various other PRC regulations restrict our ability to raise capital through external financing and other methods, including, without limitation, the following: - we cannot borrow from a PRC bank for a particular project if we do not have the land use rights certificate for that project;- we cannot pre-sell uncompleted residential units in a project prior to achieving certain development milestones specified in related regulations;- we cannot borrow from a PRC bank for a particular project unless we fund at least 35% of the total investment amount of that project from our own capital;- property developers are strictly restricted from using the proceeds from a loan obtained from a local bank to fund property developments outside the region where that bank is located; and - PRC banks are prohibited from accepting properties that have been vacant for more than three years as collateral for loans. On February 13, 2017, the Asset Management Association of China issued the Administrative Rules for the Filing of Private Equity and Asset Management Plans by Securities and Futures Institutions No. 4-Investment in Real Estate Developers and Projects by Private Equity and Asset Management Plans, or "Rule 4." Rule 4 provides that the Asset Management Association of China will temporarily suspend accepting any private equity and asset management plan which makes a direct or indirect investment in any ordinary residential property project located in specified cities where the property prices are considered to have risen too fast, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Jinan and Chengdu, where the Company operates. In addition, a private equity and asset management plan may not be used to finance any real estate developer, whether in the form of bank entrusted loans, trust plans or transfers of beneficial interests in assets, for the purpose of acquiring land use rights or supplementing working capital. On August 20, 2020, PBOC and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, or the "MOHURD," jointly held a conference with 12 major real estate development companies in China. At the conference, PBOC and MOHURD proposed a pilot plan to regulate the financing activity of real estate development companies. The pilot plan sets three goals for real estate development companies: the debt asset ratio will not exceed 70% after deducting advance proceeds from projects sold; net debt to equity ratio will not exceed 100%; and the ratio of balance of cash and cash equivalent to short-term borrowings will be at least 1. Based on the number of goals completed, the upper limit of annual growth rate of interest-bearing liabilities of a real estate development company varies from 5% to 15%. The pilot plan was supposed to become a formal policy in 2021; nevertheless, the governmental authority has not issued any relevant regulations or policies. On December 31, 2020, PBOC and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, or "CBIRC", collectively issued the Notice on the Establishment of a Concentration Administration System for Real Estate Loans from Banking Financial Institutions, or the "2021 Notice", which took effect on January 1, 2021. The 2021 Notice divides all Chinese-funded banks into five (5) levels and sets different limitation on banks in different levels to provide real estate loans. For example, the amount of outstanding real estate loans of a bank in Level 1 must not account for more than 40% of its total outstanding RMB loans, while the amount of outstanding real estate loans of a bank in Level 5 must not account for more than 12.5% of its total outstanding loans denominated in RMB. While the PRC government has adopted or adjusted the measures mentioned above and may adopt or adjust other measures in the future seeking to support the healthy development of the residential real estate market in China, the government policies significantly impacted the residential real estate market in the past few years. For example, a few real estate developers, such as China Evergrande Group, Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., Yango Group Co. and us, have experienced decreasing transaction volumes in the Chinese residential real estate market, closing of certain financing opportunities and significant challenges and pressure on short-term liquidity in 2021. The crisis has also led to notable bankruptcies, with China's largest developer, Country Garden, causing investor concerns about potential loan defaults. China Evergrande filed for U.S. bankruptcy in August 2023 while restructuring its debt, having defaulted on a massive $300 billion debt in 2021; it was ordered to liquidate by Hong Kong High Court in January 2024. We cannot assure you that the PRC government will not adopt additional and more stringent industry policies, regulations and measures in the future, nor can we assure you when or whether the existing policies and regulations will be eased or reversed, or otherwise enhanced to some extent in their implementations. If the policies remain unchanged or become more restrictive, they may continue affecting the growth rate of the Chinese residential real estate market, some of which may cause a decline in transaction volumes and average selling prices, prevent developers from raising the capital they need, increase developers' costs to start new projects and increase the burdens on developers to secure financing on favorable terms or at all. In addition, the slowdown of China's economic growth as well as the housing market may result in the banks and other financial institutions becoming more cautious in their lending activities, and therefore adversely impact our ability to secure financing. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In the United States, we currently have three development projects in the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens boroughs of New York City. Pre-sale proceeds (i.e., deposits and other sales proceeds received before the conveyance of title to the buyer) cannot be used to finance project construction under local laws and regulations applicable to the New York projects, so we are financing their development through internal funds and bank loans, causing us to utilize more of our own funds to undertake larger construction debt obligations and to bear higher borrowing costs. In January 2024, two of our subsidiaries in the United States filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code. See "Item 8. Financial Information-A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information-Legal Proceedings." As of December 31, 2023, our contractual obligations amounted to US$3,305.1 million, primarily arising from contracted construction costs or other capital commitments for future property developments, operating lease obligations and debt obligations. Of this amount, US$1,939.8 million was due within one year. There can be no assurance that our internally generated cash flow and external financing will be sufficient for us to meet our contractual and financing obligations in a timely manner. Due to the current measures imposed by the PRC government (as well as other measures that may be imposed in the future) which limit our access to additional capital, as well as restrictions imposed on our conduct under existing debt arrangements, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain sufficient funding to finance intended purchases of land and land use rights, develop future projects or meet other capital needs as and when required at a commercially reasonable cost or at all. Our failure to obtain adequate financing in a timely manner and on reasonable terms could severely adversely restrict our ability to complete existing projects, expand our business or repay our obligations and affect our cash flow, liquidity, financial performance and condition.

