Company: GDHLF
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000935
Chunk: 52

Company: GDS Holdings Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 52
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 acquire technologies, systems, devices or components that may be critical to our technology infrastructure, service offerings and business operations. For instance, the development and adoption of AI technologies in China may rely on access to semiconductor manufacturing items and advanced computing software and hardware, including integrated circuits and model weights for AI models. The U. S. government has placed stringent export controls on some of these items and may continue to expand and tighten these restrictions going forward. To the extent that companies in China, including our customers in China, are unable to access alternative sources of such restricted items, including advanced computing software and hardware, with comparable operating performance and cost-efficiency, the development and adoption of AI technologies in China may be negatively impacted. This could, in turn, reduce AI-related demand for data centers in China. There can be no assurance that the current and/or future restrictions or regulations implemented by the U. S. government, or authorities in other jurisdictions, and related developments, will not have a negative impact on our business operations or reputation.

In addition, new sanctions or export control restrictions targeting our existing or potential customers and/or suppliers of ours or any other parties that have business relationships with us or our affiliates, or our company may result in significant interruption in our business, regulatory investigations and reputational harm to us. Media reports on alleged violation of export control or economic and trade sanctions or data security and privacy laws, by us or by our customers or suppliers, even on matters not involving us, could nevertheless damage our reputation and lead to regulatory investigations, fines and penalties against us. Such fines and penalties may be significant, and if we were publicly named or investigated by any regulator on the basis of suspected or alleged violations of export control or economic and trade sanctions or data security and privacy laws and rules, even in situations where the potential amount or fine involved may be relatively small, our businesses could be severely interrupted and our reputation could be significantly harmed.

Furthermore, rising trade and political tensions between the United States and China could place pressure on the economic growth in China as well as the rest of the world. Such rising tensions could also reduce levels of trade, investments, 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. 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