ASX Release
20 February 2020
ASX extends deadline for AB1 response submission; COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) update
Animoca Brands Corporation Limited (ASX: AB1, “Animoca Brands” or “the Company”) wishes to advise that ASX has granted a further extension to the Company to respond to the letter issued to the Company by ASX on 18 December 2019, detailing what ASX believes to be breaches of the listing rules (“the Letter”; please refer to ASX announcement dated 24 December 2019).
The Company sought an extension from ASX due to disruptions to its day-to-day operations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak of a novel coronavirus. Unless Animoca Brands can make a good case in its response to the Letter, ASX now proposes to remove the Company from the official list pursuant to listing rule 17.12 with effect on and from the commencement of trading on Friday, 6 March 2020.
The Company’s board and management are working closely with its advisers to respond to the Letter, which includes assessing all options available to the company in order to achieve the best outcome for shareholders. The Company is pleased to advise that it has made considerable progress on its response to the Letter, and will submit its written response as soon as practicable.
Update on COVID-19 impact
During the current COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) emergency, the Company, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, has experienced a slow-down in day-to-day operations caused primarily by increased safety precautions adopted by the Company and by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
To date there have been no cases of novel coronavirus infection among Animoca Brands employees. The Company does not currently have employees based in Mainland China, where the outbreak is most severe.
As of 8pm on 19 February 2020, there have been 63 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection in Hong Kong (Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health interactive map: https://chp-dashboard.geodata.gov.hk/nia/en.html).
Eleven (11) of the Company’s Hong Kong-based employees who recently travelled to Mainland China (or whose family members recently traveled to Mainland China) have been asked by the Company to self-quarantine at home for a period of 14 days following their return to Hong Kong, and to seek immediate medical assistance in the event of any respiratory illness symptoms during or after the self-quarantine period.
The Company has instituted remote work arrangements in order to minimise the risk of exposure to its employees. Although the Company is, generally, well able to conduct its operations on a remote basis, the arrangements have resulted in a slow-down of some activities, particularly work that requires face-to-face meetings, access to physical records or hardware, some communications with key advisers, and other forms of physical presence.
The Company has temporarily adjusted its office hours and shuttle bus transportation schedules to avoid the morning and evening rush hours in order to minimise mass transit exposure risk to employees traveling to the office. This has resulted in a reduction to the average office working day of about two hours.
Disruption to the Company’s other business operations has been moderate. Some business events (such as conferences, exhibitions, etc.) in Hong Kong have been delayed or cancelled. Some current and prospective business partners have cancelled travel plans to Hong Kong, opting instead for remote or postponed meetings.
The Company’s clients are primarily retail users of mobile phone games accessed via distribution platforms such as Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and this client base has not been significantly affected by the outbreak as far as the Company is able to assess.
The Company is tracking the situation closely and following the recommendations of the World Health Organization and of the Health Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Please see, respectively, https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 and https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102742.html
This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board.
If you have any queries in relation to this announcement, please contact John Madden, co-company secretary, at johnm@animocabrands.com.
-ENDS
About Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands (ASX: AB1) leverages gamification, blockchain, and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of mobile products including games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes as well as products based on popular intellectual properties such as Formula 1®, Garfield, Snoopy, Thomas & Friends™, Ever After High and Doraemon. Animoca Brands’ portfolio of blockchain investments and partnerships includes Lucid Sight, Dapper Labs (creators of CryptoKitties), WAX, Harmony, and Decentraland. The Company is based in Hong Kong, Canada, Finland, and Argentina. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or get updates by following Animoca Brands on Facebook or Twitter.