We are subject to certain restrictive covenants in our loan agreements with certain commercial banks. Certain loan agreements contain covenants providing that, among other matters, we or our relevant PRC operating subsidiaries may not enter into mergers, joint ventures or restructurings, decrease our registered share capital, transfer material assets, including shares of subsidiaries, engage in material investments, liquidate, change our shareholding, or distribute dividends without the relevant lenders' prior written consent or unless we fully settle the outstanding amounts under the relevant loan agreements. In addition, certain of our loan agreements contain cross-default clauses. If any cross-default occurs, these banks are entitled to accelerate payment of all or any part of the loan under their relevant loan agreements and to enforce all or any of the security for such loans. Further, the onshore corporate bonds issued by Xinyuan (China) Real Estate, Ltd., or "Xinyuan China", our wholly-owned PRC subsidiary, contain restrictions on certain business activities of Xinyuan China when in default on payment of interest or principal, including, among others, limitations on distributions of net income, limitations on certain expenditures, or business combination transactions. Our future bank and other borrowings may contain similar restrictions or cross-default provisions. Our outstanding debt securities also contain certain covenants that restrict our ability to take other corporate actions. The indentures governing our senior secured notes contain covenants that, among other things, restrict our ability and our restricted subsidiaries' abilities (as defined in the relevant indenture) to incur additional debt or issue preferred stock, to make certain payments or investments, to pay dividends, to purchase or redeem capital stock, sell assets, or make certain other payments, subject to certain qualifications and exemptions and satisfaction of certain conditions. As a result of any such covenants in current or future financing documents, our ability to pay dividends or other distributions on our common shares and ADSs may be limited. Such covenants may also restrict our ability to raise additional capital in the future through bank borrowings, mortgage financings, and debt and equity issuances and may restrict our ability to engage in some transactions that we believe to be of benefit to us. The occurrence of any of the above events may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results, as well as cash flow and cash that is available for distributions. In addition, our obligations under our senior secured notes are guaranteed by various of our subsidiaries, and the guarantee by our wholly-owned subsidiary, Xinyuan Real Estate, Ltd., which indirectly holds all our assets and operations in China, is secured by a pledge of our shares of the other guarantor subsidiaries subject to limited exceptions. If we default under any of the senior secured notes, the holders thereof may enforce their claims against those shares. In such an event, the holders of the notes could gain ownership of the shares of Xinyuan Real Estate, Ltd., and, as a result, own and control all our subsidiaries in China. We conduct substantially all of our operations in China, and if we default under any of the notes, we could lose control or ownership of our assets and operations in China.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time, or from time to time, when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books, or the books of the depositary, are closed, or at any time if we, or the depositary, deem it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

