Metal Sky Star Acquisition (MSSAW) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

(Rule 14a-101)

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

METAL SKY STAR ACQUISITION CORPORATION
132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor
New York, NY 10001

(332) 237-6141

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 20, 2023

TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF METAL SKY STAR ACQUISITION CORPORATION:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2023 Annual General Meeting of shareholders of Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation (“Metal Sky Star,” “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) to be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 20, 2023 (the “Annual General Meeting”). The Annual General Meeting will be held in the offices of the Company’s counsel, Becker & Poliakoff P.A., at 45 Broadway, 17^th Floor, New York, NY 10006.

As an annual general meeting of the Company’s shareholders, the Annual General Meeting is being held for the purpose of considering and voting upon the following proposals:

Each of the Election of Directors Proposal, the Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor Proposal, the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are more fully described in the accompanying proxy statement.

As routine matters for the Annual General Meeting, shareholders will vote to elect five directors to continue to serve on the Board of Directors and ratify the appointment of UHY LLP (the “UHY”) as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

The purpose of the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is to afford the Company with flexibility to enter into (a) businesses or entities with a physical presence, operation or other significant ties to China or which may subject the post-business combination entity or business to the laws, regulations and policies of China (including Hong Kong and Macao), or (b) an entity or business that conducts operations in China through variable interest entities (VIEs), pursuant to a series of contractual arrangements with the VIE and its equity holders on one side, and a China-based subsidiary of the China-based Target Business on the other side, or entering into contractual arrangements that give the Company control over such a Target Business. If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, the Company will be allowed to undertake an initial business combination with a China-based Target including an entity or business that operates through a VIE, which will allow the Company to access a larger pool of target candidates and provide additional flexibility for the Company to consummate an initial business combination before the final extension date permitted under the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Combination Period”). The Board has determined that, given the Company’s expenditure of time, effort and money on identifying a suitable target business and completion of a business combination, and the market opportunity the Company has observed in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), it is in the best interests of its shareholders to approve the Target Limitation Amendment to allow the Company to undertake a business combination with a China-based Target including an entity or business that conducts its operations through a VIE.

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, there will be no restriction on the Company to pursue a business combination with a China-based Target including an entity or business that conducts its operations through a VIE. If we undertake a business combination with a China-based Target, we will be subject to legal and operational risks associated with being based in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”, or “China”). See “Risks Related to Our Possible Business Combination with a China-based Target or Operating Business in the PRC” for details.

The per-share pro rata portion of the trust account was approximately $10.99 as of November 30, 2023. The closing price of Metal Sky Star’s shares on November 30, 2023 was $10.92. Metal Sky Star cannot assure shareholders that they will be able to sell their shares of Metal Sky Star in the open market, as there may not be sufficient liquidity in its securities when shareholders wish to sell their shares.

An ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law is required to approve each of the Election of Directors Proposal, the Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. A special resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law is required to approve the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal. A special resolution is a resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at the Annual General Meeting.

Our Board has fixed the close of business on November 10, 2023 (the “Record Date”) as the record date for determining Metal Sky Star shareholders entitled to receive notice of and vote at the Annual General Meeting and any adjournment thereof. Only holders of record of Metal Sky Star’s ordinary shares on that date are entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual General Meeting or any adjournments thereof.

After careful consideration of all relevant factors, our Board has determined that the Election of Directors Proposal, the Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor Proposal, the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are fair to and in the best interests of Metal Sky Star and its shareholders, has declared them advisable and recommends that you vote or give instruction to vote “FOR” all the foregoing proposals.

Enclosed is the proxy statement containing detailed information concerning the proposals and Annual General Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual General Meeting, we urge you to read this material carefully and vote your shares.

We look forward to seeing you at the Annual General Meeting.

Dated: December 1, 2023

Your vote is important. Each shareholder who is entitled to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to attend and vote instead of that shareholder, and a proxyholder need not be a shareholder. Please sign, date and return your proxy card as soon as possible to make sure that your shares are represented at the Annual General Meeting. Your proxy card must be received by the Company not less than 48 hours before the time for holding the Annual General Meeting or any adjournment thereof. If you are a shareholder of record, you may also cast your vote in person at the Annual General Meeting. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, you must instruct your broker or bank how to vote your shares, or you may cast your vote online at the Annual General Meeting by obtaining a proxy from your brokerage firm or bank.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on December 20, 2023: This Notice of Annual General Meeting and the accompanying proxy statement are available at the website of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

METAL SKY STAR ACQUISITION CORPORATION
132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor
New York, NY 10001

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 20, 2023

PROXY STATEMENT

The 2023 Annual General Meeting (the “Annual General Meeting”) of shareholders of Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation (“Metal Sky Star,” “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), a Cayman Islands exempted company, will be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 20, 2023. The Annual General Meeting will be held in the offices of the Company’s counsel, Becker & Poliakoff P.A., at 45 Broadway, 17^th Floor, New York, NY 10006.

The Annual General Meeting is being held for the sole purpose of considering and voting upon the following proposals:

As routine matters for the Annual General Meeting, shareholders will vote to elect five directors to continue to serve on the Board of Directors and ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

An ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law is required to approve each of the Election of Directors Proposal, the Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. A special resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law is required to approve the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal. A special resolution is a resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at the Annual General Meeting.

You are also being asked to direct the chairman of the Annual General Meeting to adjourn the Annual General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Annual General Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the proposals.

The Record Date for the Annual General Meeting is November 10, 2023. Record holders of Metal Sky Star ordinary shares at the close of business on the record date are entitled to vote or have their votes cast at the Annual General Meeting. On the Record Date, there were 6,407,416 outstanding ordinary shares of Metal Sky Star, including 3,202,416 outstanding ordinary shares sold in Metal Sky Star’s initial public offering (the “Public Shares”). Metal Sky Star’s rights and warrants do not have voting rights.

This proxy statement contains important information about the Annual General Meeting and the proposals. Please read it carefully and vote your shares.

This proxy statement is dated December 1, 2023 and is first being mailed to shareholders on or about that date.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE MEETING

These questions and answers are only summaries of the matters they discuss. They do not contain all of the information that may be important to you. You should read carefully this entire proxy statement.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We believe that some of the information in this proxy statement constitutes forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intends,” and “continue” or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they:

We believe it is important to communicate our expectations to our shareholders. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to predict accurately or over which we have no control. The cautionary language discussed in this proxy statement provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations described by us in such forward-looking statements, including, among other things, claims by third parties against the trust account, unanticipated delays in the distribution of the funds from the trust account and Metal Sky Star’s ability to finance and consummate any proposed business combination. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this proxy statement.

All forward-looking statements included herein attributable to Metal Sky Star or any person acting on Metal Sky Star’s behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Except to the extent required by applicable laws and regulations, Metal Sky Star undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this proxy statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

BACKGROUND

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

On April 5, 2022, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 11,500,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one ordinary share, one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of an ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination and one redeemable warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $115,000,000.

On July 5, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.02 per share. On September 26, 2021, the Company purchased back all the 1,437,500 founder shares for $25,000 and reissued 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our sponsor for $25,000, or approximately $0.01 per shares. Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 330,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that was completed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Each unit consists of one private placement share, one private placement warrant and one private placement right. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder upon exercise to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Each private placement right will be converted to one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary shares upon the completion of its initial business combination. The private placement units (including the underlying securities) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

On April 1, 2022, our units commenced trading on the NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, under the symbol “MSSAU”. Commencing May 31, 2022, the ordinary shares, rights and warrants are separately traded on NASDAQ under the symbols “MSSA” “MSSAR” and “MSSAW,” respectively.

Our sponsor owns approximately 21.88% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022. The net proceeds of the IPO plus the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units were deposited in the trust account.

On January 26, 2023, an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders was held to approve the proposal to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination twelve (12) times for an additional one (1) month each time from February 5, 2023 to February 5, 2024. In connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting, a total of 5,885,324 ordinary shares were presented for redemption in connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting. As of September 30, 2023, and December 31, 2022, the Company had $60,787,237 and $116,673,481 held in the Company’s trust account with Wilmington Trust, National Association, respectively.

On October 30, 2023, a second Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders was held to approve the proposal to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to further extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination by up to six (6) times for an additional one (1) month each time from February 5, 2024 to August 5, 2024 and reduce the amount to be deposited into the Trust Account in connection with each such extension. To effectuate each monthly extension, the Sponsor and/or its designee will deposit the lesser of (i) $50,000 for all remaining Public Shares and (ii) $0.033 for each remaining Public Share into the trust account. In connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting, a total of 2,412,260 ordinary shares were presented for redemption in connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting and funds totaling $26,293,634 were withdrawn from the trust account in connection with such redemptions.

Metal Sky Star previously entered into merger agreement with Future Dao Group Holdings Limited (the “Merger Agreement”) for a business combination that would qualify as an initial business combination under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

However, on October 6, 2023, Metal Sky Star, Future Dao Group Holding Limited, and Future Dao League Limited entered into a Termination of Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Termination Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, the parties agreed to mutually terminate the Merger Agreement, pursuant to Section 10.01 (a) of the Merger Agreement, effective as of October 6, 2023.

The mailing address of Metal Sky Star’s principal executive office is 132 West 31st Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10001, and its telephone number is (332) 237-6141.

You are not being asked to vote on a business combination at this time.

RISK FACTORS

Shareholders should carefully consider the following risk factors, together with other risk factors disclosed in Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 30, 2023 and all of the other information included in this proxy statement before they decide whether to vote or instruct their vote to be cast to approve the Proposals described in this proxy statement. These risks could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial conditioning and results of operations of the Company.

The fact that our sponsor is, is controlled by, and has substantial ties with a non-U.S. person could impact our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our sponsor, M-Star Management Corporation, is controlled by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wenxi He, who is a UK citizen. Our sponsor owns approximately 50.02% of the outstanding shares of the Company. Certain federally licensed businesses in the United States, such as broadcasters and airlines, may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership. As a result, this may limit the pool of acquisition candidates we may acquire in the United States, in particular, relative to other special purpose acquisition companies that are not subject to such restrictions, which could make it more difficult and costly for us to consummate a business combination with a target business operating in the United States relative to such other companies.

In addition, CFIUS is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States by foreign persons in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States. Because we may be considered a “foreign person” under such rules and regulations, any proposed business combination between us and a U.S. business engaged in a regulated industry or which may affect national security, we could be subject to such foreign ownership restrictions and/or CFIUS review. The scope of CFIUS review was expanded by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) to include certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive U.S. businesses and certain acquisitions of real estate even with no underlying U.S. business. FIRRMA, and subsequent implementing regulations that are now in force, also subject certain categories of investments to mandatory filings. If our initial business combination with any potential target company falls within the scope of foreign ownership restrictions, we may be unable to consummate a business combination with such business. In addition, if our business combination falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company if we had proceeded without first obtaining CFIUS clearance.

Moreover, the process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete its initial business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive the cash held in the trust account, and our warrants and rights will expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose any potential investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

A company that, among other things, is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, trading or holding certain types of securities would be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Since we currently invest the proceeds held in the trust account, it is possible the SEC could deem the Company to be currently an inadvertent but nevertheless unregistered investment company.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we have intended from completion of our initial public offering and continue to intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our initial public offering was not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account set up in connection with the closing of our initial public offering was and is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, except for the purposes of approving or in conjunction with the consummation of an initial business combination, to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 5, 2023 (or if extended, August 5, 2024; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by August 5, 2024 (if extended), our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.99 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. There can be, however, no assurance that the foregoing redemption price per share will be paid and as a result of expenses related to compliance with the Investment Company Act, such redemption price may be lower.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, on March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The SEC’s proposed rules would provide a safe harbor for companies from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, provided that they satisfy certain conditions that limit a company’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. The duration component of the proposed safe harbor rule would require company to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC announcing that it has entered into an agreement with the target company (or companies) to engage in an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of the Company’s registration statement for its initial public offering. A company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of its registration statement for its initial public offering. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto. Unfortunately, our Company may not qualify for the safe harbor because an initial business combination will not be completed within the foregoing 18-months and 24-month time requirements and will require additional months to complete. Accordingly, our company may already be deemed an unregistered investment company and subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act as well as further expenses and possible penalties.

To the extent it takes our company the longer to complete its initial business combination the greater will be the risk to our company and its shareholders that Metal Sky Star may be deemed to be an unregistered investment company. The risk of our company being determined to be an unregistered investment company may be mitigated if our company shifts the assets in its trust account from securities into cash only.

Risks Related to Our Possible Business Combination With a China- Based Target or Operating Businesses in the PRC

The PRC government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of the post-combination entity’s business and may intervene in or influence its operations at any time, which could result in a material change in its operations and/or the value of our securities. We are also currently not required to obtain approval from Chinese authorities to list on U.S. exchanges, however, if the China-based Target and the VIE were required to obtain approval in the future and were denied permission from Chinese authorities to list on U.S. exchanges, we will not be able to continue listing on a U.S. exchange, which would materially affect the interest of our investors.

The PRC government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our post-combination entity’s ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.

For example, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator announced on July 2, 2021, that it had begun an investigation of Didi Global Inc. (OTCMKTS: DIDI) and two days later ordered that the company’s app be removed from smartphone app stores. On July 24, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly released the Guidelines for Further Easing the Burden of Excessive Homework and Off-campus Tutoring for Students at the Stage of Compulsory Education, pursuant to which foreign investment in such firms via mergers and acquisitions, franchise development, and variable interest entities are banned from this sector.

