Sino Agro Food Extends 10-K Deadline Due to Coronavirus

Sino Agro Food, Inc. (“SIAF” or “The Company”) has encountered a delay in assembling the financial and supporting information required to be included in its December 31, 2019 Form 10-K Annual Report (the “Report”).  COVID-19 has caused severe disruptions in transportation and limited access to the Company’s facilities resulting in limited support from its staff and professional advisors, including our Hong Kong based audit firm. COVID-19 regulations require quarantines of 14 days in a quarantine station when traveling from HK to China, and a further 14 days from China back to HK. Proper audit work must be carried out at the Company’s business operating sites in China, requiring 28 quarantine days for each separate site visit. In addition, the Company must take full precautions to prevent any auditor from contracting the virus.

The Company previously filed under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Order under Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Modifying Exemptions from the Reporting and Proxy Delivery Requirements for Public Companies. Dated March 25, 2020, Release No. 34-88465 allows a filing delay of the Report due to the circumstances related to COVID-19. Pursuant to the Order, the Report was due on May 14, 2020. The Company expects to file the Report within 15 calendar days of the prescribed due date and if it does not, undertakes to file the Report as soon as is reasonably practicable.

It is anticipated that there will be a loss from operations of USD 12.1 million in 2019, due primarily to:

• the reorganization of the Company’s segment operations including SJAP, JHST, HSA and JHMC


• the associated disposal of and impairment losses from the current and non-current assets — and the current and non-current liabilities — of above segments

Therefore, the losses are mostly non-cash items, stemming from writing down biological assets and inventories as part of the new subsidiary lease and subcontracting arrangements. By guaranteeing positive cash flow, this subsidiary lease/subcontract strategy de-risks SIAF’s overall business, allowing the Company to focus on its primary businesses, ones with better potential growth profiles; namely, fisheries and trading.

Further details will be set forth in the financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, when released.