o

REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

x

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2011

o

TRANSITIONAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

o

SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

eFuture Information Technology Inc. 8F Topnew Tower 15 Guanghua Road Chaoyang District Beijing 100026, People's Republic of China 86-10-51650988 (Address of principal executive offices)

Troe Wen, Secretary of the Board Telephone: +(86 10) 5165-0988 Email: wenj@e-future.com.cn Facsimile: +(86 10) 5293-7688 8F Topnew Tower, 15 Guanghua Road Chaoyang District Beijing, 100026, People's Republic of China

Title of each class		Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary shares, par value $0.0756 per share		NASDAQ Capital Market

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

As of December 31, 2011, there were 3,977,221 ordinary shares of the Registrant outstanding.

 

 

Large accelerated filer o

Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer x

US GAAP x

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board o

Other o

 

Item 1.	Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers		1
Item 2.	Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable		1
Item 3.	Key Information		1
Item 4.	Information on the Company		13
Item 4A.	Unresolved Staff Comments		26
Item 5.	Operating and Financial Review and Prospects		27
Item 6.	Directors, Senior Management and Employees		43
Item 7.	Major Shareholder and Related Party Transactions		51
Item 8.	Financial Information		52
Item 9.	The Offer and Listing		52
Item 10.	Additional Information		53
Item 11.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk		60
Item 12.	Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities		61
Item 13.	Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies		62
Item 14.	Material Modifications to the Rights of Securities Holders and Use of Proceeds		62
Item 15.	Controls and Procedures		62
Item 16.	[Reserved]		62
Item 16A.	Audit Committee Financial Expert		63
Item 16B.	Code of Ethics		63
Item 16C.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services		63
Item 16D.	Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees		64
Item 16E.	Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers		64
Item 16F.	Change in Registrant's Certifying Accountant		64
Item 16G.	Corporate Governance		64
Item 17.	Financial Statements		65
Item 18.	Financial Statements		65
Item 19.	Exhibits		65

In this Annual Report on Form 20-F, references to "U.S. dollars", "US$" and "$" are to United States dollars, references to "RMB", "renminbi" or "yuan" are to the Chinese Yuan, and, unless the context otherwise requires, references to "eFuture," "we," "us" and "our" refer to eFuture Information Technology Inc., its consolidated subsidiaries and effectively controlled variable interest entities as defined in Part I of this Annual Report.

 

SPECIAL CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The words "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation, those discussed under "Item 3 - Key Information-Risk Factors," "Item 4 - Information on the Company," "Item 5 - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects," and elsewhere in this report, as well as factors which may be identified from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or in the documents where such forward-looking statements appear. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this report reflect our views and assumptions only as of the date this report is signed. Except as required by law, we assume no responsibility for updating any forward-looking statements.

 

Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to "eFuture," "the Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to eFuture Information Technology Inc., our wholly-owned subsidiary, eFuture (Beijing) Royalstone Information Technology Inc. ("eFuture Royalstone" or "eFuture Beijing"), and the effectively controlled three variable interest entities ("VIEs"), Beijing Changshengtiandi Ecommerce Co., Ltd. ("Changshengtiandi"), acquired on January 18, 2011, Beijing Wangku Hutong Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("Wangku"), acquired on May 14, 2008 and disposed on March 13, 2011, and Beijing Fuji Biaoshang Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("Biaoshang" or "bFuture"), acquired on November 6, 2007 and disposed on July 16, 2010.

Item 1.

Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Item 2.

Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Item 3.

Key Information

A.	Selected Consolidated Financial Data

		RMB																US$
		For the Years Ended December 31,																For the Year
																		Ended
																		December 31,
		2007			2008			2009			2010			2011				2011
Total Revenues		¥	84,920,993		¥	129,546,655		¥	108,835,887		¥	151,902,684		¥	174,448,480			$	27,717,072
Income (Loss) From Operations			5,914,486			(6,882,703)			(24,432,621)			(21,732,821)			(19,545,493)				(3,105,466)
Net Loss			(21,526,314)			(4,478,112)			(25,265,497)			(17,323,421)			(18,830,869)				(2,991,924)
Basic Loss Per Share			(8.01)			(1.39)			(7.51)			(4.53)			(4.56)				(0.72)
Diluted Loss Per Share			(8.01)			(1.39)			(7.51)			(4.53)			(4.56)				(0.72)
Net loss from continuing operations			(21,273,215)			(854,598)			(19,887,910)			(17,386,892)			(24,440,221)				(3,883,160)
Basic Loss Per Share from continuing operations			(7.92)			(0.26)			(5.91)			(4.55)			(5.92)				(0.94)
Diluted Loss Per Share from continuing operations			(7.92)			(0.26)			(5.91)			(4.55)			(5.92)				(0.94)