As such, the post-combination entity’s business segments may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. The post-combination entity could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. We and our post-combination entity may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply, and such compliance or any associated inquiries or investigations or any other government actions may:

As we do not have any operations in China, given that (a) the CSRC, currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning our IPO and listing on Nasdaq are subject to the M&A Rules; and (b) our company is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands rather than in China and currently our company does not own or control any equity interest in any PRC company or operate any business in China, we believe that we are not required to obtain any licenses or approvals, under applicable PRC laws and regulations, for our operation or listing on Nasdaq and while seeking a target for the initial business combination. Further, according to the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, which was promulgated on December 28, 2021 and became effective on February 15, 2022, online platform operators holding more than one million users/users’ individual information shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. As we are a blank check company and are not involved in the collection of personal data of at least 1 million users or implicate cybersecurity, we do not believe that we are a “network platform operator(s)”, or subject to the cybersecurity review of the CAC.

Furthermore, we do not consider ourselves a China-based issuer, in particular, as specified in the Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Administrative Measures, and five supporting guidelines promulgated by the CSRC on February 17, 2023, which became effective on March 31, 2023. According to the Trial Administrative Measures, an issuer is a “domestic [Chinese] company” if the issuer meets both of the following conditions and thus, subject to the requirements for domestic [Chinese] companies seeking to offer or list securities overseas, both directly and indirectly, thereunder: (i) any of the total assets, net assets, revenues or profits of the domestic operating entities of the issuer in the most recent accounting year accounts for more than 50% of the corresponding figure in the issuer’s audited consolidated financial statements for the same period; and (ii) its major operational activities are carried out in China or its main places of business are located in China, or the senior managers in charge of operation and management of the issuer are mostly Chinese citizens or are domiciled in China. We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with no operation of our own except searching for a non-China-based target for our initial business combination. Furthermore, we do not own or control any equity interest in any PRC company or operate any business in China, and during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, we do not have 50% or more of our total assets, net assets, revenues or profits located or generated in China.

However, applicable PRC laws, regulations, or interpretations may change, and the relevant PRC government agencies could reach a different conclusion. There is also possibility that we may not be able to obtain or maintain such approval or that we inadvertently concluded that such approval was not required. If prior approval was required while we inadvertently concluded that such approval was not required or if applicable laws and regulations or the interpretation of such were modified to require us to obtain the approval in the future, we may face regulatory actions or other sanctions from relevant Chinese regulatory authorities.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.

If we consummate an initial business combination with a China-based Target, it will be governed by PRC laws and regulations. PRC companies and VIEs are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws and regulations applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value.

Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. Furthermore, the promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in each case that restrict or otherwise may unfavorably impact the ability or way the post-combination entity may conduct its business and could require it to change certain aspects of its business to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for its products or services, reduce revenues, increase costs, require us to obtain more licenses, permits, approvals or certificates, or subject it to additional liabilities. As such, the post-combination entity’s operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future PRC laws and regulations relating to its business or industry, which could result in a material and adverse change in the value of the post-combination entity’s securities, potentially rendering it worthless. As a result, both you and the post-combination entity face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent the post-combination entity from using the proceeds from the business combination to make loans or additional capital contributions to its PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect the post-combination entity’s liquidity and its ability to fund and expand its business.

Any loans from the post-combination entity to its PRC subsidiaries are subject to PRC regulations. For example, loans by the post-combination entity to its subsidiaries in China, which are foreign invested entities (“FIEs”), to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”). On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Hui Fa [2015] No.19, a notice regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested company of foreign currency into RMB. The foreign exchange capital, for which the monetary contribution has been confirmed by the foreign exchange authorities (or for which the monetary contribution has been registered for account entry by the banks) in the capital account of a foreign-invested enterprise may be settled at a bank as required by the enterprise’s actual operation needs. Foreign-invested enterprises with investment as their main business (including foreign-invested companies, foreign-invested venture capital enterprises and foreign-invested equity investment enterprises) are allowed to, under the premise of authenticity and compliance of their domestic investment projects, carry out based on their actual investment scales direct settlement of foreign exchange capital or transfer the RMB funds in the foreign exchange settlement account for pending payment to the invested enterprises’ accounts.

On May 10, 2013, SAFE released Circular 21, which came into effect on May 13, 2013. According to Circular 21, SAFE has simplified the foreign exchange administration procedures with respect to the registration, account openings and conversions, settlements of FDI-related foreign exchange, as well as fund remittances.

Circular 21 may significantly limit our ability to convert, transfer and use the net proceeds from the IPO and any offering of additional equity securities in China, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.

On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or SAFE Notice 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Under SAFE Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investments and outbound overseas direct investments, including those required under Circular 21, will be filed with qualified banks instead of SAFE. The qualified banks will directly examine the applications and accept registrations under the supervision of SAFE.

The post-combination entity may also decide to finance its PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. These capital contributions must be approved by MOFCOM or its local counterpart, which usually takes no more than 30 working days to complete. We may not be able to obtain these government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future capital contributions by us to the VIE or its subsidiaries. If we fail to receive such approvals, we will not be able to capitalize our PRC operations, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

Recent regulatory actions by the government of the People’s Republic of China with respect to foreign capital efforts and activities, including Business Combinations with offshore shell companies such as SPACs, may adversely impact our ability to consummate a business combination with a China based entity or business, or materially impact the value of our securities following any such business combination.

Although we have not identified any potential business combination target or any country in which we may source any target business, we may eventually identify and submit for shareholder approval a business combination with a target business located or based in China. On July 30, 2021, the Chairman of the SEC issued a statement highlighting potential issues resulting from recent China regulatory changes and guidance that may impact investors’ investments in China based entities. According to the SEC’s Chairman, the People’s Republic of China provided new guidance to and placed restrictions on China-based companies raising capital offshore, including through associated offshore shell companies. These developments include China government-led cybersecurity reviews of certain companies raising capital through offshore entities. This is relevant to U.S. investors. In a number of sectors in China, companies are not allowed to have foreign ownership and cannot directly list on exchanges outside of China. To raise money on such exchanges, many China-based operating companies are structured as Variable Interest Entities (VIEs). In such an arrangement, a China-based operating company typically establishes an offshore shell company in another jurisdiction, such as the Cayman Islands, to issue stock to public shareholders. For U.S. investors, this arrangement creates “exposure” to the China-based operating company, though only through a series of service contracts and other contracts. To be clear, though, neither the investors in the shell company’s stock, nor the offshore shell company itself, has stock ownership in the China-based operating company.

On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress approved the Foreign Investment Law, which took effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced three existing laws on foreign investments in China, namely, the PRC Equity Joint Venture Law, the PRC Cooperative Joint Venture Law and the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic invested enterprises in China. The Foreign Investment Law establishes the basic framework for the access to, and the promotion, protection and administration of foreign investments in view of investment protection and fair competition.

According to the China Foreign Investment Law, “foreign investment” refers to investment activities directly or indirectly conducted by one or more natural persons, business entities, or otherwise organizations of a foreign country (collectively referred to as “foreign investor”) within China, and the investment activities include the following situations: (i) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, establishes a foreign-invested enterprise within China; (ii) a foreign investor acquires stock shares, equity shares, shares in assets, or other like rights and interests of an enterprise within China; (iii) a foreign investor, individually or collectively with other investors, invests in a new project within China; and (iv) investments in other means as provided by laws, administrative regulations, or the State Council. The “variable interest entity” structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. Under the Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as equivalent to VIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is included in the “negative list” as a restricted industry, the VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then the variable interest entities will be treated as VIEs and any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership.

If we were to undertake a business combination with a China based business, our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, cyber security, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of jurisdictions such as China may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations.

There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations. The laws and regulations are sometimes vague and new laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. We cannot predict what effect the interpretation of existing or new PRC laws or regulations may have on our business. In connection with any business combination with a China based entity, we will be required to provide additional risk disclosure related to any such possible transaction and would be expected to incur additional costs related to compliance with such laws and regulations, if such compliance can be obtained.

PRC regulations regarding acquisitions impose significant regulatory approval and review requirements, which could make it more difficult for us to timely complete such acquisitions, or complete them at all.

Under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, companies undertaking acquisitions relating to businesses in China must notify the State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, in advance of any transaction where the parties’ revenues in the China market exceed certain thresholds and the buyer would obtain control of, or decisive influence over, the target, while under the M&A Rules, the approval of MOFCOM must be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire domestic companies affiliated with such PRC enterprises or residents. Applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations also require certain merger and acquisition transactions to be subject to security review. Complying with the requirements of the relevant regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including approval from SAMR, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to timely complete an initial business combination within either the initial 15-month period or within 21 months if extended or at all.

China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. It is possible that we may need to obtain approvals or permissions from the CSRC or another PRC regulatory body if we undertake a business combination with a China-based entity. If the CSRC or another PRC regulatory body subsequently determines that its approval is needed for an offering, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. As a result, we may have to spend additional resources and incur additional time delays to complete any such business combination or be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities, or even could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

Our initial business combination may be subject to PRC laws relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. These laws continue to develop, and the PRC government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers in the future by adopting other rules and restrictions. Non-compliance could result in penalties or other significant legal liabilities.

Pursuant to the PRC Cybersecurity Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016 and took effect on June 1, 2017, personal information and important data collected and generated by a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and services that affects or may affect national security, it should be subject to cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”). In April 2020, the CAC and certain other PRC regulatory authorities promulgated the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, which requires that operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security. On January 4, 2022, the CAC, in conjunction with 12 other government departments issued the New Measures for Cybersecurity Review (the “New Measures”). The New Measures amends the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (Draft Revision for Comments) (the “Draft Measures”) released on July 10, 2021 and came into effect on February 15, 2022. The New Measures include data processing activities of network platform operators that affect or may affect national security into cybersecurity review, and make it clear that network platform operators with personal information of more than one million users must apply for cybersecurity review to the Cybersecurity Review Office when they go public abroad. The PRC Data Security Law, which took effect on September 1, 2021, imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals that carry out data activities, provides for a national security review procedure for data activities that may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data and information. On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress promulgated the PRC Personal Information Protection Law (the “PIPL”), which is to take effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL sets out the regulatory framework for the handling and protection of personal information and the transmission of personal information overseas. If our potential future target business in China involves collecting and retaining internal or customer data, such target might be subject to the relevant cybersecurity laws and regulations, including the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the PIPL, and the cybersecurity review before effecting a business combination.

In addition, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities. According to Law (the “Opinions”), which were available to the public on July 6, 2021. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. As of the date of this proxy statement, no official guidance and related implementation rules have been issued in relation to these recently issued opinions and the interpretation and implementation of the Opinions remain unclear at this stage. We cannot assure you that we will not be required to obtain the pre-approval of the CSRC and potentially other PRC governmental authorities to pursue any business combination with a China-based company.

If, for example, our potential initial business combination is with a target business operating in the PRC and if the New Measures mandates clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by the target business, we may face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all, and incur additional time delays to complete any such acquisition. Cybersecurity review could also result in negative publicity with respect to our initial business combination and diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We may also be prevented from pursuing certain investment opportunities if the PRC government considers that the potential investments will result in a significant national security issue. In addition, due to limited business combination period that we have, we may avoid searching for a target and completing an initial business combination that will be subject to cybersecurity review. Therefore, we may avoid searching for a company which could be deemed as a network platform operator and possesses information of more than one million users.

Further, if the combined company, after business combination, is deemed to be a network platform operator which holds personal information of more than one million users, it will be subject to such cybersecurity review. The combined company could become subject to enhanced cybersecurity review or investigations launched by PRC regulators in the future and may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. Additionally, any failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review procedures or any other non-compliance with the related laws and regulations may result in fines or other penalties, including suspension of business, website closure, and revocation of prerequisite licenses, as well as reputational damage or legal proceedings or actions, which may have material adverse effect on the combined company’s business, financial condition or results of operations and any such action could cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless. As uncertainties remain regarding the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the combined company following a business combination will comply with such regulations in all respects and it may be ordered to rectify or terminate any actions that are deemed illegal by regulatory authorities. As a result, both you and we face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

Other PRC governmental authorities may take the view now or in the future that an approval from them is required for an overseas offering by a company affiliated with Chinese businesses or persons or a business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors (the “M&A Rules”), adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in 2006, and amended in 2009, require an offshore special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities in a PRC company to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. The scope of the M&A Rules covers two types of transactions: (a) equity deals where the acquisition by a foreign investor, i.e., the offshore special purpose vehicle, of equity in a “PRC domestic company,” and (b) asset deals where the acquisition by an offshore special purpose vehicle of the assets of a “PRC domestic company.” Neither the equity deals or the asset deals will be involved in our business combination process with a China-based target for the reason that the offshore special purpose vehicle of such China-based target directly holds shares through the wholly foreign owned enterprise(s) or WFOE, which are established by means of direct investment rather than by equity deals or asset deals under the M&A Rules. To date, the CSRC has not issued any definitive rules or interpretations concerning whether offerings such as the indirect listing of a China-based entity as part of the business combination are subject to the CSRC approval procedures under the M&A Rules. As a result, based on our management’s understanding of the current PRC laws, rules, regulations and the local market practices, the CSRC’s approval under the M&A Rules will not be required in the context of our business combination with a China-based target. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules to offshore special purpose vehicles and the above analysis are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementation and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC governmental agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. It is possible that we may need to obtain approvals or permissions from CSRC in order for us to complete a business combination with a China-based target pursuant to the M&A Rules. If we are required to obtain such approvals, we cannot assure we will be able to receive them in a timely manner, or at all.

