As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2026.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Yimutian Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Not
Applicable
(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)
| Cayman Islands | 7380 | Not Applicable | ||
| (State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary
Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
6/F,
Building B-6, Block A Zhongguancun
Dongsheng Technology Campus No. 66
Xixiaokou Road
Haidian District, Beijing 100192
The People’s Republic of China
Telephone number: +86 10 57086561
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency
Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
(212) 947-7200
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
| Shu
Du, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 42/F, Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark 15 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong +852 3740-4700 |
Cavas S. Pavri, Esq. ArentFox Schiff LLP 1717 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202-724-6847 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards † provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
| † | The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. |
The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities, and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)
Dated February 9, 2026
Up to 5,567,928 American Depositary Shares
Pre-Funded Warrants to Purchase up to 5,567,928 American Depositary Shares and up to 5,567,928
American Depositary Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants
Warrants to Purchase up to 8,351,893 American
Depositary Shares and up to 8,351,893 American
Depositary Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants
Placement Agent Warrants to Purchase up to 167,038 American Depositary Shares and up to
167,038 American
Depositary Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants

Yimutian Inc.
We are offering on a best-efforts basis: (i) up to 5,567,928 American Depositary Shares, or ADS and (ii) up to 8,351,893 warrants to purchase up to 8,351,893 ADSs (“ADS Warrants”), at an assumed exercise price of $1.796 per ADS (representing 100% of the assumed public offering price per ADS to be sold in this offering). Each ADS represents 25 of our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share. We are offering the ADS and ADS Warrants at an assumed public offering price of US$1.796 per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant.
We are also offering up to 5,567,928 pre-funded warrants (“Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 5,567,928 ADSs. We are offering to certain purchasers whose purchase of ADSs in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and any other persons acting as a group together with the purchaser or any of the purchaser’s affiliates, beneficially owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares immediately following the consummation of this offering, the opportunity to purchase, if any purchaser so chooses, Pre-Funded Warrants, in lieu of ADSs that would otherwise result in such purchaser’s beneficial ownership exceeding 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser at closing, 9.99%) of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares. Each Pre-funded Warrant will have an exercise price of $0.001 per share and will be exercisable upon issuance until exercised in full, and is subject to adjustments in the event of share splits, dividends, subsequent rights offerings, pro rata distributions, and certain fundamental transactions, as more fully described in the section of this prospectus supplement titled “Description of Warrants.” The offering price of each Pre-Funded Warrant is $1.795 (which is equal to the assumed public offering price per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant to be sold in this offering minus $0.001, representing the exercise price per ADS of each Pre-Funded Warrant). For each Pre-Funded Warrant we sell, the number of ADSs we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis. Because we will issue an ADS Warrant for each ADS and for each Pre-Funded Warrant sold in this offering, the number of ADS Warrants sold in this offering will not change as a result of a change in the mix of ADS and Pre-Funded Warrants sold.
The public offering price per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant is an assumed price only. The actual number of ADS (or Pre-Funded Warrants) sold in the offering and actual public offering price will be determined at the time of pricing and may be at a discount to the current market price of our ADS or to the assumed price set forth above. Therefore, the assumed public offering price used throughout this prospectus may not be indicative of the actual public offering price. The assumed public offering price is used so that we can provide certain disclosures, which require a calculation based on the public offering price.
The offering price for our securities in this offering will be determined at the time of pricing, and may be at a discount to the then current market price or to the assumed price set forth above. The assumed offering price used throughout this prospectus may not be indicative of the final offering price. The final public offering price will be determined through negotiation between us and investors based upon a number of factors, including our history and our prospects, the industry in which we operate, our past and present operating results, the previous experience of our executive officers and the general condition of the securities markets at the time of this offering.
Our ADS are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “YMT.” On February 5, 2026, the closing trading price of our ADS, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market, was US$1.796 per ADS.
Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing this offering, we may sell fewer than all of the securities offered hereby, which may significantly reduce the amount of proceeds received by us, and investors in this offering will not receive a refund in the event that we do not sell a number of securities sufficient to pursue the business goals outlined in this prospectus. Because there is no minimum offering amount, investors could be in a position where they have invested in our Company, but we are unable to fulfill our objectives due to a lack of interest in this offering. Also, any proceeds from the sale of securities offered by us will be available for our immediate use, despite uncertainty about whether we would be able to use such funds to effectively implement our business plan. See “Risk Factors” on page 28 of this prospectus. We intend to complete one closing of this offering but may undertake one or more additional closings for the sale of the additional securities to the investors in the initial closing. We expect to hold an initial closing on , 2026, but the offering will be terminated by , 2026, provided that the closing(s) of the offering for all of the ADS have not occurred by such termination date, which date may be extended by us. Any extensions or material changes to the terms of the offering will be contained in an amendment to this prospectus.
Our issued and outstanding share capital consists of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, is be able to exercise 73.81% of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, which includes the voting power of (i) 165,207,841 Class A ordinary shares, comprising 44,245,706 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 120,962,135 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Bailin Song, Mr. Haiyan Gao and Mr. Ming Gu pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016 and (ii) 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares, comprising 231,167,735 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 111,605,425 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Liu, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016, assuming the completion of the maximum offering hereunder. For details on the powers of attorneys referenced in the preceding sentence, see “Principal Shareholders.” Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote. Each Class B ordinary share is entitled to twenty (20) votes. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. See “Description of Share Capital.” We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Listing Rules of Nasdaq.
Yimutian Inc. is not an operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company. Laws, regulations, and rules of mainland China restrict and impose conditions on direct foreign investment in certain types of business, including value-added telecommunication business. Accordingly, we conduct operations in mainland China primarily through the consolidated variable interest entities, Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd., or the VIEs, with which we have maintained contractual arrangements and to a lesser extent, through our subsidiaries in mainland China, Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd. The VIEs are consolidated for accounting purpose, and Yimutian Inc. does not own any equity interest in the VIEs. For a summary of such contractual arrangements, see “Corporate History and Structure — Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs.” Investors in our ADSs thus are not purchasing equity interest in the VIEs in mainland China but instead are purchasing equity interest in a Cayman Islands holding company. Investors may never directly hold equity interest in the VIEs. As used in this prospectus, “Yimutian,” “we,” “us,” “our company,” “the Company,” or “our” refers to Yimutian Inc. and its subsidiaries, and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, also includes the VIEs in mainland China. “WFOE” refers to our wholly foreign owned entity, Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Yimutian, and “VIEs” refer to Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd.