 

		RMB															US$
		As of December 31,															As of December 31,
		2007			2008			2009			2010			2011			2011
Total Assets		¥	208,884,779		¥	242,362,093		¥	231,747,618		¥	241,832,155		¥	220,395,489		$	35,017,317
Total Current Liabilities			(55,822,620)			(96,806,490)			(109,412,183)			(102,375,657)			(93,973,063)			(14,930,816)
Long-term Liabilities			(49,849,390)			(10,595,717)			(7,970,483)			(3,134,677)			(416,298)			(66,143)
Net Assets			103,212,769			134,959,886			114,364,952			136,321,821			126,006,128			20,020,358
Ordinary Shares			1,811,589			2,039,196			2,042,384			2,161,766			2,353,068			373,865
Number of Weighted-average Ordinary Shares			2,687,380			3,214,466			3,362,986			3,822,386			4,130,221			4,130,221

Our business is primarily conducted in China and all of our revenues are denominated in RMB. However, periodic reports made to shareholders will include current period amounts translated into U.S. dollars using the then current exchange rates, for the convenience of the readers. The conversion of RMB into U.S. dollars in this annual financial report is based on the noon buying rate in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual financial report were made at a rate of RMB6.2939 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect as of December 31, 2011. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The government of the People's Republic of China (the "PRC") imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of RMB into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. The Company does not currently engage in currency hedging transactions. The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated.

		Noon Buying Rate
Period		Period-End				Average (1)				Low				High
		(RMB per U.S. dollar)
2007			7.2946				7.6072				7.2946				7.8127
2008			6.8225				6.9477				6.7800				7.2946
2009			6.8259				6.8275				6.8244				6.8299
2010			6.6000				6.7696				6.6000				6.8330
2011			6.2939				6.4475				6.2939				6.6364
December			6.2939				6.3482				6.2939				6.3733
2012
January			6.3080				6.3172				6.2940				6.3330
February			6.2935				6.2997				6.2935				6.3120
March			6.2975				6.3125				6.2975				6.3315
April (through April 20, 2012)			6.3080				6.3052				6.2975				6.3150

 

(1)	Annual averages are calculated using the average of month-end rates of the relevant years. Monthly averages are calculated using the average of the daily rates during the relevant periods.

B.	Capitalization and Indebtedness

 

C.	Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

D.	Risk Factors

You should carefully consider all of the information in this Annual Report and, in particular, the risks outlined below. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our company's share price may be adversely affected by negative investor perceptions of small Chinese companies.

In the last year, many smaller U.S.-listed companies that operate primarily in China have seen the public value of their securities decrease significantly. One factor in such decreases has been the widespread allegation of fraud and unreliable financial reporting. Another factor has been a number of negative research reports published about Chinese companies, sometimes by parties that sell the securities short prior to publishing the research report in order to capitalize on subsequent share price decreases. The SEC and other agencies and self-regulatory organizations are looking into specific allegations of wrongdoing and monitoring U.S.-listed Chinese companies in general.

As a result of the actions by some Chinese companies and the media and governmental attention focused on all Chinese companies, the share prices of nearly all smaller Chinese companies like ours have been adversely affected, whether or not warranted in any particular case. If investors continue to lose confidence in smaller Chinese companies or if we are unable to differentiate our company in investors' estimation from the problematic Chinese companies, then we expect that our share price will continue to be harmed.

A future issuance of our securities or a breach of agreements to which we are subject could lead to immediate and substantial dilution.