Moreover, except for emphasizing the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies, the Opinions, which was made available to the public on July 6, 2021, also provides that the State Council will revise provisions regarding the overseas issuance and listing of shares by companies limited by shares and will clarify the duties of domestic regulatory authorities.

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released for public comments Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) and Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Draft Rules”). The Draft Rules, if declared into effect, will implement a new regulatory framework requiring Chinese businesses to file with CSRC when pursuing overseas listings. The Draft Rules propose a new filing system for all Chinese companies (including the VIE-structured companies) that are pursuing listings outside mainland China. An overseas listing is required to be filed with CSRC within three working days (i) following the submission of IPO application in the case of an IPO (or similar application in the case of a dual listing on another market), or (ii) following the submission of offering/registration applications (or following the first announcement of the transaction, as applicable) in the case of a SPAC listing or “back-door” listing. The requested filing documents include but are not limited to: (1) a filing report and related undertakings; (2) regulatory opinions, filing or approval documents issued by the relevant authorities (if applicable); (3) security review opinions issued by the relevant authorities, if applicable; (4) a PRC legal opinion; and (5) a prospectus.

On December 27, 2021, the NDRC and the MOFCOM promulgated Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2021 Version), effective as of January 1, 2022 (the “Negative List”). Compared to the previous version, there are no specific industries added to the list but it for the first time declares China’s jurisdiction over (and detailed regulatory requirements on) overseas listings made by Chinese businesses in the so-called “Prohibited Industries.” According to Article 6 of the Negative List, domestic enterprises engaging in businesses in which foreign investment is prohibited shall obtain approval from the relevant authorities before offering and listing their shares on an overseas stock exchange. In addition, certain foreign investors shall not be involved in the operation or management of the relevant enterprise, and shareholding percentage restrictions under relevant domestic securities investment management regulations shall apply to such foreign investors. The intended scope of such jurisdiction was further clarified by NDRC officials on a press conference held on January 18, 2022.

Based on our understanding of the current PRC laws and regulations, no prior permission is required under the M&A Rules, the Opinions, the Draft Rules or the Negative List from any PRC governmental authorities (including the CSRC) for consummating offerings we may conduct outside of China, given that: (a) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether such offerings are subject to the M&A Rules; (b) our company is a blank check company newly incorporated in Cayman Islands rather than China and currently the company conducts no business in China and (c) our sponsor is a newly incorporated company in the British Virgin Islands, rather than China, has its principal offices in the British Virgin Islands and currently, the sponsor conducts no business in China. However, there remains some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules, the Opinions, the Draft Rules or the Negative List will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering or if we decide to consummate the business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China. If the CSRC or another PRC governmental authority subsequently determines that its approval is needed for such an offering, or a business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China, we may face approval delays, adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities. In any such event, these governmental authorities may delay a potential business combination, impose fines and penalties, limit our operations in China, or take other actions that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our securities.

In the event that we were to determine to engage in an initial business combination with a China-based or operating business we would be subject to restrictions on the use of our cash obtained from our business combination with a China-based or operating business as describe under “PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds it receives from offshore financing activities to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to any PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and its ability to fund and expand business” and elsewhere in this proxy statement. However, as discussed elsewhere in this proxy statement, we do not believe we are currently subject to PRC law or regulation, including those PRC laws and regulation which affect our cash flow, including our ability to effect the redemption rights of our shareholders in connection with a business combination. We note that the funds held in trust to effect any such redemption are held outside of China and, in any event, we are not aware of any PRC law or regulation that would prevent us from making redemption payments to our shareholders.

Our company is a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We currently do not hold any equity interest in any PRC company or operate any business in China. Therefore, we are not required to obtain any permission from any PRC governmental authorities to operate our business as currently conducted. If we decide to consummate our business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China, the combined company’s business operations in China through its subsidiaries, as applicable, are subject to relevant requirements to obtain applicable licenses from PRC governmental authorities under relevant PRC laws and regulations.

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations and changes in policies, rules, and regulations in China, which may be quick with little advance notice, could limit the legal protection available to you and us.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which legal cases have limited value as precedents. In the late 1970s, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The legislation over the past three decades has significantly increased the protection afforded to various forms of foreign or private-sector investment in China. Any future PRC subsidiary is subject to various PRC laws and regulations generally applicable to companies in China. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, however, the interpretations of many laws, regulations, and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations, and rules involve uncertainties.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, however, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy in the PRC legal system than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies, internal rules, and regulations that may have retroactive effect and may change quickly with little advance notice. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainties over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property), and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments, or bringing actions in China against us or our management based on foreign laws. It may also be difficult for you or overseas regulators to conduct investigations or collect evidence within China.

Following completion of a business combination, we may remain a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and conduct most of our operations in China and most of our assets may be located in China. In addition, currently all our senior executive officers and directors either reside within China or Hong Kong, are physically there for a significant portion of each year, and are PRC nationals and this may also be the case following the completion of a business combination with a PRC-based or operated company. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process upon us or those persons inside mainland China. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands or the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us, or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws or those of any U.S. state.

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of written arrangement with the U.S. that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security, or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the U.S.

It may also be difficult for you or overseas regulators to conduct investigations or collect evidence within China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation outside China or otherwise with respect to foreign entities. Although the authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with its counterparts of another country or region to monitor and oversee cross-border securities activities, such regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the U.S. may not be efficient in the absence of a practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, or “Article 177,” which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigations or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Article 177 further provides that Chinese entities and individuals are not allowed to provide documents or materials related to securities business activities to foreign agencies without prior consent from the securities regulatory authority of the PRC State Council and the competent departments of the PRC State Council. While detailed interpretation of or implementing rules under Article 177 have yet to be promulgated, the inability for an overseas securities regulator to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within China may further increase difficulties faced by you in protecting your interests.

There is also uncertainty as to whether the courts of Hong Kong would (1) recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States, or (2) entertain original actions brought in Hong Kong against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States.

In addition, judgments of United States courts will not be directly enforced in Hong Kong. There are currently no treaties or other arrangements providing for reciprocal enforcement of foreign judgments between Hong Kong and the United States. However, subject to certain conditions, including but not limited to when the judgment is for a definite sum of money in a civil matter and not in respect of taxes, fines, penalties or similar charges, the judgment is final and conclusive rendered by a court with jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter and has not been stayed or satisfied in full, the judgment is from a competent court, the judgment was not obtained by fraud, misrepresentation or mistake nor obtained in proceedings which contravenes the rules of natural justice and the enforcement of the judgment is not contrary to public policy in Hong Kong, Hong Kong courts may accept such judgment obtained from a United States court as a debt due under the rules of common law. However, a separate legal action for debt must be commenced in Hong Kong in order to recover such debt from the judgment debtor.

Any actions by the Chinese government, including any decision to intervene or influence the operations of any future PRC subsidiary or to exert control over any offering of securities conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, may cause us to make material changes to the operations of any future PRC subsidiary, may limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. The ability of any PRC-based or controlled business that we may acquire to operate in China may be impaired by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, foreign investment limitations, and other matters. The central or local governments of China may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our PRC-based or controlled subsidiary’s compliance with such regulations or interpretations. As such, any future PRC subsidiary may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. They could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. They may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply.

Furthermore, it is uncertain when and whether we will be required to obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded. Our operations following a business combination with a PRC entity could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to our business or industry, particularly in the event permission to list on U.S. exchanges may be later required, or withheld or rescinded once given.

Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision to intervene or influence the operations of any future PRC subsidiary at any time or to exert control over an offering of securities conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, may cause us to make material changes to the operations of any future PRC subsidiary, may limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and/or may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit any future PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose any PRC subsidiaries to liability and penalties under PRC law.

SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to PRC Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 that requires PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC residents or entities, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions.

SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments through Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles. If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, any of our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to affiliated entities in our corporate structure. Moreover, failure to comply with SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents or entities holding direct or indirect interest of us, nor can we compel our shareholders to comply with the requirements of SAFE Circular 37. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of its shareholders who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by, SAFE Circular 37. Failure by such shareholders to comply with SAFE Circular 37, or failure by us or any PRC subsidiaries to amend the foreign exchange registrations could subject such subsidiaries to fines or legal sanctions, restrict any overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends to us or affect our post business combination ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds it receives from offshore financing activities to make loans to or make additional capital contributions to any PRC subsidiaries, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and its ability to fund and expand business.

Following a business combination with one or more PRC based entities, any transfer of funds by us to any PRC subsidiaries, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, is subject to approval by or registration or filing with relevant governmental authorities in China. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, capital contributions to PRC subsidiaries are subject to the approval of or filing with the Ministry of Commerce in its local branches and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE. In addition, (i) any foreign loan procured by PRC subsidiaries is required to be registered with SAFE or its local branches or filed with SAFE in its information system; and (ii) PRC subsidiaries may not procure loans which exceed the difference between their total investment amount and registered capital or, as an alternative, only procure loans subject to the calculation approach and limitation as provided in the People’s Bank of China Notice No. 9 (the “PBOC Notice No. 9”). Any medium- or long-term loan to be provided by us or our affiliated entities, if any, to our PRC subsidiary must be registered with the National Development and Reform Commission and SAFE or its local branches. We may not be able to obtain these government approvals or complete such registrations on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future capital contributions or foreign loans by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to receive such approvals or complete such registration or filing, our ability to capitalize on PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and ability to fund and expand our businesses.

The Circular on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, effective as of June 1, 2015, as amended by Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement under the Capital Account, or SAFE Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, allows certain entities to settle their foreign exchange capital at their discretion, but continues to prohibit them from using the Renminbi fund converted from their foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond their business scopes, and also prohibit such PRC based entities from using such Renminbi fund to provide loans to persons other than affiliates unless otherwise permitted under its business scope. As a result, SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our future ability to use Renminbi converted from the net proceeds from our offshore financing activities to fund the establishment of new entities in China by us or their subsidiaries, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies through any future PRC subsidiaries in China, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

PRC governmental control of currency conversion may limit the ability of our operating companies in China to utilize their revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Under the expected corporate structure, the combined company, a British Virgin Islands holding company, may rely on dividend payments from its PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements it may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments in foreign currencies of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made without prior approvals of the SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Specifically, under the existing exchange restrictions, without prior approvals of the SAFE, cash generated from the operations of PRC operating companies in China may be used to pay dividends. However, approvals from or registration with appropriate government authorities are required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currencies and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies.

As a result, the PRC subsidiaries of the combined company will need to obtain the SAFE approval to pay off their debt in a currency other than Renminbi owed to any entities outside China or to make other capital expenditure payments outside China in a currency other than Renminbi.

In light of the flood of capital outflows of China in 2016 due to the weakening Renminbi, the PRC government has imposed more restrictive foreign exchange policies and stepped up scrutiny over major outbound capital movements including overseas direct investment. More restrictions and substantial vetting processes have been put in place by the SAFE to regulate cross-border transactions that fall under the capital account transactions. The PRC government may in the future at its discretion further restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions. If the foreign exchange control regulations prevent the combined company from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies from its PRC subsidiaries to satisfy its capital demands, the combined company may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to its shareholders.

Dividends payable to our foreign investors and gains on the sale of our ordinary shares by our foreign investors may be subject to PRC tax.

We may consummate a business combination with a target business based in and primarily operating in China through subsidiaries in China. After such business combination, the combined company may rely on dividends and other distributions from the PRC subsidiaries of the combined company to provide it with cash flow and to meet its other obligations. Current regulations in China would permit the combined company’s PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends only out of their accumulated distributable profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, the combined company’s PRC subsidiaries in China will be required to set aside at least 10% of their after-tax profits each year to fund their respective statutory reserves (up to an aggregate amount equal to half of their respective registered capital). Such cash reserve may not be distributed as cash dividends.

In addition, if the combined company’s PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make payments to the combined company or its PRC subsidiaries, as applicable.

Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

The PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of certain taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by a non-resident enterprise by promulgating and implementing SAT Circular 59 and Circular 698, which became effective in January 2008, and a Circular 7 in replacement of some of the existing rules in Circular 698, which became effective in February 2015.

Under Circular 698, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the equity interests of a PRC “resident enterprise” indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, may be subject to PRC corporate income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an abusive use of company structure without reasonable commercial purposes. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of up to 10%. Circular 698 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the relevant tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income of the transaction.

In February 2015, the SAT issued Circular 7 to replace the rules relating to indirect transfers in Circular 698. Circular 7 has introduced a new tax regime that is significantly different from that under Circular 698. Circular 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to not only indirect transfers set forth under Circular 698 but also transactions involving transfer of other taxable assets, through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, Circular 7 provides clearer criteria than Circular 698 on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Circular 7 also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC corporate income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise.

