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Garden Stage Ltd

For the period ended Mar 31, 2024. Filed Jul 31, 2024.

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About this filing

The yearly report of a company based outside the US. It covers much of what a 10-K does, and may follow accounting rules other than US ones.

FY2024 · Filed Jul 31, 2024

GSIW$10.33-0.7%Stored close · as of Nov 6, 2026
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Contents

Cover page

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**UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(B) OR 12(G) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended March 31,2024

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

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

For the transition period from to

Commission file number:001-41879

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

** 30th Floor, China Insurance Group Building **

**141 Des Voeux Road Central **

**Central, Hong Kong **

(Address of principal executive offices)

Sze Ho, CHAN

+852 2688 6333

**rickychan@iwinsec.com **

**30th Floor, China Insurance Group Building **

**141 Des Voeux Road Central **

Central, Hong Kong

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

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

Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per shareGSIWThe Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Capital Market)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:None

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:15,625,000 shares of ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2024.

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

☐ Yes ☒No

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

☐ Yes ☒No

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

☒Yes ☐ No

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

☒Yes ☐ No

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

Large accelerated filer ☐Accelerated filer ☐Non-accelerated filer ☒
Emerging growth company ☒

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

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

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

U.S. GAAP ☒International Financial Reporting Standards as issuedOther ☐
by the International Accounting Standards Board ☐

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

☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

☐ Yes☒ No

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

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

☐ Yes ☐ No

Table of Contents

Page
PART I
Item 1.Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers1
Item 2.Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable1
Item 3.Key Information1
Item 4.Information on the Company29
Item 4A.Unresolved Staff Comments63
Item 5.Operating and Financial Review and Prospects64
Item 6.Directors, Senior Management and Employees85
Item 7.Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions96
Item 8.Financial Information96
Item 9.The Offer and Listing97
Item 10.Additional Information98
Item 11.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk106
Item 12.Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities106
PART II
Item 13.Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies107
Item 14.Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds107
Item 15.Controls and Procedures108
Item 16.Reserved109
Item 16A.Audit Committee Financial Expert109
Item 16B.Code of Ethics109
Item 16C.Principal Accountant Fees and Services110
Item 16D.Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees110
Item 16E.Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers110
Item 16F.Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant110
Item 16G.Corporate Governance111
Item 16H.Mine Safety Disclosure111
Item 16I.Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.111
PART III
Item 17.Financial Statements112
Item 18.Financial Statements112
Item 19.Exhibits112

i

INTRODUCTION

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report only the term:

●“17 Uno BVI” refers to 17 Uno Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of British Virgin Islands;
●“AE” refers to an account executive, being licensed representative accredited to I Win Securities to carry out regulated activities, who is self-employed and only entitled to share the brokerage income from the clients referred by him/her;
●“AUM” refers to the amount of assets under management;
●“BSS” refers to the Broker Supplied System, being a front office solution either developed in-house by the Stock Exchange Participant or a third-party software package acquired from commercial vendors, enabling the Stock Exchange Participant to connect its trading facilities to the Open Gateway to conduct trading;
●“CAGR” refers to compounded annual growth rate, the year-on-year growth rate over a specific period of time;
●“China” or the “PRC” refer to the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau;
●“Code of Conduct” refers to the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong;
●“Controlling Shareholder” refers to Oriental Moon Tree Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of British Virgin Islands;
●“FY 2024”, “FY 2023” “FY2022” are to fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022, respectively;
●“Garden Stage” or “Company” are to Garden Stage Limited, an exempted company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands on August 11, 2022;
●“HKD” or “HK$” refer to the legal currency of Hong Kong.
●“HKSCC” refers to the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited
●“HKSFC” refers to the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong;
●“Hong Kong” refers to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for the purposes of this annual report only;
●“I Win Asset Management” refers to I Win Asset Management Limited, a company with limited liability under the laws of Hong Kong;
●“I Win Holdings HK” refers to I Win Holdings Limited, a company with limited liability under the laws of Hong Kong;
●“I Win Securities” refers to I Win Securities Limited, a company with limited liability under the laws of Hong Kong;
●“Licensed Representative(s)” refers to an individual who is granted a license under section 120(1) or 121(1) of the SFO to carry on one or more than one regulated activity;
●“Listing Rules” refers to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time;
●“Mainland China” refers to the mainland of the People’s Republic of China; excluding Taiwan and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau for the purposes of this annual report only;
●“Ordinary Shares” refers to the ordinary shares of the Garden Stage Limited, par value of US$0.0001 per share;
●“Open Gateway” refers to a Windows-based device provided by the Stock Exchange and installed at the Stock Exchange Participants’ office to facilitate electronic interface of the Automatic Order Matching and Execution System of the Stock Exchange with front office systems operated by the Stock Exchange Participant;
●“Operating Subsidiaries” refers to I Win Securities and I Win Asset Management, the indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries of Garden Stage, unless otherwise specified
●“PRC government” or “Chinse government” are to the government of Mainland China for the purposes of this annual report only;
●“Responsible Officer(s)” or “RO” refer to a Licensed Representative who is also approved as a responsible officer under section 126 of the SFO to supervise one or more than one regulated activity of the licensed corporation to which he/she is accredited;