In connection with a financing we completed on March 13, 2007, we issued warrants to three funds affiliated with two institutional investors. These convertible notes and warrants contain certain anti-dilution language that could result in substantial dilution to our existing shareholders in the event we were determined to have violated them. This dilution would occur by repricing the warrants and recalculating the number of shares underlying the warrants. Even if an issuance did not trigger these anti-dilution provisions, an issuance of ordinary shares could nevertheless be completed at a level lower than some shareholder purchased their shares, leading to dilution of such shareholders.

 

Though we achieved profitability from 2004 to 2006, we had an accumulated deficit of RMB105,063,689 (US$16,692,938) as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, our shareholders' equity was RMB126,006,128 (US$20,020,358). While we have achieved profitability in previous years, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue our growth or profitability. Indeed, we had a net loss of RMB18,830,869 (US$2,991,924) for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Our customers are Chinese companies engaged in the retail and consumer goods industries, and, consequently, our financial performance is dependent upon the economic conditions of these industries.

We have derived most of our revenues to date from software and services to the Chinese retail and consumer goods industries for manufacturers, distributors, logistics player and retailers, and our future growth is critically dependent on increased sales to these particular industries. The success of our customers is intrinsically linked to economic conditions in these industries, which in turn are subject to intense competitive pressures and are affected by overall economic conditions. We believe the license of our software solutions and the purchase of our related services is discretionary and generally involves a significant commitment of capital. As a result, although we believe our products can assist China's retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and logistics companies in a competitive environment, demand for our products and services could be disproportionately affected by instability or downturns in the retailing, distribution, wholesaling and logistics industries, which may cause customers to exit the industry or delay, cancel or reduce any planned expenditures for information management systems and software products. We have previously experienced this effect in connection with the global financial crises and economic downturn, placed upon China's retailing industry in recent years. There can be no assurance that we will be able to continue our historical revenue growth or sustain our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis or that our results of operations will not be adversely affected by continuing or future downturns in these industries. Any adverse change in the Chinese retail and consumer goods industries could adversely affect the level of software expenditure by the participants in these industries, which, in turn, could result in a material reduction in our sales.

In 2011, we had a great increase in service fee revenue. We intend to optimize our revenue mix by focusing on generating more service fee income through a wider range and different levels of service in the future. The growth in the size and complexity of our business has placed and is expected to continue to place a significant strain on our management and operations. Continued growth will require us to recruit and hire a substantial number of new employees, including consulting and product development personnel. In particular, our ability to undertake new projects and increase license revenues is substantially dependent on the availability of our consulting personnel to assist in the licensing and implementation of our software solutions. We will not be able to continue to increase our business at historical rates without adding significant numbers of personnel skilled in software implementation and integration. Although we have not incurred significant difficulty in the hiring and training of skilled employees to date, there can be no assurance that we will effectively locate, retain or train additional personnel in the future. If we do not sufficiently increase our integration and implementation workforce over time, we may be required to forego licensing opportunities. Our ability to compete effectively and to manage future growth, if any, also will depend on our ability to continue to implement and improve operational, financial and management information systems on a timely basis.

Historically, wages for comparably skilled technical and management personnel in the software solutions industry in China have been lower than in developed countries, such as in the U.S. or Europe. In recent years, wages in China's software industry have increased and may continue to increase at faster rates. Wage increases will increase our cost of our products and services of the same quality and increase our cost of operations. As a result, our gross margin and profit margin may decline. In the long term, unless offset by increases in efficiency and productivity of our work force, wage increases may also result in increased prices for our solutions and services, making us potentially less competitive. Increases in wages, including an increase in the cash component of our compensation expenses, will increase our net cash outflow and our gross margin and profit margin may decline.

 

Our operating results may seasonally fluctuate, which could cause our results to fall short of expectations and may adversely affect the trading price of our ordinary shares.

Our business has historically experienced the highest revenue in the fourth quarter of each year, primarily due to a massive year-end capital purchases by customers. Such factors have resulted in 2011, 2010, and 2009 first quarter revenue being lower than revenue in the prior year's fourth quarter. We believe that this trend will continue in the future and that our revenue will continue to peak in the fourth quarter of each year and decline from that level in the first quarter of the following year. As we continue to grow, we expect that the seasonality in our business may cause our operating results to fluctuate. Due to the foregoing factors, we believe that quarter to quarter comparisons of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance and should not be overly relied upon. It is likely that our results of operations in some periods may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors. In this event, the price of our ordinary shares will probably decline, perhaps significantly more in percentage terms than any corresponding decline in our operating results.