We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on future private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities may pursue such non-resident enterprises with respect to a filing or the transferees with respect to withholding obligation, and request our PRC subsidiaries to assist in the filing. As a result, we and non-resident enterprises in such transactions may become at risk of being subject to filing obligations or being taxed, under Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 or to establish that we and our non-resident enterprises should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under SAT Circular 59, Circular 698 and Circular 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the taxable assets transferred and the cost of investment. Although we currently have no plans to pursue any acquisitions in China or elsewhere in the world, we may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC corporate income tax law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under SAT Circular 59 or Circular 698 and Circular 7, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Recent greater oversight by the Cyberspace Administration of China over data security, particularly for companies seeking to list on a foreign exchange, could adversely impact our future business and any future offering of securities.

On July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China or CAC published the Circular on Seeking Comments on Cybersecurity Review Measures (Revised Draft for Comments) (the “Review Measures Draft”), which provides that, in addition to critical information infrastructure operators (“CIIOs”) that intend to purchase Internet products and services, data processing operators engaging in data processing activities that affect or may affect national security must be subject to cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office of the PRC. According to the Review Measures Draft, a cybersecurity review assesses potential national security risks that may be brought about by any procurement, data processing, or overseas listing (“Cybersecurity Review Measures”). The Review Measures Draft further requires that CIIOs and data processing operators that possess personal data of at least one million users must apply for a review by the Cybersecurity Review Office of the PRC before conducting listings in foreign countries. The deadline for public comments on the Review Measures Draft was July 25, 2021. There remains uncertainty, however, as to how the final Cybersecurity Review Measures will be interpreted or implemented and whether the PRC regulatory agencies, including the CAC, may adopt new laws, regulations, rules, or detailed implementation and interpretation related to the Cybersecurity Review Measures.

We may be required to obtain permission from Chinese authorities, including the Cyberspace Administration of China to acquire and operate certain PRC-based or controlled businesses, and the ownership or operation of certain China-based businesses may be limited or prohibited to foreign investors.

Compliance with the Cybersecurity Review Measures, if applicable to a potential business combination, would likely be time consuming and costly and may not be able to be completed timely to comply with our time constraints in completing a business combination.

If we inadvertently conclude that the Cybersecurity Review Measures do not apply to a potential business combination, or if applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and it is determined in the future that the Cybersecurity Review Measures become applicable to us, we may be subject to review when conducting data processing activities, and may face challenges in addressing its requirements and make necessary changes to our internal policies and practices. We may incur substantial costs in complying with the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which could result in material adverse changes in our business operations and financial position. If we are not able to fully comply with the Cybersecurity Review Measures, our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors may be significantly limited or completely hindered, and our securities may significantly decline in value or become worthless.

If any such new laws, regulations, rules, or implementation and interpretation come into effect, we will take all reasonable measures and actions to comply and to minimize the adverse effect of such laws on us. We cannot guarantee, however, that we will not be subject to cybersecurity review in the future. During such review, we may be required to suspend our operation or experience other disruptions to our operations. Cybersecurity review could also result in negative publicity with respect to our Company and diversion of our managerial and financial resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial conditions, and results of operations.

If the government of the PRC finds that the VIE Agreements that a China-based Target entered into to allow the post-combination entity to consolidate the financial results of such China-based Target do not comply with local governmental restrictions on foreign investment, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, the post-combination entity could be subject to significant penalties or be forced to relinquish its interests in those operations or the post-combination entity could be unable to consolidate the financial results of the VIE, which could cause the value of our securities depreciate significantly or become worthless.

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no operations of our own and no subsidiaries except searching for a suitable target to consummate an initial business combination. We currently do not have any PRC subsidiaries or China operations, do not have any specific business combination under consideration and have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. However, because of our significant ties to China, we may pursue a business combination with a China-based Target which might require a VIE structure. The post-combination entity, through VIE Agreements, can consolidate the financial results of the VIE in accordance with U.S. GAAP or IFRS as primary beneficial for accounting purposes. In that case, following the consummation of a business combination with a China-based Target, the securities of the post-combination entity would be securities of an offshore holding company instead of shares of the VIE in China. For a summary of the VIE structure and VIE Agreements, see “The Target Limitation Amendment Proposal — If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is Approved — Risks Related to Our Possible Business Combination with a China-based Target utilizing the VIE Structure.”

The post-combination entity may rely on VIE Agreements with the VIE and its shareholders, to consolidate the financial results of the VIE. These VIE Agreements may not be as effective as direct ownership. Under the VIE Agreements, as a legal matter, if the VIE or any of its shareholders executing the VIE Agreements fails to perform its, his or her respective obligations under the VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity may have to incur substantial costs and resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies available under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective. For example, if shareholders of the VIE were to refuse to transfer their equity interests in such VIE to the post-combination entity or its designated persons when the post-combination entity exercises the purchase option pursuant to the VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity may have to take a legal action to compel them to fulfill their contractual obligations.

If (i) the applicable PRC authorities invalidate the VIE Agreements for violation of PRC laws, rules and regulations, (ii) any VIE or its shareholders terminate the VIE Agreements, (iii) any VIE or its shareholders fail to perform its/his/her obligations under the VIE Agreements, or (iv) if these regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, the China-based Target’s business operations in China would be materially and adversely affected, and the value of your securities would substantially decrease or even become worthless. Further, if the post-combination entity fails to renew the VIE Agreements upon their expiration, the post-combination entity would not be able to continue the business operations unless the then current PRC law allows it to directly operate businesses in China.

In addition, if any VIE or all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue to consolidate the financial results of the VIE, which could materially and adversely affect the post-combination entity’s business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of the VIEs undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, its shareholders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of these assets, thereby materially and adversely affecting the financial results of the post-combination entity.

All of the VIE Agreements will be governed by PRC law and provided for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts will be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes will be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce the VIE Agreements. In the event the post-combination entity is unable to enforce the VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity may not be able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in accordance with U.S. GAAP or IFRS and the post-combination entity may be precluded from operating its business, which would have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.

Although based on industry practices, VIE Agreements among the WFOE, the VIE and its shareholders governed by PRC laws are valid, binding and enforceable, and will not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect, however, the VIE Agreements may not have been widely tested in a court of law in China and there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations and rules. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may ultimately take a view that is contrary to the accepted industry practices with respect to the VIE Agreements. In addition, it is uncertain whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to the VIE structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide. PRC government authorities may deem that foreign ownership is directly or indirectly involved in the VIE’s shareholding structure. If our potential corporate structure and VIE Agreements are deemed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, or the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, or other regulators having competent authority to be illegal, either in whole or in part, the post-combined company may lose the ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIE through the VIE Agreements and have to modify such structure to comply with regulatory requirements. However, there can be no assurance that we can achieve this without material disruption to the China-based Target’s business. Furthermore, if the post-combined company or the VIE is found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures, including, without limitation:

The imposition of any of these penalties will result in a material and adverse effect on our potential ability to conduct the business. In addition, it is unclear what impact the PRC government actions will have on the post-combined company and on the post-combination entity’s ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements, if the PRC government authorities were to find our potential corporate structure and VIE Agreements to be in violation of PRC laws and regulations. If the imposition of any of these government actions causes the post-combination entity to lose the right to direct the activities of the VIE or the right to receive substantially all the economic benefits and residual returns from the VIE and the post-combination entity is not able to restructure the ownership structure and operations in a timely and satisfactory manner, the post-combination entity will no longer be able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements. Either of these results, or any other significant penalties that might be imposed on the post-combination entity in this event, it will have a material adverse effect on the post-combination entity’s financial condition, results of operations and our securities shares may decline in value or be worthless.

The VIE Agreements under a VIE structure may not be as effective as direct ownership in respect of the relationship of the post-combination entity with the VIE, and thus, the post-combination entity may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the VIE Agreements, which the post-combination entity may not be able to enforce at all.

The VIE Agreements may not be as effective as direct ownership in respect of the relationship of the post-combination entity with the VIE. For example, the VIE and its shareholders could breach the VIE Agreements by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to the interests of the post-combination entity. If the post-combination entity had direct ownership of the VIE, the post-combination entity would be able to exercise its rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the board of directors of the VIE, which in turn could implement changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations, at the management and operational level. However, under the VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity rely on the performance by the VIE and its shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to consolidate the financial results of the VIE as primary beneficiary. The shareholders of the VIE may not act in the best interests of the post-combination entity or may not perform their obligations under these VIE Agreements. Such risks exist throughout the period in which the post-combination entity intends to consolidate the financial results of the VIE through the VIE Agreements.

If the VIE or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the post-combination entity, the post-combination entity may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such VIE Agreements. For example, if the shareholders of the VIE refuse to transfer their equity interest in the VIE to the post-combination entity or its designee if the post-combination entity exercises the purchase option pursuant to the VIE Agreements, or if they otherwise act in bad faith toward the post-combination entity, then the post-combination entity may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations. In addition, if any third parties claim any interest in such shareholders’ equity interests in the VIE, the post-combination entity’s ability to foreclose the share pledge according to the VIE Agreements may be impaired. If these or other disputes between the shareholders of the VIE and third parties were to impair the post-combination entity’s relationship with the VIE, the post-combination entity’s ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIE as primary beneficiary would be affected, which would in turn result in a material and adverse effect on the business, operations and financial condition.

Any failure by the VIE or its shareholders to perform their obligations under the VIE Agreements would have a material and adverse effect on the post-combination entity’s business.

The shareholders of the VIE are referred as its nominee shareholders because although they remain the holders of equity interests on record in the VIE, pursuant to the terms of the relevant power of attorney, such shareholders have irrevocably authorized the individual appointed by the WFOE to exercise their rights as a shareholder of the relevant VIE. If the VIE, or its shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. The post-combination entity may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which the post-combination entity cannot assure you will be effective under PRC laws.

All of these VIE Agreements may be governed by and interpreted in accordance with PRC law, and disputes arising from these VIE Agreements may be resolved in court or through arbitration in China. Accordingly, these contracts will be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes will be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the post-combination entity’s ability to enforce these VIE Agreements. See “RISK FACTORS”— Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.” Meanwhile, the VIE Agreements may not have been widely tested in a court of law in China and there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how VIE Agreements in the context of a VIE should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws. There remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such adjudication or arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under PRC laws, rulings by arbitrators are final and parties cannot appeal arbitration results in court unless such rulings are revoked or determined unenforceable by a competent court. If the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that the post-combination entity is unable to enforce these VIE Agreements, or if the post-combination entity suffers significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these VIE Agreements, the post-combination entity may not be able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP or IFRS as primary beneficiary for accounting purposes, and the post-combination entity’s ability to conduct its business may be negatively affected.

PROPOSAL 1 THE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS PROPOSAL

Our Board currently consists of one class of five directors, with all directors elected to serve a two-year term.

At the Annual General Meeting, shareholders are being asked to elect five directors to serve as members of our Board to hold office for a two-year term and until the second succeeding annual general meeting of shareholders or until their respective successors have been elected and qualified.

Wenxi He, Konstantin A Sokolov, Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan are the nominees of directors of the Company who are standing for election or re-election at the Annual General Meeting.

Unless you indicate otherwise, shares represented by executed proxies in the form enclosed will be voted for the election as director of the below nominees unless a nominee shall be unavailable, in which case such shares will be voted for a substitute nominee designated by our Board. We have no reason to believe the nominees will be unavailable or, if elected, will decline to serve.

The table below sets forth the name, age and position of each nominee for director.

The following sets forth information regarding each nominee:

Ms. Wenxi He has served as our Chief Financial Officer since June 2021 and our Chief Executive Officer and director since September 2023. She serves as Chief Investment Officer at Still Waters Green Technology Limited, an asset management company based in London, specializing in the development and management of renewable energy and power generation assets, since February 2019. Ms. He has over 15 years of experience in the investment banking industry. Prior to joining Still Waters Green Technology Limited, she served as the Managing Director and Global Head of Commodity Exchange Traded Products at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London. She was responsible for initiating and executing strategic solutions and issuance, trading physical and synthetic commodity products, and managing portfolio assets in energy, metals and agriculture, with a wide variety of commodity, currency and interest-rate risk. Prior to that, Ms. He traded and structured commodity derivative products at Citigroup, fixed income security products with a focus on structured credit and rates at UBS and RBC Capital Markets. Ms. He holds master’s degrees in both Mathematical Finance and Engineering from University of Toronto, and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Tongji University. We believe that Ms. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to her service as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer and the breadth of her experience in investment banking and financial markets.

Mr. Konstantin A. Sokolov has served as a director since October 14, 2022. Mr. Sokolov is the founder and Chairman of Gotthard Investment AG, which is a private equity firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, focusing on financial services, asset management and global real estate. Since 2011, Gotthard Investment AG advised and managed multiple investment funds, and partnered with leading Swiss and Lichtenstein banks to invest globally in energy and real estate assets. Prior to that, Mr. Sokolov served as Managing Director of Centrica plc (British Gas and Direct Energy). Between 1997 to 2005, Mr. Sokolov served in senior leadership positions at Qwest Communication, Inc., a pioneer in fiber optics. Mr. Sokolov holds an Executive MBA degree from University of Chicago in 2005 and a Master’s of Mathematics and Computer Science degree from St. Petersburg State University in 1997. Mr. Sokolov served as a senior advisor to us from June 2021 until October 2022 when he was appointed to serve on our Board. Since August 2023, Mr. Sokolov has also been a member of the board of directors of Golden Star Acquisition Corp. Mr. Sokolov previously served as a member of the board of directors of Alpha Star Acquisition Corp. from December 2021 to October 2022. We believe Mr. Sokolov is well-qualified to serve as a member of the Board because of his deep experience in financial services and asset management as well as his experience as an independent director of other special purpose acquisition corporations.