Our corporate structure involves unique risks to investors in the ADSs. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, total assets of the VIEs, excluding amounts due from Yimutian Inc. and its other subsidiaries, represented 60.6%, 60.8% and 57.0% of our consolidated total assets as of the same dates, respectively. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, total revenues of the VIEs and their subsidiaries represented 99.8%, 99.3% and 100.0% of our consolidated total revenues in the same periods, respectively. Our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their respective shareholders have not been tested in a court of law in mainland China. If the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if these laws, or the interpretation of existing laws, change in the future, we could be subject to material penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations or otherwise significantly change our corporate structure. We and our investors face substantial uncertainty that could affect the legality and enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect our ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs and the financial performance of our company as a whole. Our ADSs may decline in value or become worthless, if we are unable to claim our contractual control rights over the assets of the VIEs that conduct certain portion of our operations in mainland China. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” for detailed discussion.
As of June 30, 2025, Yimutian had not made capital contributions to the VIEs through intermediate holding companies. Furthermore, no funds were directly injected into the VIEs by shareholders of Yimutian. Under the laws and regulations in mainland China, we are permitted to remit funds to the VIEs through loans rather than capital contributions. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, the VIEs transferred RMB30.0 million, RMB30.0 million and RMB17.1 million, respectively, to our WFOE as service fees. Yimutian has not previously declared or paid any cash dividend or dividend in kind, and has no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. See “Prospectus Summary — Cash Flows Through Our Organization.”
To the extent that our cash in the business is in mainland China or an entity in mainland China, the funds may not be available to distribute dividends to our investors, or for other use outside of mainland China, due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of us, our subsidiaries, or the VIEs by the mainland China government to transfer cash. The mainland China government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of mainland China. Our cash dividends, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars. As a consequence, we might not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders. If we are considered a mainland China tax resident enterprise for tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders may be regarded as income sourced from mainland China and as a result may be subject to mainland China withholding tax. In addition, the laws and regulations in mainland China permit companies in mainland China to pay dividends only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with mainland China’s accounting standards and regulations. Our subsidiaries in mainland China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated after-tax profits upon satisfaction of relevant statutory conditions and procedures, if any, determined in accordance with the accounting standards and regulations in mainland China; the subsidiaries in mainland China are required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of its registered capital. Additionally, our subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China can only distribute dividends upon approval of the shareholders after they have met the mainland China requirements for appropriation to the statutory reserves. Such laws and regulations would limit our ability to transfer cash between Yimutian, our subsidiaries, the VIEs, or investors. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — Mainland China regulations of loans to and direct investment in domestic entities by offshore holding companies and governmental regulations of currency conversion may restrict or delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.” and “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange.”
We and the VIEs face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to being based in and have all of the operations in mainland China. The mainland China government has significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our and the VIEs’ business and may influence our and the VIEs’ operations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. For example, we face risks associated with oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, regulatory approvals of offshore offerings and anti-monopoly regulatory actions. In particular, the mainland China government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could adversely affect our and the VIEs’ business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the mainland China government has recently promulgated certain measures to supervise the overseas securities offerings, exerting more oversight and control over securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in companies based in mainland China. Any failure to comply with such new measures over overseas securities offering 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 become worthless. For more details, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — We are subject to evolving laws and regulations of mainland China that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs, and the mainland China government’s oversight over our business operations could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs.”
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, or the HFCAA, if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our shares or the ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The independent registered public accounting firm that we use, Assentsure PAC, is headquartered in Singapore. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, was signed into law, which amended the HFCAA (i) to reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two, and (ii) so that any foreign jurisdiction could be the reason why the PCAOB does not have complete access to inspect or investigate a company’s auditors. As it was originally enacted, the HFCAA applied only if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate because of a position taken by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction where the relevant public accounting firm is located. As a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the HFCAA now also applies if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate the relevant accounting firm is due to a position taken by an authority in any foreign jurisdiction. The denying jurisdiction does not need to be where the accounting firm is located. Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in foreign jurisdictions. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in the jurisdiction where the accounting firm that we use to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the SEC is headquartered, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following the filing of the annual report on Form 20-F for the relevant fiscal year. There can be no assurance that we would not be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for any future fiscal year, and if we were so identified for two consecutive years, we would become subject to the prohibition on trading under the HFCAA. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China—Our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.”
We are an “emerging growth company” under the US federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in the ADSs involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 28 of this prospectus.
PRICE US$ PER ADS
Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| Per
ADS and Accompanying ADS Warrant |
Per
Pre-Funded Warrants and Accompanying ADS Warrant |
Total | ||||||||||
| Public offering price(1) | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
| Placement agent commissions(2) | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
| Proceeds, before expenses, to us(3) | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
| (1) | We assume per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant is offered at an assumed offering price of US$1.796, which is the last reported sale price of our ADS, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on February 5, 2026. We assume per Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying ADS Warrant is offered at an assumed offering price of US$1.795, which is the last reported sale price of our ADS, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on February 5, 2026, less US$0.001, which is the exercise price of the Pre-Funded Warrant. |
| (2) | We have agreed to pay the Placement Agent a commission equal to 7.0% of the gross proceeds sold in this offering. In addition, we have agreed to issue to the Placement Agent warrants to purchase 3.0% of the ADSs sold in this offering at an assumed exercise price of US$1.796 per ADS. The Placement Agent warrants and underlying ADS are being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We also have agreed to reimburse the Placement Agent for certain expenses in connection with this offering. For a description of all compensation to be paid to the Placement Agent, see “Plan of Distribution” appearing on page 204 of this prospectus. |
| (3) | We estimate the total expenses of this offering payable by us, excluding the placement agent’s fees, will be approximately US$0.85 million. |
We have engaged FT Global Capital, Inc. as our exclusive placement agent to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase our securities in this offering. The placement agent has no obligation to purchase and are not purchasing or selling the securities offered by us, and is not required to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of our securities, but will use its reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase the securities offered by this prospectus. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to closing in this offering the actual offering amount, the placement agent’s fee, and proceeds to us, if any, is not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the total maximum offering amounts set forth above and throughout this prospectus. We have agreed to pay the placement agent the fee set forth in the table above and to provide reimbursement of certain expenses and certain other compensation to the placement agent. See “Plan of Distribution” of this prospectus for more information regarding these arrangements.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
We will deliver securities being issued to the investors electronically upon closing and receipt of investor funds for the purchase of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus. We expect the delivery of such securities against payment in U.S. dollars will be made in New York, New York on or about , 2026.