We are heavily dependent upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate skilled technical, managerial and consulting personnel, especially highly skilled engineers involved in ongoing product development and consulting personnel. Our ability to install, maintain and enhance our front-end supply chain total solutions is substantially dependent upon our ability to locate, hire and train qualified personnel. Many of our technical, managerial and consulting personnel possess skills that would be valuable to all companies engaged in software development, and the Chinese software industry is characterized by a high level of employee mobility and aggressive recruiting of skilled personnel. Consequently, we expect that we will have to actively compete with other Chinese software developers for these employees. Our ability to profitably operate is substantially dependent upon our ability to locate, hire, train and retain our technical, managerial and consulting personnel. Although we have not experienced difficulty locating, hiring, training or retaining our employees to date, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain our current personnel, or that we will be able to attract and assimilate other personnel in the future. If we are unable to effectively obtain and maintain skilled personnel, the quality of our software products and the effectiveness of installation and training could be materially impaired.

In March 2007, SAFE issued the Application Procedure for Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Holding Plans or Stock Option Plans of Overseas Listed Companies, also known as "Circular 78." Under Circular 78, PRC individuals who participate in an employee stock option holding plan or a stock option plan of an overseas listed company are required, through a PRC domestic agent or PRC subsidiary of the overseas listed company, to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. We and our Chinese employees who have been granted restricted shares or stock options pursuant to our stock incentive plans are subject to Circular 78 because we are an overseas listed company. However, in practice, significant uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of Circular 78. We intend to submit the application for registration of our employee stock incentive plan as soon as possible. We or our Chinese employees may not be able to comply with, qualify under, or obtain any registration required by Circular 78. If we or our Chinese employees fail to comply with the provisions of Circular 78, we or they may be subject to fines and legal sanctions imposed by SAFE or other PRC governmental authorities, which could result in a material and adverse effect to our business operations and employee stock incentive plans.

If any of our management or key personnel joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose customers, suppliers, know-how and key professionals and staff members. Each of our directors and executive officers has entered into employment agreements and confidentiality and non-competition agreements with us. However, if any dispute arises between our directors and officers and us, the non-competition provisions contained in their confidentiality and non-competition agreements may not be enforceable, especially in China, where most of these executive officers and key employees reside, on the ground that we have not provided adequate compensation to these executive officers for their non-competition obligations, which is required under the relevant PRC regulations.

 

We sell most of our services on a fixed-price, fixed-time basis. In contracts with our customers, we typically agree to pay late completion fines of up to 0.3% of the total contract value. In large scale projects, there are many factors beyond our control which could cause delays or cost overruns. In this event, we would be exposed to cost overruns and liability for late completion fines.

We believe that while the Chinese market for front-end supply chain total solutions is subject to intense competition, the number of significant competitors is relatively limited, we effectively compete in our market, our competitors occupy a substantial competitive position. There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively compete in our industry on an ongoing basis.

We derive most of our revenues from the license and implementation of software applications for China's retail and consumer goods industries and providing consulting services. The life cycle of our software is difficult to estimate due in large measure to the potential effect of new software, applications and enhancements (including those we introduce) on the maturation in the China's retail and consumer goods industries. To the extent we are unable to continually improve our front-end supply chain total solutions to address the changing needs of the China's retail and consumer goods industries market, we may experience a significant decline in the demand for our programs. In such a scenario, our revenues may significantly decline.

Although we believe that we have principal competitive factors in our markets, a number of companies offer competitive products addressing certain of our target markets. In the enterprise systems market, we compete with in-house systems developed by our targeted customers and with third-party developers. In addition, we believe that new market entrants may attempt to develop fully integrated enterprise-level systems targeting the China's retail and consumer goods industries. Many of our existing competitors, as well as a number of potential new competitors, have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors. As a result of this product concentration and uncertain product life cycles, we may not be as protected from new competition or industry downturns as a more diversified competitor.