Mr. Zhuo Wang has served as an independent director immediately upon since March 31, 2022. Mr. Wang serves as the director of Mingzhu Logistics Holdings Limited, a NASDAQ-listed company (Nasdaq:YGMZ), since April 2018. Mr. Wang has over ten years of experience in investment and management. He has also been the marketing manager of Singapore construction design and supply company Springview Enterprises Private Limited since June 2018. Mr. Wang started to work as the director of an investment holding company, Exquisite Elite Limited since November 2017. Since May 2017, Mr. Wang has been the managing director of China International Holdings, and its Hong Kong based subsidiaries, China International Securities Limited, a securities firm, overseeing the firm’s brokerage services, business operations and performance, and China International Corporate Management Limited since June 2016, a consulting firm that provides a range of business solutions to small and medium sized companies in Asia. Since April 2016, Mr. Wang has also been the head of finance and operations at a Singaporean education consulting company Shines International Limited and a director of Total Best Investments Limited, an investment holding company since March 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Wang has been the head of finance and marketing of Singapore construction services provider GGL Enterprises Pte Ltd since 2012. Mr. Wang also served as a director on the board of various companies, including Belvedere Ventures Pte Ltd. between June 2011 to October 2016, a real estate development and construction company, Sandhurst Global Pte Ltd., and between September 2013 to August 2014, a security personnel staffing and systems company, Acquired Time (HK) Limited. Mr. Wang holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management from Babson College in Boston, Massachusetts. We believe Mr. Wang is well-qualified to serve as a member of the Board because of his experience in investment and management.

Mr. Zining Jiang has served as an independent director since March 31, 2022. Mr. Jiang currently serves as the general manager of Guangzhou Shanxin Trading Co. Ltd., which mainly engages in industrial raw material trade and import and export business since July 2018. Prior to that, since July 2015, Mr. Jiang served as the CEO of Guangzhou Yidao Investment Holding Co., Ltd. and an operational director at Guangdong Grape Wine Magazine Co., Ltd. In 2007, he joined Yangcheng Evening News Group as the deputy chief editor. He then joined China Southern Airlines as assistant to the general manager in April 2011, and was promoted as the operation director of China Southern Airlines Media Group. He joined PACOM Media Co. Ltd. in July 2001 and successively served as the chief editor of China Golf, Golf Digest and Golf Travel. Prior to that, Mr. Jiang joined Guangdong Cable TV station in 1996 as an editor upon graduation from Jinan University. We believe Mr. Jiang is well qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in management.

Mr. Xinghua Fan has served as an independent director since March 31, 2022. Mr. Fan currently serves as the Vice General Manager and is responsible for the financing and listing of SINO SIC Technology Development Co., Ltd.’s silicon carbide project. Mr. Fan has served as the Senior Partner and Vice President of Beijing New Board Capital Investment Holdings Co. since 2014. At the same time, he is also the executive director of the World Union Fortune Entrepreneur Club and a member of the investment committee. Mr. Fan was the COO of Sino-American Holding Group from 2011 to 2013. From 2008 to 2011, he worked as the vice president of Zhongshuo Investment Guarantee Group. From 2005 to 2007, he has worked in Xinyuan Guarantee (China) Co., Ltd. as an operation center manager. Mr. Fan received a Master’s Degree in College of Economics and Management (SEM) from Beihang University. We believe Mr. Fan is well-qualified to serve as a member of the Board because of his experience in investment and management.

There are no arrangements or understandings between any of our directors and any other person pursuant to which any director was selected to serve as a director of our company. Directors are elected until the end of their term of appointment and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Each director will hold office for the term fixed by the ordinary resolution or the resolution of directors appointing such director, as applicable, but such term shall not exceed two years. There are no family relationships among any of the directors or the executive officers of the Company.

Director Qualifications and Diversity

We seek directors with established strong professional reputations and experience in areas relevant to the strategy and operations of our businesses. We seek directors who possess the qualities of integrity and candor, who have strong analytical skills and who are willing to engage management and each other in a constructive and collaborative fashion. We also seek directors who have the ability and commitment to devote significant time and energy to service on the Board and its committees. We believe that all of our directors meet the foregoing qualifications. We do not have a policy with respect to diversity.

Transactions with Related Persons, Promoters and Certain Control Persons

Certain “related party” transactions involving related persons (excluding executive officer compensation which is determined by the compensation committee) are presented to, reviewed and approved by the audit committee. Related persons include the Company’s directors and executive officers, immediate family members of the directors and executive officers, and security holders who beneficially own five percent or more of our common stock and their respective family members. The transactions subject to such review are those transactions in which the Company was or is to be a participant and the amount involved equals or exceeds $120,000. If the related party involved in a related party transaction is a director of the Company that would normally review such a transaction or a family member of such a director, then that director will not participate in the relevant discussion and review.

Information considered in evaluating such transactions may include: the nature of the related person’s interest in the transaction; the material terms of the transaction; whether the terms of the transaction are fair to the Company and on the same basis as would apply if the transaction did not involve a related party; whether there are business reasons for the Company to enter into the transaction; whether the transaction would impair the independence of an outside director; and whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interests for any director or executive officer of the Company, taking into account the size of the transaction, the overall financial position of the director, executive officer or related party, the direct or indirect nature of the director’s, executive officer’s or related party’s interest in the transaction and the ongoing nature of any proposed relationship; and any other factors the audit committee deems relevant.

Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons

Our Board appointed an audit committee consisting of independent directors. This committee, among other duties, is charged to review, and if appropriate, ratify all agreements and transactions which had been entered into with related parties, as well as review and ratify all future related party transactions.

Proposed Resolution

At the Annual General Meeting, the following resolution will be presented for adoption pursuant to the Election of Directors Proposal:

RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that each of Wenxi He, Konstantin A Sokolov, Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan be elected as directors serving on the Board of Directors for a two-year term and until the second succeeding annual general meeting of the Company or until their respective successors are elected and qualified in accordance with the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company.

Vote Required

If a quorum is present, directors are elected by an ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. Votes marked “FOR” a nominee will be counted in favor of that nominee. Proxies will have full discretion to cast votes for other persons in the event any nominee is unable to serve. Failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person at the Annual General Meeting and broker non-votes will have no effect on the vote.

Recommendation of the Board

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR”

THE ELECTION OF EACH OF THE FIVE NOMINEES TO THE BOARD.

PROPOSAL 2 THE RATIFICATION OF

APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITOR PROPOSAL

The Audit Committee of our Board is responsible for the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee has determined to appoint the public accounting firm of UHY LLP, Certified Public Accountants, as independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Although our Audit Committee is directly responsible for selecting and retaining our independent auditor and even though ratification is not required by our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Board is submitting the selection of UHY LLP to our shareholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice and we are asking our shareholders to approve the appointment of UHY LLP. In the event our shareholders fail to ratify the appointment, the Audit Committee may reconsider this appointment.

The Company has been advised by UHY LLP that neither the firm nor any of its associates had any relationship with the Company other than the usual relationship that exists between independent registered public accountant firms and their clients during the last fiscal year. No representative of UHY LLP is expected to be present in person or by electronic conferencing at the Annual General Meeting.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Fees

The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by UHY LLP for audit and non-audit services rendered to us in 2022 and 2021. These fees are categorized as audit fees, audit-related fees, tax fees, and all other fees. The nature of the services provided in each category is described following the table.

Audit Fees. We paid aggregate fees of $83,625 and $70,625 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to UHY LLP for professional services rendered by such firm for the audit and review of the financial statements included in our registration statement on Form S-1, annual report on Form 10-K and for the review of the financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Audit-Related Fees. We paid aggregate fees of $0 and $0 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to UHY LLP.

Tax Fees. We paid aggregate fees of $0 and $0 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to UHY LLP for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning. No tax services were provided by UHY LLP during such periods.

All Other Fees. We did not pay any fees to UHY LLP. for any other professional services during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Board of Directors Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

The Audit Committee has the sole authority to review in advance and grant any pre-approvals of (i) all auditing services to be provided by the independent auditor, (ii) all significant non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as permitted by Section 10A of the Exchange Act, and (iii) all fees and the terms of engagement with respect to such services, except that the Audit Committee may delegate the authority to pre-approve non-audit services to one or more of its committee members who will present his decisions to the full Audit Committee at the first meeting following such decision. All audit and non-audit services performed by UHY LLP during fiscal years 2022 and 2021 were pre-approved pursuant to the procedures outlined above. Prior to the establishment of the Audit Committee, all services of the independent auditors were approved by the full board of directors.

Proposed Resolution

At the Annual General Meeting, the following resolution will be presented for adoption pursuant to Proposal 2:

RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that the selection of UHY LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 be and is hereby confirmed, ratified and approved in all respects.

Vote Required

An ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law is required to ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. Abstentions will not affect the outcome of the vote on the proposal.

Recommendation of the Board

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR”

THE RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF UHY LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023.

PROPOSAL 3 THE TARGET LIMITATION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL

Metal Sky Star is proposing to amend its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to allow the Company to undertake an initial business combination with an entity or business, with a physical presence, operation, or other significant ties to China or which may subject the post-business combination business or entity to the laws, regulations and policies of China (including Hong Kong and Macao), or an entity or business that conducts operations in China through variable interest entities, or VIEs, pursuant to a series of contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders on one side, and a China-based subsidiary of the China-based Target, on the other side.

Reasons for the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal

The Target Limitation Amendment will provide the Company with the ability to access to a larger pool of target candidates by providing additional flexibility for the Company to consummate an initial business combination before the end date of the Combination Period, which our Board believes is in the best interest of our shareholders. The Company believes that given the Company’s expenditure of time, effort and money on searching for potential business combination opportunities, including the fact that we are in active discussions regarding a business combination, circumstances warrant providing public shareholders an opportunity to consider an initial business combination.

Interests of the Sponsor, Directors and Officers

When you consider the recommendation of our Board, you should keep in mind that our sponsor, executive officers and members of our Board have interests that may be different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder. These interests include, among other things:

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is Not Approved

Shareholder approval of the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is required for the implementation of our Board’s plan to undertake an initial business combination with a China-based Target including an entity or business that operates through the VIE structure. Therefore, our Board will abandon and not implement the Target Limitation Amendment unless our shareholders approve the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal.

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is not approved and the Company has not consummated a business combination by the end date of the Combination Period, the Company will (i) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, and subject to having lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares, at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, but net of taxes payable and excluding up to US$50,000 of any interest earned to pay liquidation expenses (the “Liquidation Expenses Amount”) (but including remaining interest), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (ii) as promptly as practicable, cease all operations except for the purpose of making such distribution and any subsequent winding up of the Company. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless in the event the Company winds up.

The holders of the sponsor shares have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to such shares. There will be no distribution from the trust account with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless in the event the Company has not consummated an initial business combination before the end date of the Combination Period. The Company will pay the costs of liquidation from the Liquidation Expenses Amount and its remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, the Sponsor has agreed to advance it the funds necessary to complete such liquidation and has agreed not to seek repayment of such expenses.

Full Text of the Resolution

The full text of the resolution to be passed is set out in Annex A to this proxy statement.

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is Approved

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, we will then continue to work to consummate a business combination by the end date of the Combination Period, and may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a China-based Target including an entity or business that operates with the VIE structure, so the combined company may face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties after the business combination.

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, the Company will file an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association in substantially the form of Annex A hereto. The Company will remain a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and its units, ordinary shares and public warrants will remain publicly traded. The Company will then continue to work to consummate a business combination by the end date of the Combination Period.

Risks Related to Our Possible Business Combination with a China-based Target utilizing the VIE Structure

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, we can pursue a business combination with a China-based Target with the VIE structure (as defined below). As a result, we may be subject to risks due to uncertainty of the interpretation and the application of the PRC laws and regulations, including but not limited to limitation on foreign ownership of certain industries, regulatory review of overseas listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle and the validity and enforcement of the VIE Agreements (as defined below). Due to PRC legal restrictions on foreign ownership in certain industries, neither the post-combination entity nor its subsidiaries may own any equity interest in the China-based Target’s operating entity in a restricted industry, which is known as variable interest entity, or a VIE. Instead, a series of contractual arrangements (the “VIE Agreements”) may be entered into between the VIEs and its shareholders on one side, and a PRC subsidiary of the China-based Target on the other side.

VIE Agreements normally include: (i) certain power of attorney agreements, a share pledge agreement and certain loan agreements; (ii) an exclusive business cooperation agreement which allows the post-combination entity to receive substantially all of the economic benefits from the VIE; and (iii) certain exclusive option agreements and certain spouse consent letters which provide the China-based Target with an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in and/or assets of the VIE when and to the extent permitted by PRC laws (“VIE structure”). The China-based Target, through VIE Agreements, can consolidate the financial results of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, for accounting purposes. The post-combination entity or its shareholder will not directly hold equity interests in the VIEs after the business combination under the VIE structure, and therefore, such corporate structure is subject to risks due to uncertainty of the interpretation and the application of the PRC laws and regulations, including but not limited to limitation on foreign ownership of internet technology companies, regulatory review of oversea listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle, and the validity and enforcement of the VIE Agreements. VIE structure is also subject to the risks of uncertainty about any future actions of the PRC government in this regard that could disallow the VIE structure, which would likely result in a material change in the post-combination company’s operation and may cause the value of the securities of post-combination entity depreciate significantly or become worthless.