Prospectus dated , 2026.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the ADSs (or Pre-Funded Warrants) and ADS Warrants offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
Neither we nor the placement agent has done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any filed free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the ADSs (or Pre-Funded Warrants) and ADS Warrants and the distribution of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus outside of the United States. This offering is being made in the United States and elsewhere solely on the basis of the information contained in this prospectus. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the date on the front cover of this prospectus.
Until , 2026 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade the ADSs, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriter and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
i
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to this summary, we urge you to read the entire prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in the ADSs discussed under “Risk Factors,” “Business,” and information contained in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” before deciding whether to buy the ADSs. This prospectus contains information from an industry report, dated May 30, 2025, commissioned by us and prepared by Frost & Sullivan (Beijing) Inc., or Frost & Sullivan, an independent market research firm, to provide information regarding our industry and our market position in China. We refer to this report as the “Frost & Sullivan Report.”
Our Mission
Our mission is to make every acre of farmland more valuable via technology and industry know-how.
Who We Are
We are the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024, according to the F&S Report. We believe technology plays a critical role in agriculture, contributing to increased productivity of the industry. Over a decade, we have been dedicated to digitalizing China’s agricultural product supply chain infrastructure to streamline the agricultural product transaction process, making it efficient, transparent, secure, and convenient. Riding on the wave of agri-tech upgrade and leveraging our profound industry experience and accumulated market insights, we provide a comprehensive set of digital solutions to facilitate agricultural product transactions, ranging from searching, matching, to transaction facilitation and settlement. Additionally, leveraging our industry experience and market insights, we have ventured into the realm of smart farming and agricultural sourcing and trading, further broadening our commercialization channels and animating our other business lines.
We pride ourselves as the go-to platform for merchants by leveraging our innovative technology and industry know-how. Technological capabilities run in our genes ever since we commenced our operations. Our proprietary agricultural algorithm, being accurate and efficient to sort out matching problems amongst buyers, sellers and massive SKUs, processes terabytes of information daily. Leveraging such insights, we are able to constantly improve accuracy in transaction matching and facilitate our decision-making in conducting our new business venture including agricultural trading and sourcing and smart farming. We continue to pioneer innovation in the industry through expanding into broader areas of AI-powered applications to enhance merchants’ experience and streamline operations. For example, we utilize natural language processing technologies, adapted from open-source models, to enhance the efficiency of collecting supply information from sellers, which elevates user experience on our platform. We are also developing an AI-powered customer service system which leverages the capabilities of third-party large language model. This model is instrumental in promptly acquiring insights into merchant demand through chat interactions, thereby enhancing our efficiency in transaction matching. Our insightful, accurate and up-to-date market quotation database, being the other building block of our success formula, is backed by our dedicated R&D team. About 63% of our R&D personnel were senior engineers with over 5 years of work experience as of June 30, 2025. Our large number of daily active merchants, acting with diverse characteristics and online behaviors, provide daily feedback and response in real time, which allows us to continually enrich the quotation database, extend the depth and breadth of our knowledge graph, amass the collective intelligence, and harness the power of technology.
We have achieved at-scale commercialization and have a track record of proven success. Our platform had over 40 million merchants as of June 30, 2025. In 2024, our platform facilitated approximately 147 million searches, 583 million calls and instant messages, and over 187 million potential transactions. In the six months ended June 30, 2025, our platform facilitated approximately 53 million searches, 313 million calls and instant messages, and over 118 million potential transactions. As of June 30, 2025, the merchants presented approximately 21 million SKUs on our platform. Building upon our experience in transaction matching since our inception, we connected over 770,000 sellers and over 6 million buyers in 2024 in the agricultural product supply chain with precise, dynamic and up-to-date information related to agricultural product transactions. We connected over 430,000 sellers and approximately 3 million buyers in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We further elevate merchant experiences with a full spectrum of services in advertising and client contact privilege by providing the merchants with a suite of online tools. As of June 30, 2025, our geographic footprint covered over 340 cities and 2,800 counties, representing over 65% of the primary and secondary agricultural wholesale markets in mainland China. We further entered into the agricultural sourcing and trading business in 2024, broadening sales channels for local agricultural producers and processors and facilitating sales with reliable, real-time market information on standardization and price. As of the date of this prospectus, we have established 12 offline stores in mainland China to trade agricultural products at cultivation and production sites with sellers and buyers.
1
The success of our business is underpinned by the following main business lines:

| Note: |
| (1) | According to the F&S Report. |
| ● | Digital Agricultural Commerce Services. Our digital agricultural commerce services are mainly offered via Yimutian App, complemented by sales-assistance services offered via Douniu App. Launched in 2015, Yimutian App is a versatile, merchant-friendly B2B e-commerce platform designated for sellers from agricultural production bases or factories and buyers scattered in the country. With distinct functions, Yimutian App is the front line of our online traffic attraction to facilitate modular product posting, portray merchant profiles and distribute information to complete the transaction matching. To complement the agricultural e-commerce business and address the downstream need of agricultural product transaction on the wholesale level, we offer agricultural product sales-assistance services which connect sellers with wholesale stallholders via Douniu App. It complements Yimutian App with first-hand market information from the offline transactions and refines our omni-channel in reaching the great majority of fragmented merchants groups. We mainly monetize our digital agricultural commerce services through membership services, value-added services and transaction services. |
| ● | Agricultural Sourcing and Trading Services. In 2024, we launched a new business venture—agricultural sourcing and trading—to penetrate deeper in the supply chain under the brand name “Wolaicai,” which phonetically resembles “I purchase for you” in Chinese. Through the agricultural sourcing and training business, we position ourselves as brokers of agricultural products and directly make the deal and procure agricultural products from cultivation and production sites for buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain. Our value proposition for this business line is to provide consistently high quality pre-sale and post-sale services for buyers of agricultural products. We primarily monetize this business by completing transactions with buyers and sellers through our sales representatives at offline stores. |
2
| ● | Smart Farming. Drawing on knowledge and resources we accumulated from years of providing digital agricultural commerce services, we launched our smart farming business in 2023 through collaboration with local business partners to selectively cultivate produce based on market demand. We strategically select produce that are cultivated in limited regions during a short window of the year but with strong economic potential, and strategically plant these produce in production region and during cultivation season that complement its original production region and cultivation season. After successful trial planting of a selected produce, we commence large-scale production applying innovative cultivation technologies and subsequently promote and sell these products to agricultural buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities, wholesalers and merchants online and offline through our digital agricultural commerce services. As our agricultural sourcing and trading services continue to scale, new business opportunities from the demand side on Yimutian App or from wholesale markets are expected to further propel growth of our smart farming business. We believe that our innovative cultivation strategy based on our industry insights and propelled by our newly launched agricultural sourcing and trading services can effectively diversify the production areas and timing of a specific produce and enable us to stagger production and market availability, filling the market gap left by the decline of specific produce varieties in their original production regions after their production season ends, ultimately achieving a continual supply of agricultural products throughout the year. We mainly monetize our smart farming business through sales of the agricultural products. |
| ● | Other Digital Agricultural Solutions. Agricultural production bases are vital to our business, which incentivizes us to further penetrate into localized service suites with other digital agricultural solutions. We started helping scalable agricultural production bases focusing on individual agricultural products in 2019 through consulting, brand promotion and digital agricultural training programs. Leveraging our proprietary digital agricultural system, we mainly monetize through providing information and offering brand promotion services with interface of real-time market quotation analysis. |
Our business lines are deeply interconnected and together solidify our leadership position in the agricultural B2B industry. Our digital agricultural commerce services represent where we start our business and are designed to serve sellers of agricultural products, including farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives, food processing manufacturers and merchants, and business buyers, such as restaurants and grocery stores, who trade agricultural products directly from the respective agricultural production bases. To serve sellers and buyers on a wholesale level, we also offer agricultural product sales-assistance services which connect sellers with wholesale stallholders to complement our digital agricultural commerce services. Our platform therefore seamlessly combines online and offline scenarios for transactions of agricultural products and is able to reach all types of participants in the supply chain.