We pre-sell properties before actual completion and, in accordance with PRC industry practice, our customers' mortgage banks require us to guarantee our customers' mortgage loans. Typically, we provide guarantees to PRC banks with respect to loans procured by the purchasers of our properties for the total mortgage loan amount until the completion of the registration of the mortgage with the relevant mortgage registration authorities, which generally occurs within six to 12 months after the purchasers take possession of the relevant properties. In line with what we believe to be industry practice, we rely on the credit evaluation conducted by mortgagee banks and do not conduct our own independent credit checks on our customers. The mortgagee banks typically require us to maintain, as restricted cash, up to 10% of the mortgage proceeds paid to us as security for our obligations under such guarantees. If a purchaser defaults on its payment obligations during the term of our guarantee, the mortgagee bank may deduct the delinquent mortgage payment from the security deposit. If the delinquent mortgage payments exceed the security deposit, the banks may require us to pay the excess amount. If multiple purchasers' default on their payment obligations, we will be required to make significant payments to the banks to satisfy our guarantee obligations. Factors such as a significant decrease in housing prices, increase in interest rates or the occurrence of natural catastrophes, among others, could result in a purchaser defaulting on its mortgage payment obligations. If we are unable to resell the properties underlying defaulted mortgages on a timely basis or at prices higher than the amounts of our guarantees and related expenses, we will suffer financial losses. We paid US$3,723,398, US$4,068,840 and US$2,286,938 to satisfy guarantee obligations related to customer defaults in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, our outstanding guarantees in respect of our customers' mortgage loans amounted to US$2,110.5 million and US$1,926.4 million, respectively. If substantial defaults by our customers occur and we are called upon to honor our guarantees, our financial condition, cash flow and results of operations will be materially adversely affected.

As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balance of our total indebtedness amounted to US$1,957.2 million. Our level of indebtedness could have an adverse effect on us. For example, it could: - require us to dedicate a large portion of our cash flow from operations as well as the proceeds from certain financings and asset dispositions to fund payments of our debt, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;- make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations under our debt securities and other indebtedness;- increase our vulnerability to adverse general economic or industry conditions;- limit our flexibility in planning for, or relating to, changes in our business or the industry in which we operate;- limit our ability to raise additional debt or equity capital in the future or increase the cost of such funding;- restrict us from making strategic acquisitions, exploring business opportunities or selling assets;- place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to any competitors that have less debt; and - make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt. Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future, which in turn is dependent on various factors. For a discussion of these factors, see "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects - A. Operating Results - Principal Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations."

The rates of interest payable on our PRC long-term bank loans are adjustable based on the range of 92.63% to 189.47% of the PBOC benchmark rate, which fluctuates from time to time. As of December 31, 2023, the principal amount of our aggregate outstanding variable rate debt was US$777.8 million. A hypothetical 1% increase in annual interest rates would increase our interest expenses by US$7.78 million based on our debt level on December 31, 2023. In connection with our U.S. projects and U.K. projects, we enter into U.S. dollar and British pound denominated loans, which will subject us to additional interest rate fluctuation risks, including fluctuations of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, and the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR. For a further discussion of interest rate sensitivity, see "Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk-Interest Rate Risk."