VIE structure may not be as effective as equity ownership and the post-combination entity may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements. Since the post-combination entity and its shareholders do not directly own equity interest in VIE and the shareholders of VIE still own the shares of VIE after the business combination, the VIE structure has its inherent risks that may affect your investment, including less effectiveness and certainties than equity ownership and potential substantial costs to enforce the terms of the VIE Agreements. The shareholders of VIE may not act in the best interests of the post-combined company or may not perform their obligations under the VIE Agreements. If VIE or the shareholders of the VIE breach their contractual obligations under the VIE Agreements, the post-combined company may have difficulty in enforcing any rights it may have under the VIE Agreements with the VIE and its shareholders in PRC because all of the VIE Agreements are governed by the PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. The post-combination entity may have to incur substantial costs and expend significant resources to enforce such VIE Agreements in reliance on legal remedies under PRC law. In connection with litigation, arbitration or other judicial or dispute resolution proceedings, assets under the name of any of record holder of equity interest in the VIE, including such equity interest of such record holder, may be put under court custody. As a consequence, we cannot be certain that the equity interest will be disposed pursuant to the VIE Agreements or that the ownership by the record holder of such equity interest will be unchallenged. In addition, if we acquire a China-based Target with VIE structure, investors in our common stock following a business combination would not hold equity interests in the VIE domiciled in China and would instead hold equity interests in a holding company. You may never hold equity interests in the VIE.

All of the VIE Agreements may be governed by and interpreted in accordance with PRC law, and disputes arising from these VIE Agreements may be resolved in court or through arbitration in China in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit the post-combination ability to enforce the VIE Agreements. As at the date of this proxy statement, there are very few precedents and little official guidance as to how VIE Agreements should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law. The VIE Agreements have not been widely tested in a court of law in the PRC and there remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of arbitration or adjudication should legal action become necessary. Furthermore, VIE Agreements may not be enforceable in China if PRC government authorities or courts take a view that such VIE Agreements contravene PRC laws and regulations or are otherwise not enforceable for public policy reasons. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts in the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against the post-combination entity or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state. In the event that the post-combined entity is unable to enforce the VIE Agreements, the post-combined entity may not be able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE through the VIE Agreements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS as primary beneficial for accounting purposes, and the post-combination entity may be precluded from operating the business, which will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.

Although the PRC authorities do not require permission to entry of VIE Agreements, recently the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which was made available to the public on July 6, 2021, pursuant to which the PRC government will strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings of Chinese companies. The Opinions and any related implementing rules to be enacted may subject VIE structure to compliance requirement in the future. Given the current regulatory environment in the PRC, uncertainty of different interpretation and enforcement of the rules and regulations in the PRC may be adverse to our business combination with a China-based Target or the post-combined company, which may take place quickly with little advance notice.

On February 17, 2023, the CSRC issued the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, which came into effect since March 31, 2023. According to the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, among other things, a domestic company in the PRC that seeks to offer and list securities in overseas markets shall fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC as per requirement of the Trial Administrative Measures. An issuer is a domestic company in the PRC if the following criteria are met at the same time: (a) 50% or more of the issuer’s operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year comes from PRC domestic companies, and (b) the main parts of the issuer’s business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China. Where a domestic company seeks to directly offer and list securities in overseas markets, the issuer shall file with the CSRC. Where a domestic company seeks to indirectly offer and list securities in overseas markets, the issuer shall designate a major domestic operating entity, which shall, as the domestic responsible entity, file with the CSRC. If, we acquire a China-based Target, we may be required to comply with the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings and complete the filing with the CSRC, to continue listing on U.S. exchanges or issue securities to foreign investors post business combination with a China-based Target. Since the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings are newly promulgated, and the interpretation and implementation thereof involves uncertainties, we cannot assure that we will be able to complete the relevant filings in a timely manner or fulfil all the regulatory requirements thereunder. For more details, see “Target Limitation Amendment Proposal —Consequences If the Target Limitation Amendment is Approved — Permission required from the PRC Authorities for offerings and PRC limitations on overseas listing and share issuance if we acquire a China-based Target (post-business combination) under relevant PRC regulations — the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listing.”

On February 24, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions, which also became effective on March 31, 2023. The Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions set out rules, requirements and procedures relating to provision of documents, materials and accounting archives for securities companies, securities service providers, overseas regulators and other entities and individuals in connection with overseas offering and listing, including without limitation to, domestic companies that carry out overseas offering and listing (either in direct or indirect means) with regards to protection of any state secret and working secret of government agencies, requirement to obtain approval to publicly disclose or provide any documents and materials that contain state secrets or working secrets of government agencies. Further, according to the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, which was promulgated on December 28, 2021 and became effective on February 15, 2022, online platform operators holding more than one million users/users’ individual information shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. If we acquire a China-based Target, we will be required to comply with Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions, potential cybersecurity review, and other regulations may be promulgated by the CAC or other PRC authorities. There is uncertainty how the new provisions will be interpreted and implemented in the future, and we may be required to perform additional procedures in connection with the provision of accounting archives. For more details, see “Target Limitation Amendment Proposal — Consequences If the Target Limitation Amendment is Approved — Permission required from the PRC Authorities for offerings and PRC limitations on overseas listing and share issuance if we acquire a China-based Target (post-business combination) under relevant PRC regulations — Confidentiality and Archive Administrative Provisions and Measures for Cybersecurity Review.”

The governing PRC laws and regulations are sometimes vague and uncertain and can change quickly with little advance notice, which may result in a material change in the post-combined company’s operations, cause the value of our shares after we complete our business combination to significantly decline or be worthless, or substantially limit or completely hinder the post-combined company’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. For instance, the PRC government recently initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using VIE structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. However, since these statements and regulatory actions are new or have not been officially implemented, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our capability to acquire or merge with a company with major operations in China, and post-combined company’s ability to conduct its business, accept foreign investments, or list on an U.S. exchange.

The Chinese government may intervene or influence the operations of the PRC operating entities at any time and may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in the operations of the PRC operating entities and/or the value of our securities. In addition, any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions, as well as possible interventions and influences of any government policies and actions; as well as uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could have a material adverse effect on our operation and the value of our securities. For instance, (i) as the date hereof, we are not required to obtain any permission from China authorities nor received any objection or restriction from Chinese authorities to list our securities in U.S. exchanges, however, we cannot guarantee that PRC authorities may initiate any change in its law, rules or regulations, or governmental policies that would require permission or scrutiny from relevant PRC authorities before our listing; or any law, regulation, rules and policies will become effective and enforceable after our listing that could substantially affect our operation and the value of our securities may depreciate quickly or even become worthless; and (ii) after consummation of the IPO and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, our operation involves searching and identifying suitable targets, conducting due diligence on targets, negotiating and consummating our initial business combination. Though we are not restricted or prohibited from such business activities in China, we are subject to risks and uncertainties about future actions of the PRC government or law enforcement to refrain our activities or operation in China, which would likely result in a material change in our operations, significantly limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities, and cause the value of our securities may depreciate significantly or become worthless.

Permission Required from the PRC Authorities for Offerings and PRC Limitations on Overseas Listing and Share Issuances If We Acquire a China-based Target (Post-Business Combination)

The New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listing

On February 17, 2023, the CSRC issued the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, which came into effect since March 31, 2023. According to the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, among other things, a domestic company in the PRC that seeks to offer and list securities in overseas markets shall fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC as per requirement of the Trial Administrative Measures. An issuer is a domestic company in the PRC if the following criteria are met at the same time: (a) 50% or more of the issuer’s operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year comes from PRC domestic companies, and (b) the main parts of the issuer’s business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China. Where a domestic company seeks to directly offer and list securities in overseas markets, the issuer shall file with the CSRC. Where a domestic company seeks to indirectly offer and list securities in overseas markets, the issuer shall designate a major domestic operating entity, which shall, as the domestic responsible entity, file with the CSRC. Initial public offerings or listings in overseas markets shall be filed with the CSRC within 3 working days after the relevant application is submitted overseas. If an issuer offers securities in the same overseas market where it has previously offered and listed securities subsequently, filings shall be made with the CSRC within 3 working days after the offering is completed. Upon occurrence of any material event, such as change of control, investigations or sanctions imposed by overseas securities regulatory agencies or other relevant competent authorities, change of listing status or transfer of listing segment, or voluntary or mandatory delisting, after an issuer has offered and listed securities in an overseas market, the issuer shall submit a report thereof to CSRC within 3 working days after the occurrence and public disclosure of such event. Further, an overseas securities company that serves as a sponsor or lead underwriter for overseas securities offering and listing by domestic companies shall file with the CSRC within 10 working days after signing its first engagement agreement for such business, and submit to the CSRC, no later than January 31 each year, an annual report on its business activities in the previous year associated with overseas securities offering and listing by domestic companies. If an overseas securities company has entered into engagement agreements before the effectuation of the Trial Administrative Measures and is serving in practice as a sponsor or lead underwriter for overseas securities offering and listing by domestic companies, it shall file with the CSRC within 30 working days after the Trial Administrative Measures take effect. However, pursuant to the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings and the Notice on the Arrangement for Filing-based Administration of Overseas Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies issued by the CSRC on February 17, 2023, if the indirect overseas securities offering and listing by a domestic company had been approved by the overseas regulator or stock exchange, such as the registration statement had been declared effective in the case of the U.S. market, prior to the effectuation of the Trial Administrative Measures, and the indirect overseas securities offering and listing will be completed before September 30, 2023 without the need to go through the regulatory procedure of the overseas regulator or stock exchange for offering and listing once again, then such company is not required to file with the CSRC in accordance with the Trial Administrative Measures immediately but shall be required to do so if it involves in re-financing and other filing matters in the future.

As a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands rather than in China and currently our company does not own or control any equity interest in any PRC company or operate any business in China, we did not generate any revenue or profit nor have any asset in China or from any operation in China as documented in our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended in December 31, 2022. As a result, we believe that we do not meet the criteria (a) of a domestic company in the PRC as set forth in New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings and accordingly are not required to file with the CSRC for an offering. If, however, we acquire a China-based Target, the post-combination entity may be required to comply with the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings and complete the filing with the CSRC, to continue listing on U.S. exchanges or issue securities to foreign investors post business combination with a China-based Target. Since the New Administrative Rules Regarding Overseas Listings are newly promulgated, and the interpretation and implementation thereof involves uncertainties, we cannot assure that the post-combination entity will be able to complete the relevant filings in a timely manner or fulfil all the regulatory requirements thereunder.

Confidentiality and Archives Administrative Provisions and Measures for Cybersecurity Review

On February 24, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions, which also became effective on March 31, 2023. The Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions set out rules, requirements and procedures relating to provision of documents, materials and accounting archives for securities companies, securities service providers, overseas regulators and other entities and individuals in connection with overseas offering and listing, including without limitation to, domestic companies that carry out overseas offering and listing (either in direct or indirect means) and the securities companies and securities service providers (either incorporated domestically or overseas) that undertake relevant businesses shall not leak any state secret and working secret of government agencies, or harm national security and public interest, and a domestic company shall first obtain approval from competent authorities according to law, and file with the secrecy administrative department at the same level, if it plans to, either directly or through its overseas listed entity, publicly disclose or provide any documents and materials that contain state secrets or working secrets of government agencies. Working papers produced in the Chinese mainland by securities companies and securities service providers in the process of undertaking businesses related to overseas offering and listing by domestic companies shall be retained in the Chinese mainland. Where such documents need to be transferred or transmitted to outside the Chinese mainland, relevant approval procedures stipulated by regulations shall be followed. Further, according to the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, which was promulgated on December 28, 2021 and became effective on February 15, 2022, online platform operators holding more than one million users/users’ individual information shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. As we are a blank check company and are not involved in the collection of personal data of at least 1 million users or implicate cybersecurity, we do not believe that we are a “network platform operator(s)”, or subject to the cybersecurity review of the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”), nor subject to Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions for the offering. If we acquire a China-based Target, the post-combination entity will be required to comply with Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions and other regulations may be promulgated by the CAC or other PRC authorities. There is uncertainty how the new provisions will be interpreted and implemented in the future, and we may be required to perform additional procedures in connection with the provision of accounting archives.

Transfers of Cash to and from Our Post-Combination Entity If We Acquire a China-based Target (Post-Business Combination)

We are a blank check company with no operations of our own and no subsidiaries except searching for a suitable target to consummate an initial business combination. As of the date hereof, no transfers, dividends, or distributions have been made by us.

If the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is approved, we can pursue a business combination with a China-based Target. We currently do not have any PRC subsidiaries or China operations, do not have any specific business combination under consideration and have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. However, because of our significant ties to China, we may pursue a business combination with a China-based Target which might operate in China under a VIE structure. As a result, although other means are available for the post-combination entity to obtain financing at the holding company level, the post-combination entity’s ability to pay dividends to its shareholders and to service any debt it may incur may depend upon dividends paid by the China-based Target’s subsidiaries. If any of the post-combination entity’s subsidiaries incurs debt on its own in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends to the post-combination entity. In addition, the PRC subsidiaries of the post-combination entity and VIE are required to make appropriations to certain statutory reserve funds, which are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of a solvent liquidation of the companies.