The software development industry is subject to rapid technological change, changing customer requirements, frequent new product introductions and evolving industry standards that may render existing software obsolete. The life cycles of our software are difficult to estimate. Our software products must keep pace with technological developments, conform to evolving industry standards and address the increasingly sophisticated needs of Chinese retailers, wholesalers, distributors and logistics companies. In particular, we believe that we must continue to respond quickly to users' needs for broad functionality. While we attempt to upgrade our software every one to two years, we cannot guarantee that our software will continue to enjoy market acceptance. To the extent we are unable to develop and introduce products in a timely manner, we believe that participants in the China's retail and consumer goods industries will obtain products from our competitors promptly and our sales will correspondingly suffer. In addition, we strive to achieve compatibility between our products and retailing systems platforms that we believe are or will become popular and widely adopted. We invest substantial resources in development efforts aimed at achieving this compatibility. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to technology or market developments, we could incur a loss of competitiveness or revenue.

 

Our accounting policies require us, among other things, to conduct annual reviews of goodwill, and to test intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable. In connection with our business acquisitions, we make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of goodwill and intangible assets. In assessing the related useful lives of those assets, we have to make assumptions regarding their fair value, our recoverability of those assets and our ability to successfully develop and ultimately commercialize acquired technology. If those assumptions change in the future when we conduct our periodic reviews in accordance with applicable accounting standards, we may be required to record impairment charges. We have made impairment loss of intangible assets of RMB2.4 million and RMB4.1 million (US$0.7 million) for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively. It is possible that future reviews will result in further write-downs of goodwill and other intangible assets.

As a result of the disruptions in the financial markets and other macro-economic challenges currently affecting the economy of the United States and other parts of the world, our clients, subcontractors, suppliers and other vendors may experience cash flow concerns. As a result, clients may modify, delay or cancel plans to purchase our services and vendors may reduce their output, change terms of sales, or stop providing goods or services to us. Additionally, if clients' or vendors' operating and financial performance deteriorates, or if they are unable to make scheduled payments or obtain credit, clients may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable owed to us and vendors may restrict credit or impose different payment terms, or stop providing goods or services to us. Any inability of current or potential clients to pay us for our services or any demands by vendors for different payment terms may adversely affect our earnings and cash flow. Furthermore, if one or more of our vendors stops providing goods or services to us, or interrupts its provision of goods or services to us, our business could be disrupted and we may incur higher costs.

Our performance is substantially dependent on the performance of our executive officers and key employees. We do not have in place "key person" life insurance policies on any of our employees. The loss of the services of any of our executive officers or other key employees could substantially impair our ability to successfully implement our existing software and develop new programs and enhancements.

We rely on a combination of trademark, trade secret, nondisclosure and copyright law to protect our front-end supply chain total solutions, which may afford only limited protection. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties, including customers, may attempt to reverse engineer or copy aspects of our software products or to obtain and use information that we regard proprietary. Although we are currently unaware of any unauthorized use of our technology, in the future, we cannot guarantee that others will not use our technology without proper authorization.

Some of our software products are developed on third-party middleware software programs that are licensed by our customers from third parties, generally on a non-exclusive basis. Considering the fact that we believe that there are a number of widely available middleware programs available, we do not currently anticipate that our customers will experience difficulties obtaining these programs. The termination of any such licenses, or the failure of the third-party licensors to adequately maintain or update their products, could result in delay in our ability to ship certain of our products while we seek to implement technology offered by alternative sources. Nonetheless, while it may be necessary or desirable in the future to obtain other licenses, there can be no assurance that they will be able to do so on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

 

Third parties may initiate litigation against us alleging infringement of their proprietary rights. In the event of a successful claim of infringement and our failure or inability to develop non-infringing technology or license the infringed or similar technology on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. In addition, even if we are able to license the infringed or similar technology, license fees could be substantial and may adversely affect our results of operations.

