Form 20-F Israel Chemicals Ltd
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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 20-F (Mark One) ☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 OR ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 OR ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 OR ☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of event requiring this shell company report For the transition period from to . Commission File Number: 001-13742 ISRAEL CHEMICALS LTD. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) N/A (Translation of Registrant’s name into English) Israel (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) Millennium Tower, 23 Aranha Street, P.O. Box 20245 Tel Aviv, 61202 Israel (Address of principal executive offices) Lisa Haimovitz, Adv. SVP Global General Counsel & Company Secretary Millennium Tower, 23 Aranha St. Tel-Aviv 6107025 Israel Tel: +972 (3) 6844440 (Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Ordinary Shares, par value NIS 1.00 per share The New York Stock Exchange Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report. The number of outstanding shares as of December 31, 2017 was: Title of Class Number of Shares Outstanding Ordinary shares 1,302,970,049 Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐ If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ☐ No ☒ Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ☐ Yes ☐ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large Accelerated Filer ☒ Accelerated Filer ☐ Non-accelerated Filer ☐ Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing: ☐ U.S. GAAP ☒ International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ☐ Other If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the Registrant has elected to follow. ☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18 If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒ TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I Page Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Introduction Glossary of Selected Terms Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers 1 Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable 1 Item 3. Key Information 1 Item 4. Information on the Company 40 Item 4A. Unresolved Staff Comments 145 Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects 145 Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees 194 Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions 219 Item 8. Financial Information 228 Item 9. The Offer and Listing 236 Item 10. Additional Information 238 Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 252 Item 12. Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities 261 PART II Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrangements and Delinquencies 261 Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds 261 Item 15. Controls and Procedures 262 Item 16A. Audit and Accounting Committee Financial Expert 263 Item 16B. Code of Ethics 263 Item 16C. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 264 Item 16D. Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees 264 Item 16E. Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers 265 Item 16F. Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant 265 Item 16G. Corporate Governance 265 Item16H. Mine Safety Disclosure 267 Item 17. Financial Statements 267 Item 18. Financial Statements 267 Item 19. Exhibits 267 FS-1 SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Annual Report contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements,” many of which can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate” and “potential,” among others. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this Annual Report and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified in “Item 3 - Key Information— D. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to: Loss or impairment of business licenses or mining permits or concessions; volatility of supply and demand and the impact of competition; the difference between actual reserves and our reserve estimates; natural disasters; failure to raise the water level in evaporation Pond 5 in the Dead Sea; construction of a new pumping station; disruptions at our seaport shipping facilities or regulatory restrictions affecting our ability to export our products overseas; general market, political or economic conditions in the countries in which we operate; price increases or shortages with respect to our principal raw materials; delays in the completion of major projects by third party contractors and/or termination of engagements with contractors and/or governmental obligations; the inflow of significant amounts of water into the Dead Sea could adversely affect production at our plants; labor disputes, slowdowns and strikes involving our employees; pension and health insurance liabilities; changes to governmental programs or tax benefits, creation of new fiscal or tax related legislation; changes in our evaluations and estimates, which serve as a basis for the recognition and manner of measurement of assets and liabilities; higher tax liabilities; failure to integrate or realize expected benefits from mergers and acquisitions, organizational restructuring and joint ventures; currency rate fluctuations; rising interest rates; government examinations or investigations; disruption of our information technology systems or breaches of our data security; failure to retain and/or recruit key personnel; inability to realize expected benefits from our cost reduction program according to the expected timetable; inability to access capital markets on favorable terms; cyclicality of our businesses; changes in demand for our fertilizer products due to a decline in agricultural product prices, lack of available credit, weather conditions, government policies or other factors beyond our control; volatility or crises in the financial markets; cost of compliance with environmental legislative and licensing restrictions; hazards inherent to chemical manufacturing; litigation, arbitration and regulatory proceedings; exposure to third party and product liability claims; insufficiency of insurance coverage; closing of transactions, mergers and acquisitions; war or acts of terror and/or political, economic and military instability in Israel and its region; filing of class actions and derivative actions against the Company, its executives and Board members; and other risk factors discussed under ”Item 3 - Key Information— D. Risk Factors". Forward-looking statements speak only as at the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. INTRODUCTION This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ significantly from future results as a result of factors such as those set forth in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” and ”Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” The financial information included in this Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). None of the financial information in this Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. This Annual Report contains translations of certain NIS amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for your convenience.