transaction fees are paid by customers based on the volume of transactions processed by systems that contain our products . the increase of $ 46,000 in 2020 , or 3 % , compared to 2019 , is mainly attributed to an increase in our licensing in europe . we have historically derived revenues from different geographical areas . the following table sets forth our revenues , by dollar amount ( in thousands ) and as a percentage of annual revenues in different geographical areas , during the past two years : replace_table_token_2_th our revenues from sales in the americas increased by $ 949,000 , or 26 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales to the united states market . our revenues from sales in europe increased by $ 370,000 , or 10 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales . our revenues from sales in africa decreased by $ 567,000 , or 27 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to a decrease in sales of petroleum products . our revenues from sales in apac increased by $ 1.3 million , or 125 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales . our revenues derived from territories outside the united states , which are primarily received in currencies other than the u.s. dollar , have a varying impact upon our total revenues , as a result of fluctuations in such currencies ' exchange rates versus the u.s. dollar . the following table sets forth our revenues , by dollar amount ( in thousands ) and as a percentage of annual revenues by segments , during the past two years : replace_table_token_3_th revenues in 2020 from retail segment increased by $ 2.8 million , or 37 % , compared to 2019 , mainly attributed to an increase in retail sales in apac , the united states and europe . revenues in 2020 from the petroleum segment decreased by $ 674,000 , or 21 % , compared to 2019 , mainly due to a decrease in petroleum sales in africa . 19 cost of revenues and gross margin our cost of revenues , presented by gross profit and gross margin percentage , for each of the past two years has been as follows ( dollar amounts in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th cost of sales . cost of sales consists primarily of materials , as well as salaries , fees to subcontractors and related costs of our technical staff that assemble our products . the cost of sales in 2020 compared to 2019 increased by $ 1.2 million , or 19 % , resulted primarily from an increase in sales . gross margin . gross margin in 2020 compared to 2019 remained consistent . operating expenses our operating expenses for each of the past two years have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_5_th research and development . our research and development expenses consist primarily of the salaries and related expenses of our research and development staff , as well as subcontracting expenses and depreciation of long-lived assets . the increase of $ 244,000 , or 7 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to an increase in expenses relating to employees . selling and marketing . our selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and substantially all the expenses of our sales and marketing and offices in the united states , south africa , europe and israel , as well as expenses related to advertising , professional expenses and participation in exhibitions and tradeshows and doubtful accounts expenses . the increase of $ 299,000 , or 10 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to an increase in employment expenses and provision for doubtful accounts , partially offset by a decrease in exhibition and traveling expenses as a result of the impact of covid-19 . general and administrative . our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related expenses of our executive management and financial and administrative staff . these expenses also include costs of our professional advisors ( such as legal and accounting ) , office expenses and insurance . the decrease of $ 421,000 , or 12 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to a decrease in expenses relating to employees . other ( income ) expenses , net . in 2019 , our other ( income ) expenses , net , consisted mainly of a capital gain from the sale of a building by our south african subsidiary . 20 financing expenses , net our financing expenses , net , for each of the past two years , have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_6_th financing expenses , net , consist primarily of financing expense related to interest payable on bank loans , bank commissions and foreign exchange differentials , partially offset by financing income related to interest earned on investments in short-term deposits . the increase in financing expenses , net , of $ 17,000 , or 5 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 is mainly attributed to transaction expenses related to a convertible short-term loan received from shareholder partially offset by exchange rate differentials . income tax benefit , net our income tax benefit , net for each of the past two years , have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th the decrease in our tax benefit , net , of $ 96,000 , or 91 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 is mainly attributed to income tax benefit due to previous years as recognized by our south african subsidiary in 2019. net loss from continuing operations our net loss from continuing operations for each of the past two years has been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_8_th the decrease story_separator_special_tag as of december 31 , 2020 , we had long-term loan obligations of $ 15,000 , the vast majority of which are subject to variable interest rates . the carrying values of the loans are equivalent to or approximate their fair market value as they bear interest at approximate market rates . impact of inflation and currency fluctuations our functional and reporting currency is the u.s. dollar . we generate a certain portion of our revenues , and we incur some of our expenses in other currencies . as a result , we are exposed to the risk that the rate of inflation in countries in which we are active other than the united states will exceed the rate of devaluation of such countries ' currencies in relation to the dollar or that the timing of any such devaluation will lag behind inflation in such countries . to date , we have been affected by changes in the rate of inflation or the exchange rates of other countries ' currencies compared to the dollar , and we can not assure you that we will not be adversely affected in the future . there was a deflation of 0.7 % in 2020 in israel . the annual rate of inflation in israel was 0.6 % in 2019. the nis revaluated against the u.s. dollar by approximately 7.0 % and 7.8 % in 2020 and 2019 , respectively . the functional currency of asec , that on march 29 , 2021 , we entered into an agreement to sell , is the polish zloty . a significant amount of this subsidiary 's revenues is earned , and a significant amount of their expenses are incurred , in its functional currency . to the extent that