Drawing on our extensive experience in the industry and the valuable market insights we have accumulated into agricultural commerce, along with the vast amount of data we have gathered on industry participants, user behavior, and transaction matching, we have expanded our offerings to include other digital agricultural solutions. These solutions cater to merchants seeking in-depth market information and brand promotion services. Our proprietary digital agricultural solution platform, which is purposefully built to analyze current market dynamics, presents accurate price predictions, generates detailed reports on pricing and circulation of agricultural products from farmland to various marketplaces, showcasing our data analytics and overall technology capabilities. By conducting in-depth analyses of price trends, nationwide circulation of agricultural products, and merchant behavior, we are well-positioned to enhance our services and deliver better customized recommendations to merchants on our platform, which will in turn improve merchant loyalty and enable us to gain deeper insights into the circulation of agricultural products, creating a flywheel effect.
As we have accumulated valuable knowledge, information and industry know-how on agricultural product categories, production region, market information, upstream and downstream sales cycle, and supply and procurement trends, as well as fostered deep relationships with various upstream and downstream participants in the agricultural product supply chain through years of operations of our digital agricultural commerce services via Yimutian App, we launched smart farming business in 2023 through collaboration with local business partners to selectively cultivate produce based on market demand, in order to diversify our monetization channels and capture new growth opportunities. As the business was in the trial-and-error stage, revenue generated from smart farming was immaterial in 2023. Our involvement in smart farming has provided us with valuable insights into the upstream agricultural product supply chain. These insights have been instrumental in identifying potential monetization channels that we plan to explore and develop in the future.
3
In addition, we recognize that online e-commerce platforms face inherent limitations in fully encompassing the entire agricultural product supply chain, as wholesale-level transactions frequently occur offline. The offline agricultural product market is characterized by a dynamic environment, with fluctuating market conditions and a complex transaction process that includes receipt, inspection, sorting, packing, and logistics. Furthermore, the market is often challenged by non-transparent pricing, lack of product standardization, variable supplier fulfillment capabilities and a general lack of post-sale services. These factors have contributed to a growing market demand for standardized transaction services that offer transparent pricing and reliable and quality pre-sale and post-sale support. In response to these challenges, and by leveraging our deep insights into the agricultural product supply chain as well as our extensive network of buyers and sellers, we entered the agricultural sourcing and trading business in 2024, broadening procurement channels and sales channels for regional buyers and local agricultural producers and processors, respectively, and facilitating sales with reliable, real-time market information and consistent quality and timely deliveries, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain and leading to increased repeat purchases. This reliability is crucial for maintaining a strong buyer base on the Yimutian App. Our smart farming business could also leverage the success of our agricultural sourcing and trading business to further integrate the supply chain. By ensuring quality and other specifications of products at production sites, we can offer consistently high-quality products to buyers. This integration reduces supply chain disruptions and enhances the overall efficiency of our business.
Our comprehensive services have positioned us as a platform that encompasses the full spectrum of agricultural supply chains, delivering significant values to both sellers and buyers. With our suite of offerings, a typical business flow begins with the strategic selection of produce that currently have single production region and single cultivation season but with strong economic potential, and strategically planting these produce in production region and during cultivation season that complement its original production region and cultivation season. After successful large-scale production of the produce through our smart farming business or by other agricultural producers, we may connect with and sell the produce through our agricultural sourcing and trading business to buyers with regional or large-scale procurement capacities who indicate interests to procure products online via our Apps or offline at wholesale markets. Meanwhile, our digital agricultural commerce services and other digital agricultural solutions can be further iterated and enhanced through our collection of first-hand account of transaction data and behaviors from our smart farming and agricultural trading and sourcing business.

4
Through our dedication in the past decade, we have achieved widespread market acceptance evidenced by our high merchant stickiness and top-line growth. We typically attract and accumulate paying merchants through providing value-added services, such as advertising service, offered on our platform. As some merchants achieve higher sales of products benefiting from such value-added services on our platform, they turn to subscribe for membership of our flagship product which provides a suite of online tools to further help merchants boost their sales, such as hosting premium storefronts on our platform. The paying merchants of our flagship product, who mainly receive our services on an annual basis, on average spent approximately RMB5,243 (US$723) in 2024. Such paying merchants on average spent approximately RMB5,248 in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB5,896 (US$823) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations — Our ability to improve and expand service offerings” for details. We recorded total revenues of RMB187.5 million in 2023 and RMB161.3 million (US$22.2 million) in 2024. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, our total revenues reached RMB80.9 million and RMB66.4 million (US$9.3 million), respectively. Industry tailwind in digitalization of infrastructure, such as the rapid deployment of 5G communication networks and growing penetration of digital payment systems in rural areas of China as well as the adoption of advanced digital technologies in the agricultural sector, facilitates the traceability of agricultural products and enhances the distribution efficiency of agricultural products, thereby laying the foundation for the operation and growth of our agricultural B2B platform. As we are still in the early stage of monetization, given our broad merchant base, we are poised for growth across multiple new monetization channels and through value-added services throughout the supply chain of agricultural products. We incurred net losses of RMB105.6 million and RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million) in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, we recorded net losses of RMB17.4 million and RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million), respectively.