In order for the post-combination entity to pay dividends to its shareholders, the post-combination entity will rely on payments made from the VIE to the PRC subsidiary of the post-combined entity, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, pursuant to the VIE Agreements, and the distribution of such payments from such wholly foreign-owned enterprise to the post-combination entity as dividends from the subsidiaries of the post-combined entity. Such dividends and other distributions may be subject to the PRC government’s regulations relating to the conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies and the remittance of such currencies out of the PRC, which may limit the post-combination entity’s PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute earnings to the post-combination entity or may otherwise adversely affect the post-combination entity. Furthermore, even though the post-combination entity may wish to transfer cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities, to its PRC subsidiaries via capital contribution or shareholder loans, the PRC government’s regulations relating to foreign exchange may limit the post-combination entity’s ability to make loans to or inject capital into its PRC subsidiaries or the ability of its PRC subsidiaries to pay back such loans to the post-combination entity.

Investment in Chinese companies, which are governed by the Foreign Investment Law, and the dividends and distributions from a China-based operating company are subject to regulations and restrictions on dividends and payment to parties outside of China. Furthermore, if certain procedural requirements are satisfied, the payment in foreign currencies on current account items, including profit distributions and trade and service related foreign exchange transactions, can be made without prior approval from State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”) or its local branches. However, where RMB would be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses, such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies, approval from or registration with competent government authorities or its authorized banks is required. The PRC government may take measures at its discretion from time to time to restrict access to foreign currencies for current account or capital account transactions. If the foreign exchange control regulations prevent the VIE or PRC subsidiaries of the combined company from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy their foreign currency demands, the VIE or PRC subsidiaries of the combined company may not be able to pay dividends or repay loans in foreign currencies to their offshore intermediary holding companies and ultimately to the post-combination company. We cannot assure you that new regulations or policies will not be promulgated in the future, which may further restrict the remittance of RMB into or out of the PRC. We cannot assure you, in light of the restrictions in place, or any amendment to be made from time to time, that the PRC subsidiaries of the post-combination company will be able to satisfy their respective payment obligations that are denominated in foreign currencies, including the remittance of dividends outside of the PRC. Therefore, we may experience difficulties in completing the administrative procedures necessary to obtain and remit foreign currency for the payment of dividends from our subsidiaries or the VIE, if any.

Current PRC regulations permit the indirect subsidiaries of the post-combination entity to pay dividends to the post-combination entity only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of the subsidiaries of the post-combination company in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. Each of such entity in China is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at the discretion of its board of directors. Although the statutory reserves can be used, among other ways, to increase the registered capital and eliminate future losses in excess of retained earnings of the respective companies, the reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of liquidation.

Cash dividends, if any, on our common stock will be paid in U.S. dollars. If the post-combination entity is considered a PRC tax resident enterprise for tax purposes, any dividends the post-combination entity pay to its overseas shareholders may be regarded as China-sourced income and as a result may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10.0%.

You are not being asked to vote on a business combination at this time. You will retain the right to vote on any proposed business combination when it is submitted to shareholders and the right to redeem your Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account in the event such business combination is approved and completed or the Company has not consummated a business combination by the end of the Combination Period.

Required Vote

Approval of the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal requires a special resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law. A special resolution is a resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at the Annual General Meeting. Abstentions, which are not votes cast, will have no effect with respect to approval of this Proposal.

All of Metal Sky Star’s directors, executive officers and their affiliates are expected to vote any shares owned by them in favor of the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal. On the record date, directors and executive officers of Metal Sky Star and their affiliates beneficially owned and were entitled to vote 3,205,000 ordinary shares of Metal Sky Star representing approximately 50.02% of Metal Sky Star’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares.

In addition, Metal Sky Star’s directors, executive officers and their affiliates may choose to buy Units or ordinary shares of Metal Sky Star in the open market and/or through negotiated private purchases. In the event that purchases do occur, the purchasers may seek to purchase shares from shareholders who would otherwise have voted against the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal. Any shares of Metal Sky Star held by affiliates will be voted in favor of the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal. As the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal is not a “routine” matter, brokers will not be permitted to exercise discretionary voting on this proposal.

Recommendation

The Board recommends that you vote “FOR” the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal.

PROPOSAL 4 THE ADJOURNMENT PROPOSAL

The Adjournment Proposal, if adopted, will direct the chairman of the Annual General Meeting to adjourn the Annual General Meeting to a later date or dates to permit further solicitation of proxies. The Adjournment Proposal will only be presented to our shareholders in the event, based on the tabulated votes, there are not sufficient votes at the time of the Annual General Meeting to approve the Proposals 1, 2 and 3. If the adjournment proposal is not approved by our shareholders, the chairman of the Annual General Meeting will be unable to adjourn the Annual General Meeting to a later date in the event, based on the tabulated votes, there are not sufficient votes at the time of the Annual General Meeting to approve the Proposal 1, 2 and 3.

Required Vote

An ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law will be required to direct the chairman of the Annual General Meeting to adjourn the Annual General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Annual General Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Proposal 1, 2 and 3. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. Abstentions will have no effect with respect to approval of this Adjournment Proposal.

Proposed Resolution

At the Annual General Meeting, the following resolution will be presented for adoption pursuant to the Adjournment Proposal:

RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that the Annual General Meeting be adjourned to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise in connection with, the approval of the Election of Directors Proposal, the Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor Proposal, or the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal presented at the Meeting.

Recommendation

The Board recommends that you vote “FOR” the Adjournment Proposal.

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Date, Time and Place. The Annual General Meeting of Metal Sky Star’s shareholders will be held at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time on December 20, 2023 in the offices of the Company’s counsel, Becker & Poliakoff P.A., at 45 Broadway, 17^th Floor, New York, NY 10006.

Voting Power; Record Date. You will be entitled to vote or direct votes to be cast at the Annual General Meeting, if you owned Metal Sky Star ordinary shares at the close of business on November 10, 2023, the Record Date for the Annual General Meeting. You will have one (1) vote per proposal for each Metal Sky Star share you owned at that time. Metal Sky Star rights and warrants do not carry voting rights.

Votes Required. An ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law will be required to approve Proposals 1, 2 and 4. An ordinary resolution is a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting by a simple majority of the votes cast by, or on behalf of, the shareholders entitled to vote thereon. A special resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law will be required to approve Proposal 3. A special resolution is a resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at the Annual General Meeting. Abstentions, which are not votes cast, will have no effect with respect to approval of these proposals. As proposals 1, 3 and 4 are not “routine” matters, brokers will not be permitted to exercise discretionary voting on Proposals 1, 3 and 4.

At the close of business on the record date, there were 6,407,416 issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Metal Sky Star each of which entitles its holder to cast one (1) vote per proposal.

If you do not want the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal approved, you should vote against such Proposal.

Proxies; Board Solicitation. Your proxy is being solicited by the Board on the proposal to approve the proposals being presented to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. Proxies may be solicited in person or by telephone. If you grant a proxy, you may still revoke your proxy and vote your shares online at the Annual General Meeting.

We have retained Advantage Proxy, Inc. (“Advantage Proxy”) to assist us in soliciting proxies. If you have questions about how to vote or direct a vote in respect of your shares, you may contact Advantage Proxy at (877) 870-8565 (toll free). The Company has agreed to pay Advantage Proxy a fee of $7500 and expenses, for its services in connection with the Annual General Meeting.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Meetings of the Board of Directors; Independence and Committees

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the Metal Sky Star board of directors (the “Board of Directors” or the “Board”) met on four occasions. No member of the Board of Directors or any committee failed to attend at least, or participated in fewer 100% of the meetings of the Board or of a committee on which such member serves. During all of the regularly scheduled meetings in fiscal year 2022, the Board of Directors met in executive session where only the independent directors were present without any members of management.

The listing rules established by the Nasdaq Stock Market require that a majority of the members of a listed company’s Board of Directors qualify as “independent” as affirmatively determined by the board, meaning that each independent director has no direct or indirect material relationship with a company other than as a director and/or a shareholder. Our Board of Directors consults with legal counsel to ensure that our Board of Director’s determination with respect to the definition of “independent” is consistent with current Nasdaq listing rules. The Nominating annually reviews the independence of all directors and nominees for director, including relevant transactions or relationships between each director and nominee, or any of his or her family members or affiliates. The Nominating reports its findings to full Board. Based on such report, the Board has affirmatively determined that each of our current directors, other than Wenxi He, who serves as our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, are independent directors under the applicable guidelines noted above. As a result, each of Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan are deemed to be “independent” as that term is defined under the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The Board of Directors will maintain three (3) committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, and the Nominating Committee. All of the members of our Audit, Nominating, and Compensation Committees meet the standards for independence required under current Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules, SEC rules, and applicable securities laws and regulations. Each of these committees has a written charter approved by the Board of Directors.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, a general description of the duties of the committees, their members and number of times each committee met were as follows:

Audit Committee. Our Audit Committee acts to: (i) review with management the finances, financial condition and interim financial statements of the Company; (ii) review with our independent registered public accounting firm the year-end financial statements; (iii) review implementation with the independent registered public accounting firm and management of any action recommended by the independent registered public accounting firm; and (iv) retain and terminate our independent registered public accounting firm. At the end of the 2022 fiscal year, the members of our Audit Committee were Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan. Mr. Zhuo Wang serves as the chairman of the Audit Committee and is designated as our Audit Committee Financial Expert. During the 2022 fiscal year, and presently, all of the members of our Audit Committee were “independent” within the definition of that term as provided by the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the Audit Committee met on four occasions.

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee reviews, approves and administers compensation arrangements for our executive officers, administers our equity-based compensation plans, establishes and reviews general policies relating to the compensation and benefits of our executive officers and other personnel, evaluates the relationship between executive officer compensation policies and practices and corporate risk management to confirm those policies and practices do not incentivize excessive risk-taking, and evaluates and makes recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the compensation of our non-employee directors. As of the end of the 2022 fiscal year, the members of the Compensation Committee were, Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan. Mr. Zining Jiang serves as chairman of the compensation committee. At all times members of the Compensation Committee satisfied the independence requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, this committee met on two occasions and acted on unanimous written consent on one occasion.

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

The compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NASDAQ and the SEC.

Nominating Committee. Pursuant to its charter, the Nominating Committee’s tasks include reviewing and recommending to the Board issues relating to the Board’s composition and structure; establishing criteria for membership and evaluating corporate policies relating to the recruitment of Board members; implementing and monitoring policies regarding principles of corporate governance in order to ensure the Board’s compliance with its fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders; and making recommendations regarding proposals submitted by shareholders. The Nominating Committee’s functions also include the review of all candidates for a position on the Board of Directors, including existing directors for re-nomination, and reporting its findings with recommendations to the Board. The members of the Nominating Committee as of the end of the 2022 fiscal year were Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan, each of whom satisfy the independence requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. Mr. Fan serves as chairman of the Nomination committee. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, this committee met on one occasion.

The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:

Procedure to be Followed by Shareholders in Submitting Director Candidate Recommendations

Any shareholder who desires to bring business before an annual general meeting or who desires the Nominating Committee to consider one or more candidates for nomination as a director should, either by personal delivery or by United States mail, postage prepaid, deliver a written recommendation addressed to the Secretary of the Company at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90^th day, nor earlier than the close of business on the 120^th day, prior to the scheduled date of the annual general meeting. Each written recommendation should set forth: (a) the name and address of the shareholder making the recommendation and of the person or persons recommended; (b) the consent of such person(s) to serve as a director(s) of the Company if nominated and elected; and (c) a description of how the person(s) satisfy the general criteria specified in our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association for consideration as a candidate.

Additional Criteria for Notice of Shareholder Nominees

In accordance with our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, any shareholder entitled to vote in the election of directors generally may nominate one or more persons for election as directors at a meeting only if written notice of such shareholder’s intent to make such nomination or nominations has been given, either by personal delivery or by United States mail, postage prepaid, to the Secretary of the Company in accordance with the terms described in the preceding paragraph. Each shareholder’s notice shall set forth for each nominee all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and pursuant to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, including such person’s written consent to being named as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected, as well as whether and the extent to which any hedging or other transaction or series of transactions has been entered into by or on behalf of the nominee with respect to any securities of the Company and a description of all arrangements or understandings between the shareholder and each nominee and any other person or persons (naming such person or persons) pursuant to which the nominations are to be made by the shareholder. Further, the notice shall include as to the shareholder giving notice all information required to be disclosed by the shareholder under Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, including: (i) the name and address of the shareholder; (ii) the class or series and number of shares of the Company which are, directly or indirectly, owned by such shareholder, as well as any derivative positions held by such shareholder; (iii) any proxy, arrangement, or relationship pursuant to which such shareholder has a right, directly or indirectly, to vote any shares of any security of the Company; (iv) any hedging or similar transactions in securities of the Company directly or indirectly owned by such shareholder; (v) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding with respect to the proposal; and (vi) a statement whether either such shareholder intends, or is part of a group which intends, to deliver a proxy statement and form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Company’s voting shares required under applicable law to carry the proposal.