there are fluctuations between the polish zloty against the u.s. dollar , the translation adjustment will be included in our consolidated statements of changes in equity as other comprehensive income or loss and will not impact the consolidated statements of operations . government of israel support programs until 2005 , we participated in programs offered by the iia that supports research and development activities . from our inception through 2007 , we received grants totaling approximately $ 7.0 million ( excluding accrued interest ) from the iia , and as of december 31 , 2020 , we repaid approximately $ 5.9 million in respect of refundable projects . under the terms of these programs , a royalty of 3 % -3.5 % of the sales of products must be paid to the iia , beginning with the commencement of sales of products developed with grant funds and ending when the dollar value of the grant ( including interest based on annual rate of libor applicable to dollar deposits ) is repaid . in 2006 , we decided to cease our participation with the iia . royalties payable with respect to grants received under programs approved after january 1 , 1999 , however , will be subject to interest on the dollar-linked value of the total grants received at an annual rate of libor applicable to dollar deposits . as of december 31 , 2020 , we have received a total of $ 3.4 million from the iia net of royalties paid to it ( or accrued for ) . local manufacturing obligation the terms of the encouragement of research , development and technological innovation in the industry law , 5744-1984 ( formerly known as the law for the encouragement of research and development in industry 5744-1984 ) , and the regulations , guidelines , rules , procedures and benefit tracks thereunder , collectively , the innovation law , also require that the manufacturing of products developed with government grants be performed in israel unless the iia has granted special approval . such approval is not required for the transfer of up to 10 % of the manufacturing capacity in the aggregate , in which case a notice must be provided to the iia and not objected to by the iia within 30 days of such notice . if the iia consents to the manufacture of the products outside of israel , we may be required to pay increased royalties , ranging from 120 % to 300 % of the amount of the iia grant , depending on the percentage of foreign manufacture . these restrictions continue to apply even after we have paid the full amount of royalties payable with respect of the grants . based upon the aggregate grants received to date , we expect that we will continue to pay royalties to the iia to the extent of our sales of our products and related services for the foreseeable future . separate iia consent is required to transfer to third-parties technologies developed through projects in which the government participates . these restrictions do not apply to exports from israel of products developed with these technologies . 26 know-how transfer limitation the innovation law restricts the ability to transfer know-how funded by the iia outside of israel . transfer of iia funded know-how outside of israel requires prior approval of the iia and may be subject to payments to the iia , calculated according to formulae provided under the innovation law . the redemption fee is subject to a cap of six times the total amount of the iia grants , plus interest accrued thereon ( i.e . the total liability to the iia , including accrued interest , multiplied by six ) . if we wish to transfer iia funded know-how , the terms for approval will be determined according to the nature of the transaction and the consideration paid to us in connection with such transfer . approval of transfer of iia funded know-how to another israeli company may be granted only if the recipient abides by the provisions of the innovation law and related regulations , including the restrictions on the transfer of know-how and manufacturing rights outside of israel . change of

liquidity and capital resources since inception , our principal sources of liquidity have been revenues , proceeds from sales of equity securities , borrowings from banks , the israeli government and shareholders , including convertible loans , proceeds from the exercise of options and warrants as well as proceeds from the divestiture of parts of our businesses . we had cash , cash equivalents and short-term investments representing bank deposits of $ 1,482,000 ( of which an amount of $ 105,000 has been pledged as securities for certain items ) , excluding cash and cash equivalents held for sale , as of december 31 , 2020. the deterioration due to the covid-19 pandemic in poland has led to an almost complete stop to our mass transit ticketing sales business , negatively impacting our cash flow since march 2020. on march 29 , 2021 , we entered into an agreement to sell asec , including its mass transit ticketing activity , as mentioned above . further , in december 2020 and january 2021 , we borrowed a loan , in two tranches aggregating $ 1,600,000 , from our controlling shareholder and another shareholder that , if not converted , would mature in may 2021. based on the projected cash flows and our cash balances as of december 31 , 2020 , our management is of the opinion that without further fund raising or other increase in our cash , we will not have sufficient resources to enable us to continue our operations for a period of at least the next 12 months . as a result , there is a substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources since inception , our principal sources of liquidity have been revenues , proceeds from sales of equity securities , borrowings from banks , the israeli government and shareholders , including convertible loans , proceeds from the exercise of options and warrants as well as proceeds from the divestiture of parts of our businesses . we had cash , cash equivalents and short-term investments representing bank deposits of $ 1,482,000 ( of which an amount of $ 105,000 has been pledged as securities for certain items ) , excluding cash and cash equivalents held for sale , as of december 31 , 2020. the deterioration due to the covid-19 pandemic in poland has led to an almost complete stop to our mass transit ticketing sales business , negatively impacting our cash flow since march 2020. on march 29 , 2021 , we entered into an agreement to sell asec , including its mass transit ticketing activity , as mentioned above . further , in december 2020 and january 2021 , we borrowed a loan , in two tranches aggregating $ 1,600,000 , from our controlling shareholder and another shareholder that , if not converted , would mature in may 2021. based on the projected cash flows and our cash balances as of december 31 , 2020 , our management is of the opinion that without further fund raising or other increase in our cash , we will not have sufficient resources to enable us to continue our operations for a period of at least the next 12 months . as a result , there is a substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern .
```    
 Suspicious Activity Report : transaction fees are paid by customers based on the volume of transactions processed by systems that contain our products . the increase of $ 46,000 in 2020 , or 3 % , compared to 2019 , is mainly attributed to an increase in our licensing in europe . we have historically derived revenues from different geographical areas . the following table sets forth our revenues , by dollar amount ( in thousands ) and as a percentage of annual revenues in different geographical areas , during the past two years : replace_table_token_2_th our revenues from sales in the americas increased by $ 949,000 , or 26 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales to the united states market . our revenues from sales in europe increased by $ 370,000 , or 10 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales . our revenues from sales in africa decreased by $ 567,000 , or 27 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to a decrease in sales of petroleum products . our revenues from sales in apac increased by $ 1.3 million , or 125 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , mainly due to an increase in retail sales . our revenues derived from territories outside the united states , which are primarily received in currencies other than the u.s. dollar , have a varying impact upon our total revenues , as a result of fluctuations in such currencies ' exchange rates versus the u.s. dollar . the following table sets forth our revenues , by dollar amount ( in thousands ) and as a percentage of annual revenues by segments , during the past two years : replace_table_token_3_th revenues in 2020 from retail segment increased by $ 2.8 million , or 37 % , compared to 2019 , mainly attributed to an increase in retail sales in apac , the united states and europe . revenues in 2020 from the petroleum segment decreased by $ 674,000 , or 21 % , compared to 2019 , mainly due to a decrease in petroleum sales in africa . 19 cost of revenues and gross margin our cost of revenues , presented by gross profit and gross margin percentage , for each of the past two years has been as follows ( dollar amounts in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th cost of sales . cost of sales consists primarily of materials , as well as salaries , fees to subcontractors and related costs of our technical staff that assemble our products . the cost of sales in 2020 compared to 2019 increased by $ 1.2 million , or 19 % , resulted primarily from an increase in sales . gross margin . gross margin in 2020 compared to 2019 remained consistent . operating expenses our operating expenses for each of the past two years have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_5_th research and development . our research and development expenses consist primarily of the salaries and related expenses of our research and development staff , as well as subcontracting expenses and depreciation of long-lived assets . the increase of $ 244,000 , or 7 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to an increase in expenses relating to employees . selling and marketing . our selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and substantially all the expenses of our sales and marketing and offices in the united states , south africa , europe and israel , as well as expenses related to advertising , professional expenses and participation in exhibitions and tradeshows and doubtful accounts expenses . the increase of $ 299,000 , or 10 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to an increase in employment expenses and provision for doubtful accounts , partially offset by a decrease in exhibition and traveling expenses as a result of the impact of covid-19 . general and administrative . our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related expenses of our executive management and financial and administrative staff . these expenses also include costs of our professional advisors ( such as legal and accounting ) , office expenses and insurance . the decrease of $ 421,000 , or 12 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 , is primarily attributed to a decrease in expenses relating to employees . other ( income ) expenses , net . in 2019 , our other ( income ) expenses , net , consisted mainly of a capital gain from the sale of a building by our south african subsidiary . 20 financing expenses , net our financing expenses , net , for each of the past two years , have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_6_th financing expenses , net , consist primarily of financing expense related to interest payable on bank loans , bank commissions and foreign exchange differentials , partially offset by financing income related to interest earned on investments in short-term deposits . the increase in financing expenses , net , of $ 17,000 , or 5 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 is mainly attributed to transaction expenses related to a convertible short-term loan received from shareholder partially offset by exchange rate differentials . income tax benefit , net our income tax benefit , net for each of the past two years , have been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th the decrease in our tax benefit , net , of $ 96,000 , or 91 % , in 2020 compared to 2019 is mainly attributed to income tax benefit due to previous years as recognized by our south african subsidiary in 2019. net loss from continuing operations our net loss from continuing operations for each of the past two years has been as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_8_th