In December 2012, the SEC instituted proceedings under Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) of the SEC's Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act against five PRC-based accounting firms, alleging that these firms had violated U.S. securities laws and the SEC's rules and regulations thereunder by failing to provide to the SEC the firms' work papers related to their audits of certain PRC-based companies that are publicly traded in the United States. Rule 102(e)(1)(iii) grants the SEC the authority to deny to any person, temporarily or permanently, the ability to practice before the SEC who is found by the SEC, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to have willfully violated any such laws or rules and regulations. On January 22, 2014, an initial administrative law decision was issued, censuring these accounting firms and suspending four of the five firms from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. Four of these PRC-based accounting firms appealed to the SEC against this decision and, on February 6, 2015, each of the four PRC-based accounting firms agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC. The firms' ability to continue to serve all their respective clients is not affected by the settlement. The settlement requires the firms to follow detailed procedures to seek to provide the SEC with access to Chinese firms' audit documents via the CRSC. If the firms do not follow these procedures, the SEC could impose penalties such as suspensions, or it could restart the administrative proceedings. Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four PRC-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice for four years after entry of the settlement. The four-year mark occurred on February 6, 2019. We cannot predict if the SEC will further challenge the four PRC-based accounting firms' compliance with the U.S. law in connection with the U.S. regulatory requests for audit work papers or if the results of such challenge would result in the SEC imposing penalties, such as suspensions. In the event that the PRC-based "big four" accounting firms become subject to additional legal challenges by the SEC or PCAOB, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the U.S. with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the "Exchange Act," including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, U.S.-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected. If the auditor of our audit report in our annual report filed with the SEC were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our consolidated financial statements, our consolidated financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to delisting of the ADSs from the NYSE or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of the ADSs in the U.S. In addition, on May 26, 2015, the MOF issued Notice on the Interim Provisions on the Audits Conducted by Accounting Firms concerning the Overseas Listing of Chinese Domestic Companies, or "Circular 9," which became effective on July 1, 2015. In accordance with Circular 9, auditors based outside of China, including our independent registered public accounting firm, are required to cooperate with mainland Chinese auditors with requisite qualifications and enter into written arrangements with mainland Chinese auditors in order to conduct audit work for overseas listed mainland Chinese companies, and auditors based outside of China shall undertake the auditing responsibilities which may be incurred. Hence, our independent registered public accounting firm may need to establish appropriate arrangements with mainland Chinese auditors in order to continue to audit our financial statements, which may be difficult in light of the SEC's administrative proceedings and the settlement described above. If our auditor were unable to have alternate support or cooperation arrangements or otherwise were unable to address issues related to the production of documents in accordance with the settlement order in the SEC proceedings and we were unable to timely find another independent registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to delisting of our ADSs from the NYSE or deregistration from the SEC, or both.

A key aspect of our historical business plan has been to expand our residential property development operations into high-growth cities in China, from our initial focus on Zhengzhou. We plan to expand into new cities as suitable opportunities arise. The development of real estate projects in other cities will impose significant demands on our management and other operational resources. Moreover, we will face additional competition and will need to establish brand recognition and market acceptance for our developments in these new markets. Each city has its unique market conditions, customer requirements and local regulations related to the local real estate industry. If we are unable to successfully develop and sell projects outside of our existing markets, our future growth may be limited and we may not generate adequate returns to cover our investments in these new markets. In addition, if we expand our operations to other cities with higher land prices, our costs may increase, which may lead to a decrease in our profit margin, or impairments resulting from land value decreases.

While our primary focus continues to be residential real estate markets in high-growth cities in China, we have begun expanding into other markets on an opportunistic basis. In the U.S., we currently have two completed projects, one in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn or the "New York Oosten Project" and another one in Manhattan, or the "Hudson Garden Project." We also have an early-stage project in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York. Any change in federal income tax laws that increase the effective costs of owning a home would have an adverse effect on the demand for homes in the United States, which could negatively affect any properties we may develop in the United States. In 2014, we acquired 100% of the shares of a Malaysian company, which owns offshore landfill development rights for a total area of 170 acres (approximately 687,966 square meters). The reclamation work has been completed as of December 31, 2020. In 2018, we acquired a 50% equity stake in Madison Developments Limited, or "MDL," the developer of the Amory Tower project (previously named as the Madison project), a 0.38-hectare (approximately 0.94 acre) development located adjacent to Canary Wharf, in London, United Kingdom. See "Item 4. Information on the Company-B. Business Overview" for more information on our projects outside China. Given our limited experience in markets outside of China market, it may be difficult for us to forecast accurately our future revenue and expenses related to existing and future projects in the United States, the U.K., or Malaysia. Further, locating appropriate future projects in those and other non-China markets and generating future revenue from such projects may require us to expend significant capital and management resources. In addition, we may not be able to develop a successful property development business in any given market. Our ability to develop a successful property developments business in any given market will depend on a number of factors including many outside of our control, such as the status of the country's/region's economy in general and in our target markets, consumer confidence levels, unemployment levels, interest rates and the ability of potential purchasers to obtain mortgage financing.