Implementation of our software may involve a significant amount of systems developed by third parties. Although we have not experienced a material number of defects associated with our software to date, despite extensive testing, we may, from time to time, discover defects or errors in our software only after use by a customer. We may also experience delays in shipment of our software during the period required to correct such errors. In addition, we may, from time to time, experience difficulties relating to the integration of our software products with other hardware or software in the customer's environment that are unrelated to defects in our software products. Such defects, errors or difficulties may cause future delays in product introductions and shipments, result in increased costs and diversion of development resources, require design modifications or impair customer satisfaction with our software. Since our software solutions are used by our customers to perform mission-critical functions, design defects, software errors, misuse of our products, incorrect data from external sources or other potential problems within or out of our control that may arise from the use of our products could result in financial or other damages to our customers. To date, however, we have not had significant difficulties integrating our software into our customers' existing systems. We do not maintain product liability insurance. Although our license agreements with customers contain provisions designed to limit our exposure to potential claims as well as any liabilities arising from such claims, such provisions may not effectively protect us against such claims and the liability and costs associated therewith. To the extent we are found liable in a product liability case, we could be required to pay a substantial amount of damages to an injured customer, thereby impairing our financial condition.

We have not previously paid any cash dividends nor do we anticipate paying any dividends on our ordinary shares. Although we achieved profitability from 2004 to 2006, we cannot assure you that our operations will continue to result in sufficient revenues to enable us to operate at profitable levels or to generate positive cash flows. Indeed, we had net losses of RMB17,323,421 and RMB18,830,869 (US$2,991,924) for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Furthermore, there is no assurance our Board of Directors will declare dividends even if we are profitable. Dividend policy is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors. Under Cayman Islands law, we may only pay dividends from profits or credit from the share premium account (the amount paid over par value, which is $0.0756), and we must be solvent before and after the dividend payment. If we determine to pay dividends on any of our ordinary shares in the future, as a holding company, we will be dependent on receipt of funds from our operating wholly- and partially-owned subsidiaries.

 

We cannot assure you that growth of the Chinese economy will be steady or that any slowdown will not have a negative effect on our business. Several years ago, the Chinese economy experienced deflation, which may recur in the foreseeable future. More recently, the Chinese government announced its intention to use macroeconomic tools and regulations to slow the rate of growth of the Chinese economy, the results of which are difficult to predict. Adverse changes in the Chinese economy will likely impact the financial performance of the retailing, distribution, logistics and manufacturing industries in China. Consequently, under such circumstances, our customers may opt to delay discretionary expenditures like those for our software, which, in turn, could result in a material reduction in our sales.

The insurance industry in China is still at an early state of development. In particular PRC insurance companies offer limited business products. As a result, we do not have any business liability or disruption insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business interruption, litigation or natural disaster may result in our business incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources.

Based upon the nature of our business activities, we may be classified as a passive foreign investment company ("PFIC") by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such characterization could result in adverse U.S. tax consequences to you if you are a U.S. investor. For example, if we are a PFIC, a U.S. investor will become subject to burdensome reporting requirements. The determination of whether or not we are a PFIC is made on an annual basis and will depend on the composition of our income and assets from time to time. Specifically, we will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. tax purposes if either:

•

75% or more of our gross income in a taxable year is passive income; or

•

the average percentage of our assets by value in a taxable year which produce or are held for the production of passive income (which includes cash) is at least 50%.

The calculation of the value of our assets is based, in part, on the then market value of our ordinary shares, which is subject to change. In addition, the composition of our income and assets will be affected by how, and how quickly, we spend the cash we raised in our initial public offering. We cannot assure you that we will not be a PFIC for any taxable year.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our income is derived from dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency denominated obligations. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, approval from appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi are to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of bank loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access in the future to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. The Renminbi is permitted to fluctuate within a narrow and managed band against a basket of certain foreign currencies. There remains significant international pressure on the PRC government to adopt an even more flexible currency policy, which could result in a further and more significant appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar. We rely entirely on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries in China. Any significant revaluation of Renminbi may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ordinary shares in U.S. dollars. For example, an appreciation of Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would make any new Renminbi denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into Renminbi for such purposes. An appreciation of Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would also result in foreign currency translation losses for financial reporting purposes when we translate our U.S. dollar denominated financial assets into Renminbi, as the Renminbi is our reporting currency.