the decrease story_separator_special_tag as of december 31 , 2020 , we had long-term loan obligations of $ 15,000 , the vast majority of which are subject to variable interest rates . the carrying values of the loans are equivalent to or approximate their fair market value as they bear interest at approximate market rates . impact of inflation and currency fluctuations our functional and reporting currency is the u.s. dollar . we generate a certain portion of our revenues , and we incur some of our expenses in other currencies . as a result , we are exposed to the risk that the rate of inflation in countries in which we are active other than the united states will exceed the rate of devaluation of such countries ' currencies in relation to the dollar or that the timing of any such devaluation will lag behind inflation in such countries . to date , we have been affected by changes in the rate of inflation or the exchange rates of other countries ' currencies compared to the dollar , and we can not assure you that we will not be adversely affected in the future . there was a deflation of 0.7 % in 2020 in israel . the annual rate of inflation in israel was 0.6 % in 2019. the nis revaluated against the u.s. dollar by approximately 7.0 % and 7.8 % in 2020 and 2019 , respectively . the functional currency of asec , that on march 29 , 2021 , we entered into an agreement to sell , is the polish zloty . a significant amount of this subsidiary 's revenues is earned , and a significant amount of their expenses are incurred , in its functional currency . to the extent that there are fluctuations between the polish zloty against the u.s. dollar , the translation adjustment will be included in our consolidated statements of changes in equity as other comprehensive income or loss and will not impact the consolidated statements of operations . government of israel support programs until 2005 , we participated in programs offered by the iia that supports research and development activities . from our inception through 2007 , we received grants totaling approximately $ 7.0 million ( excluding accrued interest ) from the iia , and as of december 31 , 2020 , we repaid approximately $ 5.9 million in respect of refundable projects . under the terms of these programs , a royalty of 3 % -3.5 % of the sales of products must be paid to the iia , beginning with the commencement of sales of products developed with grant funds and ending when the dollar value of the grant ( including interest based on annual rate of libor applicable to dollar deposits ) is repaid . in 2006 , we decided to cease our participation with the iia . royalties payable with respect to grants received under programs approved after january 1 , 1999 , however , will be subject to interest on the dollar-linked value of the total grants received at an annual rate of libor applicable to dollar deposits . as of december 31 , 2020 , we have received a total of $ 3.4 million from the iia net of royalties paid to it ( or accrued for ) . local manufacturing obligation the terms of the encouragement of research , development and technological innovation in the industry law , 5744-1984 ( formerly known as the law for the encouragement of research and development in industry 5744-1984 ) , and the regulations , guidelines , rules , procedures and benefit tracks thereunder , collectively , the innovation law , also require that the manufacturing of products developed with government grants be performed in israel unless the iia has granted special approval . such approval is not required for the transfer of up to 10 % of the manufacturing capacity in the aggregate , in which case a notice must be provided to the iia and not objected to by the iia within 30 days of such notice . if the iia consents to the manufacture of the products outside of israel , we may be required to pay increased royalties , ranging from 120 % to 300 % of the amount of the iia grant , depending on the percentage of foreign manufacture . these restrictions continue to apply even after we have paid the full amount of royalties payable with respect of the grants . based upon the aggregate grants received to date , we expect that we will continue to pay royalties to the iia to the extent of our sales of our products and related services for the foreseeable future . separate iia consent is required to transfer to third-parties technologies developed through projects in which the government participates . these restrictions do not apply to exports from israel of products developed with these technologies . 26 know-how transfer limitation the innovation law restricts the ability to transfer know-how funded by the iia outside of israel . transfer of iia funded know-how outside of israel requires prior approval of the iia and may be subject to payments to the iia , calculated according to formulae provided under the innovation law . the redemption fee is subject to a cap of six times the total amount of the iia grants , plus interest accrued thereon ( i.e . the total liability to the iia , including accrued interest , multiplied by six ) . if we wish to transfer iia funded know-how , the terms for approval will be determined according to the nature of the transaction and the consideration paid to us in connection with such transfer . approval of transfer of iia funded know-how to another israeli company may be granted only if the recipient abides by the provisions of the innovation law and related regulations , including the restrictions on the transfer of know-how and manufacturing rights outside of israel . change of