Shareholder Communications with the Board

Any shareholder may communicate with the Board of Directors in writing through the Company’s Corporate Secretary provided that the communication identifies the shareholder and the number and type of securities held by that shareholder. The Secretary reviews such communications, and forwards them to the Board of Directors unless the Secretary, in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer, determines that the communication is inappropriate for the Board’s consideration (for example, if it relates to a personal grievance or is unrelated to Company business). The Secretary maintains a permanent written record of all such shareholder communications received by the Secretary. This process was unanimously approved by the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors (which is comprised of independent directors).

Audit Committee Report

In the performance of its oversight function, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management and UHY, LLP, as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Company’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022. The Audit Committee also discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by applicable standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) and the SEC. In addition, the Audit Committee received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letters from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB, regarding such independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and discussed with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm their independence from the Company.

Based upon the review and discussions described in the preceding paragraph, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Company’s audited financial statements be included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors:

Zhuo Wang (Chairman)

Zining Jiang

Xinghua Fan

The material in this report is not “soliciting material,” is not deemed “filed” with the SEC and is not to be incorporated by reference in any of our filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, (i) as a member of the compensation committee or Board of Directors of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on our compensation committee, or (ii) as a member of the compensation committee of another entity, one of whose executive officers served on our Board of Directors.

Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

Each of our directors holds office for a two-year term, and may hold office for a term of up to two years if such term is fixed by the ordinary resolution or resolution of the directors appointing such director, as applicable. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our Board of Directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board or by an ordinary resolution under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and Cayman Islands law. Our officers are appointed by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

Shareholder Communications

Shareholders who wish to communicate directly with our board of directors, or any individual director, should direct questions in writing to our Corporate Secretary, Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation, 132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (332) 237-6141. The mailing envelope must contain a clear notation indicating that the enclosed letter is a “Board Communication” or “Director Communication.” All such letters must identify the author and clearly state whether the intended recipients are all members of the board of directors or just certain specified individual directors. The Corporate Secretary will make copies of all such letters and circulate them to the appropriate director or directors.

Director Independence

The NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our Board of Directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We currently have three “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board has determined that each of Messrs. Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan are independent directors under applicable SEC and NASDAQ rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

The board of directors’ oversight of risk is administered directly through the board of directors, as a whole, or through its audit committee. Various reports and presentations regarding risk management are presented to the board of directors including the procedures that the Company has adopted to identify and manage risks. The audit committee addresses risks that fall within the committee’s area of responsibility. For example, the audit committee is responsible for overseeing the quality and objectivity of the Company’s financial statements and the independent audit thereof. The audit committee reserves time at each of its meetings to meet with the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm outside of the presence of the Company’s management.

Director Nominations

As stated above in this Proxy Statement, we have established a standing nominating committee, in accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The directors who comprise the nominating committee and participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Zhuo Wang, Zining Jiang and Xinghua Fan. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent.

The nominating committee will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the annual general meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the Board should follow the procedures set forth in our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement filed in connection with our IPO. You can review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than ten percent of any publicly traded class of our equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership of equity securities of the Company with the SEC. Officers, directors, and greater-than-ten-percent shareholders are required by the SEC’s regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file.

Based solely upon a review of Forms 3 and Forms 4 furnished since the effective date of our IPO, we believe that all such forms required to be filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act were timely filed, as necessary, by the officers, directors, and security holders required to file the same, except for a Form 3 following the appointment of Mr. Sokolov to the Board of Directors.

Director and Officer Compensation

No compensation or fees of any kind, including finder’s, consulting fees and other similar fees, will be paid to our founders, members of our management team or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to, or in order to effectuate the consummation of, our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Directors, officers and founders will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us.

After completion of our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid employment, consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders. The amount of such compensation may not be known at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider an initial business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in an Exchange Act filing such as Current Report on Form 8-K, as required by the SEC.

Employment Agreements

We do not currently have any written employment agreements with any of our directors and officers except certain indemnification agreements with our directors.

Retirement/Resignation Plans

We do not currently have any plans or arrangements in place regarding the payment to any of our executive officers following such person’s retirement or resignation.

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of Metal Sky Star’s ordinary shares as of the record date by:

As of the record date, there were a total of 6,407,416 ordinary shares. Unless otherwise indicated, all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

On July 5, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 1,437,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.02 per share. On September 26, 2021, the Company purchased back all the 1,437,500 founder shares for $25,000 and reissued 2,875,000 ordinary shares to our sponsor for $25,000. Our sponsor owns approximately 21.88% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares as of December 31, 2022.

Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 330,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that was completed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Each unit consists of one private placement share, one private placement warrant and one private placement right. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder upon exercise to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Each private placement right will be converted to one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary shares upon the completion of its initial business combination. The private placement units (including the underlying securities) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

In connection with the completion of our initial public offering, we entered into an Administrative Services Agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which we will pay a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services to such affiliate. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 28 months, our sponsor will be paid a total of $280,000 ($10,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.

Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

On June 15, 2021, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. On December 15, 2021, Company amended the promissory note to extend the due date. The promissory note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) March 31, 2022 or (ii) the consummation of the IPO. As of June 30, 2023, the principal amount due and owing under the promissory note was nil, which was paid off as of April 5, 2022. On January 3, 2023, the Company issued a promissory note in the principal amount of up to $1,000,000 (the “Promissory Note”) to M-Star Management Corp. Pursuant to which the Sponsor shall loan to the Company up to $1,000,000 to pay the extension fee and transaction cost. On January 4, 2023, the Company requested to draw the funds of $383,333 and deposited it into the trust account to extend the period of time the Company has to consummate a business combination by one month to February 5, 2023. The $383,333 extension fee represents approximately $0.033 per public share. The Notes bear no interest and are repayable in full upon the earlier of (a) December 31, 2023 or (b) the date of the consummation of the Company’s initial business combination. The issuance of the Note was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Starting on February 2023, the extension fee changed into $187,155 due to 5,885,324 public shares were redeemed. On April 18, 2023, the Company amended and restated Promissory Note (the Amended Promissory Note”) in order to increase the available principal amount from $1,000,000 to $2,500,000. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the loan under the promissory notes were $1,373,812 and nil, respectively.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 150,000 ordinary shares, 150,000 rights and 150,000 warrants to purchase 150,000 shares if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted) at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the placement units issued to the initial holder. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

The holders of the sponsor shares, private placement units, and units that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any securities underlying the private placement units and the working capital loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on the effective date of our initial public offering requiring us to register such securities for resale. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

If you are a shareholder and you want to include a proposal in the proxy statement for the Annual General Meeting you must deliver notice to our principal executive offices not less than 120 calendar days before the date of our proxy statement was released to shareholders in connection with the previous year’s annual general meeting or, if we did not hold an annual general meeting the previous year, or if the date of the current year’s annual general meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the date of the previous year’s annual general meeting, then the deadline will be set by the Board with such deadline being a reasonable time before we begin to print and send its related proxy materials. Accordingly, for our 2024 annual general meeting, notice of a proposal or nomination must be delivered to us no later than June 30, 2024.

The Board will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual general meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the Board should follow the procedures set forth in our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.

DISCRETIONARY VOTING OF PROXIES

Pursuant to Rule 14a-4 promulgated by the SEC, shareholders are advised that our management will be permitted to exercise discretionary voting authority under proxies it solicits and obtains for the Annual General Meeting with respect to any proposal presented by a stockholder at the meeting, without any discussion of the proposal in our proxy statement for the meeting, unless we received notice of such proposal at our principal office prior to December 12, 2023.

OTHER MATTERS

Our Board knows of no matter that will be presented for consideration at the Annual General Meeting other than the matters referred to in this proxy statement. Should any other matter properly come before the Annual General Meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote the proxy in accordance with their best judgment.

DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SHAREHOLDERS

Pursuant to the rules of the SEC, Metal Sky Star and its agents that deliver communications to its shareholders are permitted to deliver to two or more shareholders sharing the same address a single copy of Metal Sky Star’s proxy statement. Upon written or oral request, Metal Sky Star will deliver a separate copy of the proxy statement to any shareholder at a shared address who wishes to receive separate copies of such documents in the future. Shareholders receiving multiple copies of such documents may likewise request that Metal Sky Star deliver single copies of such documents in the future. Shareholders may notify Metal Sky Star of their requests by calling or writing Metal Sky Star at Metal Sky Star’s principal executive offices at 132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor, New York, NY 10001, (332) 237-6141.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

Metal Sky Star files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC as required by the Exchange Act. Metal Sky Star files its reports, proxy statements and other information electronically with the SEC. You may access information on Metal Sky Star at the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.

This Proxy Statement describes the material elements of relevant contracts, exhibits and other information attached as annexes to this Proxy Statement. Information and statements contained in this Proxy Statement are qualified in all respects by reference to the copy of the relevant contract or other document included as an annex to this document.

You may obtain this additional information, or additional copies of this Proxy Statement, at no cost, and you may ask any questions you may have about the Target Limitation Amendment Proposal or the Adjournment Proposal by contacting us at the following address, telephone number or facsimile number:

Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation

132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor,

New York, NY 10001

(332) 237-6141

In order to receive timely delivery of the documents in advance of the Annual General Meeting, you must make your request for information no later than December 12, 2023.

ANNEX A

METAL SKY STAR ACQUISITION CORPORATION (the “Company”)

RESOLUTIONS OF THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY

RESOLVED, as a special resolution, THAT, effective immediately, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company be amended by deleting the definition of “Target Business” set out in Article 1.1 in its entirety and replacing it with the following new definition:

“Target Business means any businesses or entity with whom the Company wishes to undertake a Business Combination, which may, without limitation, be (a) businesses or entities with a physical presence, operation or other significant ties to China or which may subject the post-Business Combination entity or business to the laws, regulations and policies of China (including Hong Kong and Macao), or (b) an entity or business that conducts operations in China through variable interest entities (VIEs), pursuant to a series of contractual arrangements with the VIE and its equity holders on one side, and a China-based subsidiary of the China-based Target Business on the other side, or entering into contractual arrangements that give the Company control over such a Target Business.”

PROXY

METAL SKY STAR ACQUISITION CORPORATION

132 West 31^st Street, 9^th Floor

New York, NY 10001

(332) 237-6141

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

DECEMBER 20, 2023

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT

FOLD AND DETACH HERE

THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 20, 2023

The undersigned, revoking any previous proxies relating to these shares, hereby acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual General Meeting and Proxy Statement (the “Proxy Statement”), dated December 1, 2023, in connection with the Annual General Meeting and any adjournments thereof (the “Annual General Meeting”) to be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 20, 2023 in the office of Company’s counsel, Becker & Poliakoff P.A., at 45 Broadway, 17^th Floor, New York, NY 10006 and hereby appoints Wenxi He as proxy of the undersigned, with full power to appoint her substitute, and hereby authorizes her to represent and to vote all ordinary shares of Metal Sky Star Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) registered in the name provided, which the undersigned is entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting with all the powers the undersigned would have if personally present. Without limiting the general authorization hereby given, said proxies are, and each of them is, instructed to vote or act as follows on the proposals set forth in this Proxy Statement.

THIS PROXY, WHEN EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREIN. IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR” PROPOSALS 1, 2, 3 AND 4.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR ALL” PROPOSAL 1 AND “FOR” PROPOSAL 2, 3 AND 4.

PROPOSAL 1: Election of Directors

To re-appoint the following five (5) members to the Board of Directors to hold office until the second succeeding annual general meeting of shareholders or until their respective successors have been elected and qualified.

NOMINEES:

PROPOSAL 2: Ratification of Appointment of Independent Auditor

To ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as the Company’s independent registered public account firm for the 2023 fiscal year.

PROPOSAL 3: Target Limitation Amendment Proposal.

To amend Metal Sky Star’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as set out in Annex A to the Proxy Statement to allow the Company to undertake an initial business combination with an entity or business (“Target Business”), with a physical presence, operation, or other significant ties to China (a “China-based Target”) or which may subject the post-business combination entity or business to the laws, regulations and policies of China (including Hong Kong and Macao), or an entity or business that conducts operations in China through variable interest entities (“VIEs”), pursuant to a series of contractual arrangements (“VIE Agreements”) with the VIE and its shareholders on one side, and a China-based subsidiary of the China-based Target (the “WFOE”), on the other side.

PROPOSAL 4: Adjournment Proposal

To direct the chairman of the Annual General Meeting to adjourn the Annual General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Annual General Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Please indicate if you intend to attend this Meeting     ☐ YES         ☐ NO

Shareholder’s Signature

Shareholder’s Signature

Signature should agree with name printed hereon. If shares are held in the name of more than one person, EACH joint owner should sign. Executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, and attorneys should indicate the capacity in which they sign. Attorneys should submit powers of attorney.

PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE PROXY IN THE ENVELOPE ENCLOSED TO VSTOCK TRANSER LLC SO THAT IT IS RECEIVED BY THE COMPANY NOT LESS THAN 48 HOURS BEFORE THE TIME FOR HOLDING THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OR ANY ADJOURNMENT THEREOF. THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREIN BY THE UNDERSIGNED SHAREHOLDER. IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR” PROPOSALS 1, 2, 3, AND 4 AND WILL GRANT DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY TO VOTE UPON SUCH OTHER MATTERS AS MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OR ANY ADJOURNMENTS THEREOF. THIS PROXY WILL REVOKE ALL PRIOR PROXIES SIGNED BY YOU.

PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE, SIGN AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.