The economy of China has historically been a planned economy subject to governmental plans and quotas and has, in certain aspects, been transitioning to a more market-oriented economy. Although we believe that the economic reform and the macroeconomic measures adopted by the Chinese government have had a positive effect on the economic development of China, we cannot predict the future direction of these economic reforms or the effects these measures may have on our business, financial position or results of operations.

As of December 31, 2011 we had approximately 869 employees in the PRC. On June 29, 2007, the PRC Government promulgated a new labour law, namely, the Labour Contract Law of the PRC, or the Labour Contract Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008. The Labor Contract Law establishes more restrictions and increases costs for employers to dismiss employees under certain circumstances, including specific provisions related to fixed-term employment contracts, non-fixed-term employment contracts, task-based employment, part-time employment, probation, consultation with the labor union and employee representative's council, employment without a contract, dismissal of employees, compensation upon termination and for overtime work, and collective bargaining. According to the Labor Contract Law, unless otherwise provided by law, an employer is obliged to sign a labor contract with a non-fixed term with an employee if the employer continues to hire the employee after the expiration of two consecutive fixed-term labor contracts or if the employee has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years. Severance pay is required if a labor contract expires without renewal because the employer refuses to renew the labor contract or provides less favorable terms for renewal. In addition, under the Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees, which became effective on January 1, 2008, employees who have served more than one year for an employer are entitled to a paid vacation ranging from 5 to 15 days, depending on the number of the employee's working years at the employer. Employees who waive such vacation time at the request of employers shall be compensated for three times their regular salaries for each waived vacation day. As a result of these new measures designed to enhance labor protection, our labor costs are expected to increase, which may adversely affect our business and our results of operations. In addition, the PRC government in the future may enact further labor-related legislation that increases our labor costs and restricts our operations.

 

In December 2008, our subsidiary eFuture Beijing was designated as "High and New Technology Enterprises" under the CIT Law, which entitles it to a preferential CIT rate of 15% from 2008 to 2013. If it fails to maintain the "High and New Technology Enterprises" qualification after 2013, its applicable CIT rate may increase to up to 25%, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our current effective tax rate in the future.

Furthermore, we are qualified to an exemption of the 5% business tax levied on our total revenues derived from our technology consulting services. If the PRC law were to phase out preferential tax benefits currently granted to "High and New Technology Enterprises" or if we ceased to qualify as such, we would be subject to the standard statutory tax rate, which currently is 25%, and we would be unable to obtain business tax exemption for our provision of technology consulting services.

Since 1979, the Chinese government has promulgated many new laws and regulations covering general economic matters. Despite this activity to develop a legal system, China's system of laws is not yet complete. Even where adequate law exists in China, enforcement of existing laws or contracts based on existing law may be uncertain or sporadic, and it may be difficult to obtain swift and equitable enforcement or to obtain enforcement of a judgment by a court of another jurisdiction. The relative inexperience of China's judiciary, in many cases, creates additional uncertainty as to the outcome of any litigation. In addition, interpretation of statutes and regulations may be subject to government policies reflecting domestic political changes. Noting that our business is substantially dependent upon laws protecting intellectual property rights, any ambiguity in the interpretation or implementation of such laws may negatively impact our business, its financial condition and results of operation. Our activities in China will also be subject to administration review and approval by various national and local agencies of China's government. Because of the changes occurring in China's legal and regulatory structure, we may not be able to secure the requisite governmental approval for our activities. Although we have obtained all required governmental approval to operate our business as currently conducted, to the extent we are unable to obtain or maintain required governmental approvals, the Chinese government may, in its sole discretion, prohibit us from conducting our business.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, by the Companies Law (2007 Revision) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, 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 in the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law in this area may not be as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and some states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate laws. Moreover, our company could be involved in a corporate combination in which dissenting shareholders would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations. Also, our Cayman Islands counsel is not aware of a significant number of reported class actions or derivative actions having been brought in Cayman Islands courts. Such actions are ordinarily available in respect of United States corporations in U.S. courts. Finally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States. As a result, our public shareholders may face different considerations in protecting their interests in actions against the management, directors or our controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States, and our ability to protect our interests may be limited if we are harmed in a manner that would otherwise enable us to sue in a United States federal court.