Market Opportunities
Feeding over 1.4 billion population scattered in 9.6 million square kilometers has never been easy. Information asymmetry and low cost efficiency due to the multi-layer and vertical structure of agriculture products circulation have long been the transaction paradigm in mainland China. Agricultural B2B e-commerce platforms are born to address these pain points by connecting industry stakeholders and offering seamless experience via omni-channels, providing one-stop solutions from searching, matching and transacting, to transportation facilitation and settlement. In recent years, this industry has grown quickly driven by rapid technological developments. According to the F&S Report, the overall size of China’s agricultural B2B e-commerce platform reached approximately RMB132.7 billion in 2024, and is expected to grow to RMB284.2 billion in 2029, representing a CAGR of 17.5% from 2025 to 2029. On top of that, agricultural B2B platform digital service market is also experiencing stellar growth due to increasing popularity of centralized scale production and advancement of technologies. It reached a total market size of RMB1,629.6 million in 2024 with a 5-year CAGR of 36.7% from 2025 to 2029, according to the F&S Report. We believe that our overall leading position in the industry, in particular, our strengths in technological capabilities and market insights, make us well-positioned to benefit from the significant growth opportunities.
Strengths
We believe our success is primarily attributable to the following key competitive strengths:
| ● | agricultural B2B platform leader; |
| ● | pioneer in China agricultural product supply chain; |
| ● | superior and versatile technology capabilities; |
| ● | comprehensive knowledge graph and deep industry know-how; and |
| ● | visionary management team. |
Strategies
To further solidify our market leadership, we intend to pursue the following strategies:
| ● | consolidate our market leadership position in the agricultural B2B industry; |
| ● | further expand our innovative businesses; |
| ● | continue to invest in infrastructure development and technology innovation; and |
| ● | selectively pursue strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions. |
5
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in our ADSs. Below please find a summary of the principal risks and uncertainties we face, organized under relevant headings. The operational risks associated with being based in and having operations in mainland China also apply to operations in Hong Kong and Macau.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
| ● | If we are unable to attract or retain agricultural product sellers, our platform will become less appealing to wholesale markets and business buyers, and our business and financial results may be materially and adversely impacted. |
| ● | If we are unable to attract or retain buyers of agricultural products, our platform will become less appealing to agricultural product sellers, and our business and financial results may be materially and adversely impacted. |
| ● | We have incurred net losses since our inception. We cannot guarantee that our monetization strategies will be successful and generate sustainable revenues and realize profitability. If we are unable to achieve and maintain profitability in the future, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. |
| ● | Our operating cash outflow, net current liabilities, and preferred shareholder redemption rights raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. |
| ● | We have limited operating history and our evolving business make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter, and our historical growth and performance may not be indicative of our future growth and financial results. |
| ● | Our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected if inclement weather persists or natural disasters occur. Changes in the availability of quality agricultural products and price fluctuations could also negatively affect our business. |
| ● | Our business depends heavily on the market recognition and reputation of our brands. Any harm to our brands, failure to maintain and enhance our brand recognition or any negative publicity about us, our business, management, business partners or the agricultural B2B industry in general, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. |
| ● | Our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to maintain satisfactory user experience or high quality customer service. |
| ● | Agricultural product sellers on our platform deliver their products to wholesale markets or business buyers through a variety of third-party logistics service providers. Service interruptions, failures, or constraints of these third parties could severely harm our reputation, business and prospects. |
| ● | We may be subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection. Actual or alleged failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection laws and regulations could damage our reputation, deter current and potential users from using our services and subject us to significant legal, financial and operational consequences. |
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
| ● | Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no operations of its own. We currently conduct our operations in mainland China through our subsidiaries and the VIEs. If the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if these laws, or the interpretation of existing laws, change in the future, we could be subject to material penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations or otherwise significantly change our corporate structure. We and our investors face uncertainty about potential future actions by the mainland China government that could affect the legality and enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect our ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs and the financial performance of our company as a whole. |
| ● | Our contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership and the VIE shareholders may fail to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements. |
6
Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China
| ● | The approval of the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval. |
| ● | The legal system in mainland China evolves rapidly, and the interpretations of laws, regulations and rules may change from time to time. The enforcement of laws in mainland China and rules and regulations in mainland China can change quickly with little advance notice. In addition, their interpretations and enforcement involve uncertainties. Similar to situations of many other countries, the mainland China government has oversight over the conduct of our business and may influence or intervene our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs. Furthermore, the mainland China government has recently promulgated certain measures to supervise overseas securities offering of domestic entities, indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over securities offerings and other capital markets activities that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in mainland China-based companies like us. If we fail to comply with the new measures relating to overseas securities offering of domestic entities, such failure could adversely affect the value of our Class A ordinary shares or the ADSs, or 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 in extreme cases, become worthless. For details, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — We are subject to evolving laws and regulations of mainland China that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs, and the mainland China government’s oversight over our business operations could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs.” |
| ● | Our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. |
Risks Related to the ADS and This Offering
| ● | An active trading market for our Class A ordinary shares or the ADSs may not develop and the trading price for the ADSs may fluctuate significantly. |
| ● | The trading price of the ADSs is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors. |
| ● | Our proposed dual-class voting structure will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial. |
Permission Required from the PRC Authorities for Our Operations and Offerings
Prerequisite Regulatory Licenses, Permits and Approvals
We conduct our business through our mainland China subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China. Our operations in mainland China are governed by mainland China laws and regulations. As advised by Global Law Office, our PRC counsel, as of the date of this prospectus, our mainland China subsidiaries and the VIEs have obtained all material licenses and permits from the mainland China government authorities that are necessary for their business operations in China.