Our expansion has created, and will continue to place, substantial demand on our resources. Managing our growth and integrating the acquired businesses will require us to, among other things: - comply with the laws, regulations and policies applicable to the acquired businesses, including obtaining timely approval for the real estate construction as required under the PRC law;- maintain adequate control on our business expansion to prevent, among other things, project delays or cost overruns;- manage relationships with employees, customers and business partners during the course of our business expansion;- attract, train and motivate members of our management and qualified workforce to support successful business expansion;- access debt, equity or other capital resources to fund our business expansion, which may divert financial resources otherwise available for other purposes;- divert significant management attention and resources from our other businesses; and - strengthen our operational, financial and management controls, particularly those of our newly acquired subsidiaries, to maintain the reliability of our reporting processes. Any difficulty meeting the foregoing or similar requirements could significantly delay or otherwise constrain our ability to implement our expansion plans or result in failure to achieve the expected benefits of the combination or acquisition or write-offs of acquired assets or investments, which in turn would limit our ability to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs or otherwise strengthen our market position. Failure to obtain the intended economic benefits from the business expansion could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, we may also experience mixed results from our expansion plans in the short term.

As part of our business strategy, we regularly evaluate investments in, or acquisitions of, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and we expect that we will continue to make such investments and acquisitions in the future. Any potential future acquisition may be accompanied by a number of risks, including risks relating to the evolving legal landscape in China. An acquired business may underperform relative to expectations or may expose us to unexpected liabilities. Acquisitions of entities that own real estate may involve risks in addition to the risks inherent in a real estate acquisition, because the acquisition of an entity generally includes all of the liabilities of the entity - known and unknown, fixed and contingent - rather than only the liabilities related to the real estate. These liabilities, which could be material, may include liabilities not disclosed by the seller of the entity or not discovered during our due diligence. In addition, the integration of any acquisition could require substantial management attention and resources. If we were unable to successfully manage the integration and ongoing operations, or hire and retain additional personnel necessary for the running of the expanded business, the results of our operations and financial performance could be adversely affected. Acquisitions may result in the incurrence and inheritance of debts and other liabilities, assumption of potential legal liabilities in respect of the acquired businesses, and incurrence of impairment charges related to goodwill and other intangible assets, any of which could harm our businesses, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, if any of the acquired businesses fails to perform as we expect, we may be required to recognize a significant impairment charge, which may materially and adversely affect our businesses, financial condition and results of operations. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve the strategic purpose of any acquisition, the desired level of operational integration or our investment return target.

Certain portions of our property development projects and investment properties are designated as civil air defense properties. According to the PRC laws and regulations, new buildings constructed in cities should contain basement areas that can be used for civil air defense purposes in times of war. Under the Civil Air Defense Law of the PRC promulgated by the SCNPC on October 29, 1996, as amended on August 27, 2009 and Management Measures for Peacetime Development and Usage of Civil Air Defense Properties promulgated by the House Civil Air Defense Office in November 2001, after obtaining the approval from the civil air defense supervising authority, a developer can manage and use such areas designated as civil air defense properties at other time and generate profits from such use.We had entered into contracts to transfer the right to use civil air defense properties in some of our property development projects to our customers as car parks and we intend to continue such transfer. However, in times of war, such areas may be used by the government at no cost. In the event of war and if the civil air defense area of our projects is used by the public, we may not be able to use such area as car parks, and such area will no longer be a source of our revenue. In addition, while our business operations have complied with the laws and regulations on civil air defense property in all material aspects, we cannot assure you that such laws and regulations will not be amended in the future which may make it more burdensome for us to comply with and increase our compliance cost. The civil air defense areas of our projects are primarily used or to be used for car parks, representing an insignificant portion of our property portfolio.

