Company: GDHLF
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000935
Chunk: 144

Company: GDS Holdings Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 144
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 who effects any sale or purchase of Hong Kong stock, defined as stock the transfer of which is required to be registered in Hong Kong, is required to pay Hong Kong stamp duty. The stamp duty is currently set at a total rate of 0.26% of the greater of the consideration for, or the value of, shares transferred, with 0.13% payable by each of the buyer and the seller.

To the best of our knowledge, Hong Kong stamp duty has not been levied in practice on the trading or conversion of ADSs of companies that are listed in both the United States and Hong Kong and that have maintained all or a portion of their ordinary shares, including ordinary shares underlying ADSs, in their Hong Kong share registers. However, it is unclear whether, as a matter of Hong Kong law, the trading or conversion of ADSs of these dual-listed companies constitutes a sale or purchase of the underlying Hong Kong-registered ordinary shares that is subject to Hong Kong stamp duty. We advise investors to consult their own tax advisors on this matter. If Hong Kong stamp duty is determined by the competent authority to apply to the trading or conversion of our ADSs, the trading price and the value of your investment in our ordinary shares and/or ADSs may be affected.

Table of Contents

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

A. History and Development of the Company

We are an exempted company and were incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands on December 1, 2006. Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “ GDS.” Our ordinary shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code “9698.”

We operate our business through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, the VIEs and their subsidiaries. We own 100% of the shares in EDC Holding, an exempted company also incorporated in the Cayman Islands, through which we indirectly hold 100% of the equity interests in holding companies in Hong Kong, many of which own our data centers through one or more data center companies. Through EDC Holding we also indirectly hold 100% of the equity interests in GDS Investment Company.

The following are our key business milestones:

In 2001, we started our business as an IT service provider. Our initial focus was on business continuity and disaster recovery solutions. Many of our early customers were financial service institutions with demanding IT compliance standards. To guarantee the reliability and availability of services to them, we leased data center capacity from third parties.