We may face risks associated with our international expansion efforts, which could result in significant additional costs for our business operations.
A core component of our growth strategy is international expansion. As we continue to expand our international operations, we will be increasingly susceptible to the risks associated with overseas expansion. We have a limited operating history outside of the PRC and management of our international operations requires significant resources and management attention. Entering into new markets presents challenges, including, among others, the challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in new environments with diverse cultures, languages, customs, legal systems, alternative dispute systems and economic, political and regulatory systems. We expect to incur significant costs associated with expanding our overseas operations, including hiring personnel internationally. The risks and challenges associated with overseas expansion include:
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uncertain political and economic climates;
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lack of familiarity and burdens of complying with foreign laws, accounting and legal standards, regulatory requirements, tariffs and other barriers;
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unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, taxes, trade laws, tariffs, export quotas, custom duties or other trade restrictions;
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lack of experience in connection with the localization of our applications, including translation into foreign languages and adaptation for local practices, and associated expenses and regulatory requirements;
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difficulties in adapting to differing technology standards;
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longer sales cycles and accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;
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difficulties in managing and staffing international operations, including differing legal and cultural expectations for employee relationships and increased travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs associated with international operations;
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fluctuations in exchange rates that may increase the volatility of our foreign-based revenue and expenses;
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potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value-added tax, goods and services tax and other transactional taxes;
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reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;
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difficulties in managing and adapting to differing cultures and customs;
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data privacy laws which require that customer data be stored and processed in a designated territory subject to laws different from those of the PRC;
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new and different sources of competition as well as laws and business practices favoring local competitors and local employees;
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compliance with anti-bribery laws, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;
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increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexities; and
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restrictions on the repatriation of earnings.
In addition, in our international business expansion to Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, we may not be able to find adequate and qualified local engineers to bid and complete sizable rail transportation orders and industrial automation projects, and because of visa problems, we may have difficulties relocating adequate engineers from China to various foreign countries and have them stay there long enough to finish the projects, which could have an adverse impact on our international business expansion.
As a result of these factors, international expansion may be more difficult, take longer and not generate the results we anticipate, which could negatively impact our growth and business.