We depend on the services provided by key management members. Competition for management talent is intense in the property development sector. We rely on the leadership, expertise, experience and vision of our directors and senior management team. In particular, we are highly dependent on Mr. Yong Zhang, our founder and Chairman. We do not maintain key employee insurance. In the event that we lose the services of any key management member, we may be unable to identify and recruit suitable successors in a timely manner or at all, which will adversely affect our business and operations and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. Moreover, we may need to employ and retain more management personnel to support an expansion into high-growth cities on a much larger geographical scale as well as our expansion in the U.S., Malaysia, the U.K. and other areas. If we cannot attract and retain suitable personnel, especially at the management level, our business and future growth will be adversely affected.

We outsource the design and construction of our projects under development to third-party service providers. Our third-party contractors are responsible for providing labor and procuring almost all of the raw materials used in our project developments. Our PRC construction contracts typically provide for fixed or capped payments, but the payments are subject to changes in PRC government-suggested prices for certain raw materials we use, such as steel and cement. In addition, China's overall economy and the average wage in China have increased in recent years and are expected to grow in the near future. The average wage level for the employees has also increased for the past periods. Any increase in raw materials costs, labor costs or other costs which may result in adjustments in payments under any of our construction contracts could result in an increase in our construction costs. In the event that the price of any raw materials, including cement, concrete blocks and bricks, or labor cost increase in the future, such increase could be passed on to us by our contractors, and our construction costs would increase accordingly. Passing such increased costs to our customers may result in reduced sales and delay our ability to complete sales for our projects. Any input cost increase could reduce our earnings to the extent we are unable to pass these increased costs to our customers.

According to the Regulations on the Expropriation and Compensation of Houses on State-owned Land, local PRC governments are responsible for the expropriation and compensation of houses on State-owned land and may authorize entities like us to carry out the expropriation and compensation work. However, in practice, we may be required to pay the corresponding demolition and resettlement costs. If the party subject to expropriation is not satisfied with the compensation, an administrative reconsideration or an administrative action can be brought, which may delay the project. Our practice generally has been to acquire land where demolition of existing properties and resettlement of residents is not required. However, if we were to acquire land where such actions are required, issues in the demolition and resettlement processes may affect our reputation, increase our costs and delay the pre-sale of the relevant project, which may in turn adversely affect our business, financial position and operational performance. To the extent demolition and resettlement are required in any of our future property developments, we may be required to compensate existing residents an amount calculated in accordance with local resettlement compensations standards. These local standards may change from time to time without advance notice. If such compensation standards are changed to increase the compensation we are required to pay, our land acquisition costs may increase, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In respect of projects in which the resettlement costs are borne by us, if we or the local government fail to reach an agreement over the amount of compensation with any existing owner or resident, any party may apply to the relevant authorities for a ruling on the compensation amount. Dissenting owners and residents may also refuse to relocate or even initiate legal proceedings to challenge our land use rights, permits or approvals. Any administrative process, legal proceedings, resistance or refusal to relocate may delay our future project development schedules, and an unfavorable final ruling may result in us paying more than the amount required by the local standards or even losing the relevant certificates, permits or approvals. Any occurrence of the above factors may result in increases in our future development costs or delay the development schedule of the relevant project which can adversely affect our cash flows, financial condition and results of operations.

