Company: GDHLF
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000935
Chunk: 24

Company: GDS Holdings Ltd
Filing Date: 2025-04-28
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 24
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 of 2021. The laws and regulations related to artificial intelligence technology and products are at an early stage of development and still evolving. For more details, see “ Item 4. Information on the Company - B. Business Overview - Regulatory Matters Related to Our Business - People’s Republic of China Regulations - Regulations Related to Artificial Intelligence.”

The stringent regulatory requirements or restrictions may have a material adverse effect and affect our results of operations. While we have been making every effort to comply with the relevant regulatory requirements, we cannot assure you that we have obtained, and will be able to obtain the required governmental authorizations (including the fixed-asset investment project filings and energy conversation review opinions) for all our data centers in a timely manner or at all due to the constantly evolving regulatory requirements and practices. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete required rectification in a timely manner or at all, due to the lack of the required approvals, filings and licenses (including the fixed-asset investment project filings and energy conversation review opinions) if we are ordered to do so by the relevant government authorities, which may result in fines and suspension or shutdown of the operations of the relevant data centers.

Limited availability of power resources may adversely affect our results of operations.

We are a large consumer of power, which for the purpose of these risk factors discussion refers to electrical power supplied through the electrical grid, rather than through our own on-site solar or diesel generators. We use electricity to house, power and cool the computer systems and networking equipment that support our customers’ mission-critical IT infrastructure. Therefore, we need an increasing supply of electricity to grow our business and we are subject to risks associated with o btaining access to enough power.

In mainland China, the government sets annual “ Dual-Control” targets to limit the increase in electricity consumption in each province both in absolute terms and relative to GDP in order to conserve energy and reduce carbon emission. China’s central and local governments began implementing “ Dual-Control” targets during the thirteenth Five-Year Plan, from 2016-2020. In September 2021, the NDRC issued the “ Program for Improving the Dual-Control of Energy Consumption Intensity and Total Volume”, or the Program, which seeks to improve the original policy through promoting the achievement of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality. According to the Program, connection should be made between the issuance of energy conservation review opinion and the “ Dual-Control” targets, and the energy consumption review of newly established heavy power-consuming projects shall be strictly controlled and coordinated