ii

●“SEC” refers to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
●“SFO” refers to the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong), as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time;
●“Stock Exchange” or “SEHK” refer to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited;
●“Stock Exchange Trading Right” refers to the right to be eligible to trade on or through the Stock Exchange as a Stock Exchange Participant and entered as such a right in a list, register or roll kept by the Stock Exchange;
●“Stock Exchange Participant(s)” refers to corporation(s) licensed to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activity under the SFO who, in accordance with the rules of the Stock Exchange, may trade on or through the Stock Exchange and whose name(s) is/are entered in a list, register or roll kept by the Stock Exchange as person(s) who may trade on or through the Stock Exchange;
●“US$” or “U.S. dollars” refer to the legal currency of the United States; and
●“we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” and “Garden Stage” are to Garden Stage Limited, an exempted company incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands on August 11, 2022, and does not include its subsidiaries, 17 Uno BVI, I Win Holdings HK, I Win Securities, and I Win Asset Management. Where appropriate, we shall refer to the subsidiaries by their legal names, collectively as “our subsidiaries”, or “Operating Subsidiaries” when we refer to our operating entities, as the case may be, and clearly identify the entity in which investors are purchasing an interest;

Garden Stage is a holding company with operations conducted in Hong Kong through its Operating Subsidiaries, using Hong Kong dollars. The reporting currency is U.S. dollars. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at year-end exchange rates, income statement accounts are translated at average rates of exchange for the year and equity is translated at historical exchange rates. Any translation gains or losses are recorded in other comprehensive income (loss). Gains or losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are included in net income. The conversion of Hong Kong dollars into U.S. dollars are based on the exchange rates set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Hong Kong dollars to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Hong Kong dollars in this annual report were made at an average rate of HKD 7.8252 to USD 1.00, HKD 7.8392 to USD 1.00 and HKD 7.7843 to USD 1.00 for FY 2024, FY2023 and FY 2022, respectively.

We obtained the industry and market data used in this annual report or any document incorporated by reference from industry publications, research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties and our own internal estimates based on our management’s knowledge and experience in the markets in which we operate. We did not, directly or indirectly, sponsor or participate in the publication of such materials, and these materials are not incorporated in this annual report other than to the extent specifically cited in this annual report. We have sought to provide current information in this annual report and believe that the statistics provided in this annual report remain up-to-date and reliable, and these materials are not incorporated in this annual report other than to the extent specifically cited in this annual report.

iii

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

You can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “project” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

●future financial and operating results, including revenues, income, expenditures, cash balances and other financial items;
●our ability to execute our growth, expansion and acquisition strategies, including our ability to meet our goals;
●current and future economic and political conditions;
●our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our subsidiaries’ services;
●our expectations regarding the expansion of our subsidiaries’ client base;
●our subsidiaries’ relationships with their business partners;
●competition in our industries;
●relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industries;
●our ability to obtain and maintain all necessary government certifications, approvals, and/or licenses to conduct our business;
●ability to managing our growth effectively;
●our capital requirements and our ability to raise any additional financing which we may require;
●our subsidiaries’ ability to protect their intellectual property rights and secure the right to use other intellectual property that they deem to be essential or desirable to the conduct of their business;
●the dependence on our senior management and key employees; and
●our ability to hire and retain qualified management personnel and key employees in order to develop our subsidiaries’ business;
●overall industry and market performance;
●any recurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and scope of related government orders and restrictions and the extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, impact it may have on our operations, the demand for our products and services, and economic activity in general;

You should read this annual report and the documents that we refer to in this annual report and have filed as exhibits to this annual report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual events or results may vary significantly from those implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

We would like to caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should read these statements in conjunction with the risk factors disclosed in “Item 3. Key Information—3.D. Risk Factors.” Those risks are not exhaustive. We operate in an evolving environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is impossible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. You should read this annual report and the documents that we reference in this annual report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

iv

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The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.