7
We may be required to obtain additional licenses, permits, filings, or approvals for our business operations in the future. If we or any of the VIEs is found to be in violation of any existing or future laws or regulations of mainland China, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the PRC regulatory authorities would have discretion to take action in dealing with such violations or failures. In addition, if we had inadvertently concluded that such approvals, permits, registrations or filings were not required, or if applicable laws, regulations or interpretations change in a way that requires us to obtain such approval, permits, registrations or filings in the future, we may be unable to obtain such necessary approvals, permits, registrations or filings in a timely manner, or at all, and such approvals, permits, registrations or filings may be rescinded even if obtained. Any such circumstance may subject us to fines and other regulatory, civil or criminal liabilities, and we may be ordered by the competent government authorities to suspend relevant operations, which will materially and adversely affect our business operation. In addition, there can be no assurance that we or the VIEs will be able to maintain the existing licenses, approvals, registrations, permits and filings necessary to operate current business in mainland China, renew any of these upon expiry in the future, or update the existing licenses or obtain additional licenses, approvals, permits, registrations or filings necessary for our business expansion from time to time. If we or the VIEs fail to do so, our business, financial condition and operational results may be materially and adversely affected. For risks relating to licenses and approvals required for our operations in China, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — Any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may subject us to administrative penalties or other government sanctions and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”
Cybersecurity Review
On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, and several other administrations in mainland China jointly promulgated the Measures for Cybersecurity Review, or the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective on February 15, 2022. As a network platform operator who possess personal information of more than one million users for purposes of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, we have applied for and completed a cybersecurity review with respect to our proposed overseas listing pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures.
Overseas Listing
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Overseas Listing Trial Measures and relevant five guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, Chinese domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either in direct or indirect means, are required to fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. Where an issuer submits an application for initial public offering to competent overseas regulators, such issuer must file with the CSRC within three business days after such application is submitted. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures also requires subsequent reports to be filed with the CSRC on material events, such as change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer(s) who have completed overseas offerings and listings. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures state that, any post-listing follow-on offering by an issuer in the same overseas market, including issuance of shares, convertible notes and other similar securities, shall be subject to filing requirement within three business days after the completion of the offering. Therefore, any of our future offering and listing of our securities in an overseas market shall be subject to the filing requirements under the CSRC Filing Rules. As such, we are required to submit filing to CSRC within three business days after the completion of this offering.
Any future securities offerings and listings outside of mainland China by our company, including but not limited to follow-on offerings, secondary listings, and going private transactions, will be subject to the filing requirements with the CSRC under the Trial Measures, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with such filing requirements in a timely manner, or at all. If we fail to obtain the approval or complete the filings and other regulatory procedures, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies, which may include fines and penalties on our operations in mainland China, limitations on our operating privileges in mainland China, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries in mainland China, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. For details of the associated risks, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — The approval of the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval.”
8
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Pursuant to the HFCAA, if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our shares or the ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The independent registered public accounting firm that we use, Assentsure PAC, is headquartered in Singapore. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, was signed into law, which amended the HFCAA (i) to reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two, and (ii) so that any foreign jurisdiction could be the reason why the PCAOB does not have complete access to inspect or investigate a company’s auditors. As it was originally enacted, the HFCAA applied only if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate because of a position taken by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction where the relevant public accounting firm is located. As a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the HFCAA now also applies if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate the relevant accounting firm is due to a position taken by an authority in any foreign jurisdiction. The denying jurisdiction does not need to be where the accounting firm is located. Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in foreign jurisdictions. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in to the jurisdiction where the accounting firm that we use to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is headquartered, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following the filing of the annual report on Form 20-F for the relevant fiscal year. There can be no assurance that we would not be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for any future fiscal year, and if we were so identified for two consecutive years, we would become subject to the prohibition on trading under the HFCAA. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — Our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.”
Contractual Arrangements and Corporate Structure
Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company, and we currently conduct our operations in mainland China primarily through the VIEs, and to a lesser extent our mainland China subsidiaries. Laws and regulations in mainland China restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in value-added telecommunication services. The VIEs are consolidated for accounting purpose, and Yimutian Inc. does not own any equity interest in the VIEs. As such, Yimutian Inc., through the WFOE, entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Douniu, and Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd., or Yimutian Xinnong, respectively. These contractual arrangements entered into with the VIEs allow us to receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, and have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by laws of mainland China. These contractual arrangements include exclusive business cooperation agreement, exclusive option agreement, equity pledge agreement and powers of attorney.
Beijing Douniu operates the Douniu App, an online agricultural product wholesale market circulation platform, which involves the provision of internet information services and requires an ICP License. As such, Beijing Douniu has obtained and currently holds an ICP License. Yimutian Xinnong primarily operates an agricultural product B2B e-commerce platform through Yimutian App, which involves the provision of internet information services and online data processing and transaction processing service (i.e., operational e-commerce business) and requires both an ICP License and an EDI License. As such, Yimutian Xinnong has obtained and currently holds an ICP License an EDI License.
As a result of the contractual arrangements, we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purpose. We treat them as our consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP, and have consolidated the financial results of these entities in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, to the extent the conditions for consolidation of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP are satisfied. For more details and risks related to our variable interest entity structure, please see “Corporate History and Structure — Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure.”
9
Even though these contractual arrangements allow us to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purpose, which results in the consolidation of the VIEs’ operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP, such control may be less effective than equity ownership, and we could face heightened risks and costs in enforcing these contractual arrangements, because there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future laws, regulations, and rules of mainland China relating to the legality and enforceability of these contractual arrangements. For the risks related to the nominee shareholders of the VIEs, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no operations of its own and we currently conduct our operations in mainland China through our subsidiaries and the VIEs. Investors in our ADSs should note that they are purchasing equity interests in a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity interests in the VIEs in mainland China. Given that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in mainland China, including potential future actions by the mainland China government, if the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if regulations or interpretation of the existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Any failure by any of the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their respective obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.”
The following chart illustrates our corporate structure, including our principal subsidiary, as well as the VIEs and their principal subsidiaries, immediately upon the completion of this offering:

Notes:
| (1) | Beijing Douniu is 99% owned by Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and 1% owned by Mr. Min Liu, our director and senior vice president. Both Mr. Deng and Mr. Liu are beneficial owners of shares of our company. |
| (2) | Yimutian Xinnong is 88.53% owned by Mr. Jinhong Deng, 6.34% owned by Ms. Jiefang Ji, the founder of Wise Prime International Limited and a beneficial owner of shares of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Yahui Zhou, the founder of Keeneyes Future Holding Limited and a beneficial owner of shares of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Zhijia Liu, our director, 0.85% owned by Mr. Bailin Song, a beneficial owner of shares of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Mi Zhou, our director, 0.85% owned by Mr. Min Liu, and 0.85% owned by Mr. Haiyan Gao, a beneficial owner of shares of our company. |
10
Cash Flows Through Our Organization
Yimutian Inc. and the WFOE are not able to make direct capital contributions to the VIEs. However, under the laws and regulations of mainland China, they are permitted to remit funds to the VIEs through loans or by making payment to the VIEs for intragroup transactions. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, the WFOE made payments to the VIEs for intragroup transactions in the amounts of RMB30.0 million, RMB6.9 million and RMB10.6 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the outstanding balance of intragroup transactions from the WFOE to the VIEs was RMB68.9 million, RMB75.8 million and RMB86.5 million, respectively.