 

We are a Cayman Islands exempt company, and our corporate affairs are governed by our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and by the Cayman Islands Companies Law (2007 Revision) and other applicable Cayman Islands laws. Certain of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States. In addition, the Company's assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers and our subsidiaries, or enforce against any of them court judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments relating to United States federal securities laws. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands and of other offshore jurisdictions would recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof, or be competent to hear original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or other offshore jurisdictions predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof. Furthermore, because the majority of our assets are located in China, it would also be extremely difficult to access those assets to satisfy an award entered against us in United States court.

We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and conduct most of our operations in China through our subsidiaries in China. Most of our officers and directors reside outside the United States and some or all of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. It may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an original action against us or against these individuals in a Cayman Islands or Chinese court in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. You would also find it difficult to enforce a U.S. court judgment based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws, in the United States, the Cayman Islands or China, against us or our officers and directors.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Law, Cap. 22 (Law 3 of 1961, as consolidated and revised) and 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 has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and provides 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.

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests through actions against us or our management, directors or major shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States.

Due in part to the relaxation of trade barriers following World Trade Organization accession in January 2002, we believe China will become one of the world's largest markets by the middle of the twenty-first century. As a result, we believe the Chinese market presents a significant opportunity for both domestic and foreign companies. With the Chinese accession to the World Trade Organization, Chinese industries are gearing up to face the new regimes that are required by World Trade Organization regulation. The Chinese government has begun to reduce its average tariff on imported goods. We believe that a tariff reduction on imported goods combined with increasing consumer demand in China may lead to increased demand for our logistics programs. China has also agreed that foreign companies will be allowed to import most products into any part of China. Current trading rights and distribution restrictions are to be phased out over a three-year period. In the sensitive area of intellectual property rights, China has agreed to implement the trade-related intellectual property agreement of the Uruguay Round. As our business is dependent upon the protection of our intellectual property in China and throughout the world, China's decision to implement intellectual property protection standards that coordinate with other major economies is of critical importance to our business and its ability to generate profits. However, there can be no assurances that China will implement any or all of the requirements of its membership in the World Trade Organization in a timely manner, if at all.

 

The trading price of our shares may be subject to significant market volatility due to investor perceptions of investments relating to China. In addition, the high technology sector of the stock market frequently experiences extreme price and volume fluctuations, which have particularly affected the market prices of many software companies and which have often been unrelated to the operating performance of those companies.

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our annual reports filed with the SEC, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is currently not inspected by PCAOB. Inspections of other firms that PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The inability of PCAOB to conduct inspections of independent registered public accounting firms operating in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

In April 2008, we acquired the assets and business of Proadvancer Systems Inc., or Proadvancer, pursuant to an assets and business transfer agreement between eFuture Royalstone, Proadvance System (BVI), Inc., Mr. Lu Kuang Yang, who is the shareholder of Proadvance, and Proadvance's PRC subsidiaries, Pradvance Systems (Suzhou) Computer Application Software Co., Ltd, Beijing Proadvancer Techonology Co., Ltd, whereby we acquired the assets and business of Proadvancer.

PRC laws, rules and regulations currently restrict foreign-invested entities engaging in the operation of internet-related businesses in China. To comply with PRC laws, rules and regulations, we operate our e-Commerce service through our VIE, Changshengtiandi. On January 18, 2011, through eFuture Beijing, we entered into certain contractual arrangements with Changshengtiandi and its shareholders through which we gained effective control over the operations of Changshengtiandi. The contractual agreements consist of (1) Loan Agreement, (2) Share Pledge Agreement, (3) Exclusive Option Agreement, (4) Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement and its Supplemental Agreement and (5) Power of Attorney.

 

The official launch of our cloud service offering marked an important milestone in the development of our company, and allows us to offer an expanded portfolio of solutions to China's retail and fast moving consumer goods industries.

Our offering will consist of a mobile-based Sales Force Automation platform that sales teams of consumer goods companies can access via Android, iPhone or tablets. Our cloud service offering is a cost-effective solution for clients as they are charged a monthly fee rather than being required to make a significant upfront license fee payment or buy additional hardware. This, in turn, translates into recurring revenue for eFuture.