Political tensions between the United States and China have escalated in recent years due to, among other things,- the trade war between the two countries since 2018;- the COVID-19 pandemic;- the PRC National People's Congress' passage of Hong Kong national security legislation;- the imposition of U.S. sanctions on certain Chinese officials from China's central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the U.S. government, and the imposition of sanctions on certain individuals from the U.S. by the Chinese government;- various executive orders issued by the U.S. government, which include, among others,othe executive order issued in August 2020, as supplemented and amended from time to time, that prohibits certain transactions with ByteDance Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and the respective subsidiaries of such companies named in such executive order;othe executive order issued in January 2021, as supplemented and amended from time to time, that prohibits such transactions as are identified by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce with certain "Chinese connected software applications," including Alipay and WeChat Pay; and - the Rules on Counteracting Unjustified Extra-Territorial Application of Foreign Legislation and Other Measures promulgated by the MOFCOM, on January 9, 2021, which applies to Chinese individuals or entities that are purportedly barred by a foreign country's law from dealing with nationals or entities of a third country. Rising political tensions between China and the U.S. could reduce levels of trade, investment, technological exchanges and other economic activities between the two major economies, which would have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets. The measures taken by the U.S. and Chinese governments may have the effect of restricting our ability to transact or otherwise do business with entities within or outside of China and may cause investors to lose confidence in Chinese companies and counterparties, including us. If we were unable to conduct our business as it is currently conducted as a result of such regulatory changes, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, the U.S. government has imposed measures regarding limiting or restricting China-based companies from accessing U.S. capital markets, and delisting certain China-based companies from U.S. national securities exchanges. In January 2021, after reversing its own delisting decision, the NYSE ultimately resolved to delist China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom in compliance with the executive order issued in November 2020, after receiving additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury and its Office of Foreign Assets Control. In addition, the NYSE announced in February 2021 that it has determined to commence proceedings to delist CNOOC Limited in light of the same executive order. These delistings have introduced greater confusion and uncertainty about the status and prospects of Chinese companies listed on the U.S. stock exchanges. If any further measures were to be implemented, the resulting legislation may have a material and adverse impact on the stock performance of China-based issuers listed in the United States such as us, and we cannot assure you that we will always be able to maintain the listing of our ADSs on a national stock exchange in the U.S., such as the NYSE or the NASDAQ, or that you will always be allowed to trade our ADSs.

The real estate market is sensitive to general economic conditions, financial conditions, including interest rates, availability of capital, employment rates, and other economic and financial conditions in the local market and the broader region or country as well as global economic conditions. Significant downturns and instability in the global economy or in the country and local markets in which we operate or the perception that they could occur, could depress economic activity and restrict our access to capital. In addition, any such events could negatively affect our customers in one or more markets, including their access to financing or willingness to engage in a major financial transaction, such as purchasing a home. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected. In our China markets, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are influenced by social, economic, political and legal developments in China. See "-Risks Related to Doing Business in China-Changes in social conditions, political and economic policies of the PRC government may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and may result in our inability to sustain our growth and expansion strategies." In response to their perceived uncertainty in economic conditions, consumers might delay, reduce or cancel purchases of homes, and our homebuyers may also defer, reduce or cancel purchases of our units. We have experienced volatilities in demand from time to time in the recent years due to the strict mortgage policy and other measures taken by the PRC government to slow down the rapid increase in housing prices. To the extent any fluctuations in the Chinese economy significantly affect homebuyers' demand for our units or change their spending habits, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. The PRC economy also faces challenges in the short to medium term. Continued turbulence in the international markets and prolonged declines in consumer spending, including home purchases, as well as any slowdown of economic growth in China, may adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition. Our U.S. property developments are sensitive to the general economic conditions in the United States and the condition of the U.S. housing market in particular. The U.S. housing industry is highly cyclical and is significantly affected by changes in industry conditions, as well as in global and local economic conditions, such as changes in employment and income levels, availability of financing for buyers, interest rates, levels of new and existing homes for sale demographic, trends and housing demand. Deterioration in industry conditions in the United States or in broader economic conditions could have additional material adverse effects on our business expansion in the United States and financial results. There have been significant changes and proposed changes to the U.S. trade policies, treaties, tariffs and taxes, including trade policies and tariffs regarding China, which have created significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and China, as well as other countries, including with respect to the trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs that could apply to trade with those countries.