The VIEs may transfer cash to the WFOE by paying service fees according to the exclusive business cooperation agreement. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, the VIEs transferred RMB28.3 million, RMB28.3 million and RMB17.1 million, respectively, to our WFOE as service fees under the exclusive business cooperation agreement. We plan to continue to determine the amount of service fees and payment method with the VIEs and their shareholders based on the working capital needs of the VIEs, and settle fees under the contractual arrangements accordingly in the future.
In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, no assets other than cash flows discussed above were transferred through our organization.
Under laws and regulations of mainland China, we are subject to restrictions on foreign exchange and cross-border cash transfers, including to the Cayman Island holding company and U.S. investors. Our ability to distribute earnings to the Cayman Island holding company and U.S. investors is also limited. We are a Cayman Islands holding company and rely on dividends and other distributions on equity from our mainland China subsidiaries for our cash requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and service any debt we may incur outside of mainland China. Current mainland China regulations permit our mainland China subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated after-tax profits upon satisfaction of relevant statutory conditions and procedures, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our mainland China subsidiaries are required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves, together with the registered capital, are not distributable as cash dividends. Additionally, if our mainland China subsidiaries incur debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing its debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the revenues and assets of our mainland China subsidiaries are generally denominated in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our mainland China subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. For more details, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries in mainland China to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — Mainland China regulations of loans to and direct investment in domestic entities by offshore holding companies and governmental regulations of currency conversion may restrict or delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.”
We have established stringent controls and procedures for cash flows within our organization. Each transfer of cash among our Cayman Islands holding company and our subsidiaries is subject to internal approval. To effect a cash transfer, a number of steps are needed, including but not limited to the issuance of payment receipt, logging into the online banking system and completing its verification process, inspection of the invoice, and payment execution. A single employee is not permitted to complete each and every stage of a cash transfer, but rather only portions of the whole procedure. Only the finance department is authorized to make cash transfers. Within the finance department, the roles of payment approval, payment execution, record keeping, and auditing are segregated to minimize risk.
Yimutian Inc. has not previously declared or paid any cash dividend or dividend in kind, and has no plan to declare or pay any dividends in the near future on our shares or the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business. Our board of directors has discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain requirements of Cayman Islands law. Even if we decide to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.
11
For purposes of illustration, the following discussion reflects the hypothetical taxes that might be required to be paid within mainland China, assuming that: (i) we have taxable earnings, and (ii) we determine to pay dividends in the future.
| Tax
calculation(1) | ||||
| Hypothetical pre-tax earnings(2) | 100 | % | ||
| Tax on earnings at statutory rate of 25%(3) | (25 | )% | ||
| Net earnings available for distribution | 75 | % | ||
| Withholding tax at standard rate of 10%(4) | (7.5 | )% | ||
| Net distribution to Parent/Shareholders | 67.5 | % | ||
Notes:
| (1) | For purposes of this example, the tax calculation has been simplified. The hypothetical book pre-tax earnings amount, not considering timing differences, is assumed to equal taxable income in China. |
| (2) | Under the terms of VIE agreements, our WFOE may charge the VIEs for services provided to VIEs. These service fees shall be recognized as expenses of the VIEs, with a corresponding amount as service income by our WFOE and eliminate in consolidation. For income tax purposes, our WFOE and VIEs file income tax returns on a separate company basis. The service fees paid are recognized as a tax deduction by the VIEs and as income by our WFOE and are tax neutral. |
| (3) | Certain of our subsidiaries and VIEs qualify for a 15% preferential income tax rate in China. However, such rate is subject to qualification, is temporary in nature, and may not be available in a future period when distributions are paid. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above reflects a maximum tax scenario under which the full statutory rate would be effective. |
| (4) | The PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law imposes a withholding income tax of 10% on dividends distributed by a foreign invested enterprise, or FIE, to its immediate holding company outside of China. A lower withholding income tax rate of 5% is applied if the FIE’s immediate holding company is registered in Hong Kong or other jurisdictions that have a tax treaty arrangement with mainland China, subject to a qualification review at the time of the distribution. For purposes of this hypothetical example, the table above assumes a maximum tax scenario under which the full withholding tax would be applied. |
Our Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 6/F, Building B-6, Block A, Zhongguancun Dongsheng Technology Campus, No. 66 Xixiaokou Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100192, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 10 57086561. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Osiris International Cayman Limited, Suite #4-210, Governors Square, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, PO Box 32311, Grand Cayman KY1-1209, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
Investors should contact us for any inquiries through the address and telephone number of our principal executive office. Our principal website is www.ymt.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenue for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements compared to those that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. Pursuant to the JOBS Act, we have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. As a result, our operating results and financial statements may not be comparable to the operating results and financial statements of other companies who have adopted the new or revised accounting standards.
12
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (a) the last day of the fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1.235 billion; (b) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (c) the date on which we have, during the preceding three-year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (d) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.
Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. Moreover, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. In addition, as an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to the ADSs and This Offering — As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Yimutian Inc. is permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq listing standards.”
Implication of Being a Controlled Company
Immediately following the completion of this offering, Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, will be able to exercise 73.81% of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, which includes the voting power of (i) 165,207,841 Class A ordinary shares, comprising 44,245,706 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 120,962,135 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Bailin Song, Mr. Haiyan Gao and Mr. Ming Gu pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016 and (ii) 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares, comprising 231,167,735 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 111,605,425 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Liu, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016, assuming the completion of the maximum offering hereunder. For details on the powers of attorneys referenced in the preceding sentence, see “Principal Shareholders.” As a result, we are a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Mr. Deng will hold more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors. As a “controlled company,” we are permitted to elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. If we rely on these exemptions, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
Conventions Which Apply to This Prospectus
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to:
| ● | “ADSs” are to the American depositary shares, each representing 25 Class A ordinary shares; |
| ● | “Apps” with respect to the online applications we offer, are to Yimutian App and Douniu App, unless the context indicates otherwise; |
| ● | “buyers” in a given year or as of a given date are to users who have logged in on our platform to access market information and seller information, and engage in potential transaction negotiations with sellers prior to the end of that year or that date, excluding users that have posted product listings on our platform prior to the end of that year or that date; |
13
| ● | “CAC” is to the Cyberspace Administration of China; |
| ● | “CAGR” are to compound annual growth rate; |
| ● | “Class A ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.00001 per share; |
| ● | “Class B ordinary shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares with a par value of US$0.00001 per share; |
| ● | “CSRC” is to the China Securities Regulatory Commission; |
| ● | “merchants” are to sellers and buyers of agricultural products, unless the context indicates otherwise; we sometimes refer to merchants as our users; |
| ● | “ordinary shares” are to our ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share; |
| ● | “RMB” or “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of mainland China; |
| ● | “sellers” in a given year are to users who have logged in on our platform during that year and posted product listings on our platform prior to the end of that year; “sellers” as of a given date are to users who have posted product listings on our platform prior to that date; |
| ● | “US$,” “dollars,” or “U.S. dollars” are to the legal currency of the United States; |
| ● | “U.S. GAAP” are to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; |
| ● | “VIEs” are to Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Douniu, and Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd., or Yimutian Xinnong; |
| ● | “WFOE,” “wholly foreign owned entity,” or “Beijing Yimutian” are to Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd.; and |
| ● | “Yimutian,” “we,” “us,” “our company,” “the Company,” “or “our” are to Yimutian Inc. and its subsidiaries, and, in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, also includes the VIEs in mainland China. |
Unless the context indicates otherwise, all information in this prospectus assumes the completion of the maximum offering hereunder. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this prospectus are made at RMB7.1636 to US$1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on June 30, 2025. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, the rates stated below, or at all. On January 30, 2026, the exchange rate for Renminbi was RMB6.9510 to US$1.00.
14
| Securities offered by us | Up to 5,567,928 ADSs (or Pre-Funded Warrants) and 5,567,928 accompanying ADS Warrants on a “best efforts” basis based on an assumed public offering price of $1.796 per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant. | |
| ADS outstanding immediately after this offering | Up to 10,577,928 ADSs (including 5,010,000 ADSs outstanding before this offering, but assuming no exercise of the ADS Warrants or placement agent warrants) | |
| ADS Warrants: | Each ADS Warrant will be exercisable for one ADS, will have an exercise price of $1.796 per share (or 100% of the assumed combined public offering price per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant), subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of recapitalization events, share dividends, share splits, share consolidation, reclassifications, reorganizations or similar events affecting our Ordinary Shares, as well as certain price protections and resets, subject to certain conditions. See “Description of Warrants” in this prospectus for more information. Each ADS Warrant will be exercisable upon issuance and will expire up to five years from the date of issuance. This prospectus also relates to the offering of the ADSs issuable upon exercise of the ADS Warrants. | |
| Pre-Funded Warrants offered by us: | We are offering to certain purchasers whose purchase of ADSs in this offering would otherwise result in the purchaser, together with its affiliates and any other persons acting as a group together with the purchaser or any of the purchaser’s affiliates, beneficially owning more than 4.99% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares immediately following the closing of this offering, the opportunity to purchase, if such purchasers so choose, Pre-Funded Warrants, in lieu of ADSs that would otherwise result in any such purchaser’s beneficial ownership, together with its affiliates and any other persons acting as a group together with the purchaser or any of the purchaser’s affiliates, exceeding 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser at closing, 9.99%) of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares immediately following the consummation of this offering. Each Pre-Funded Warrant will have an exercise price of $0.001 per share and will be exercisable upon issuance until exercised in full, and is subject to adjustments in the event of stock splits, dividends, subsequent rights offerings, pro rata distributions, and certain fundamental transactions, as more fully described in the section of this prospectus supplement titled “Description of Warrants.” The offering price of each Pre-Funded Warrant is equal to the purchase price of the ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant in this offering minus $0.001, the exercise price of each Pre-Funded Warrant. For each Pre-Funded Warrant we sell, the number of ADSs we are offering will be decreased on a one-for-one basis. This offering also relates to the ADSs issuable upon exercise of any Pre-Funded Warrants sold in this offering. | |
| The ADSs | Each ADS represents 25 Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share. The depositary will hold the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs through its custodian. You will have rights as provided in the deposit agreement. | |
| We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. If, however, we declare dividends on our Class A ordinary shares, the depositary will pay you the cash dividends and other distributions it receives on our Class A ordinary shares, after deducting its fees and expenses in accordance with the terms set forth in the deposit agreement. | ||
| You may surrender the ADSs to the depositary for cancellation to receive Class A ordinary shares. The depositary will charge you fees for any cancellation. | ||
| We may amend or terminate the deposit agreement without your consent. If you continue to hold the ADSs after an amendment to the deposit agreement, you agree to be bound by the deposit agreement as amended. | ||
| To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the “Description of American Depositary Shares” section of this prospectus. You should also read the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus. | ||
| Ordinary shares | We will issue up to 139,198,200 Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs in this offering, assuming no exercise of the ADS Warrants or placement agent warrants. | |
| Following the completion of this offering (assuming the maximum offering is completed and assuming no sales of Pre-Funded Warrants), our issued and outstanding share capital will consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. Each Class B ordinary share is entitled to twenty (20) votes, and each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. |
15
| See “Description of Share Capital.” | ||
| Ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering | 2,988,624,966 ordinary shares, comprised of 2,655,851,806 Class A ordinary shares and 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares (assuming the maximum offering is completed and assuming no sales of Pre-Funded Warrants). | |
| Listing | Our ADSs are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “YMT.” There is no established public trading market for the ADS Warrants or Pre-Funded Warrants. We do not intend to apply for a listing of the ADS Warrants or the Pre-Funded Warrants on any national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system and we do not expect a market to develop. | |
| Use of proceeds | We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the offering will be approximately US$8.45 million, after deducting placement agent commissions and estimated expenses payable by us. | |
We intend to use the net proceeds from the offering for the enhancement of our Apps, the development of technological infrastructure and product operations, the expansion of agricultural sourcing and trading services and working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”
However, because this is a best-efforts offering and there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to the closing of this offering, the actual offering amount, the placement agent’s commissions and net proceeds to us are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amounts set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. | ||
| Lock-up | Our directors and executive officers will enter into lock-up agreements. Under these agreements, these parties have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise dispose of any securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, our securities for a period of sixty days after the date of this prospectus without the prior consent of the placement agent. Notwithstanding these limitations, our securities may be transferred under limited circumstances, including by gift, will, or intestate succession. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for more information. | |
| Payment and settlement | We expect to deliver the ADSs and ADS Warrants against payment therefor through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company on , 2026. | |
| Depositary | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. |
Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes the completion of the maximum offering hereunder.
The number of ordinary shares that will be issued and outstanding immediately after this offering:
| ● | is based on 2,859,426,766 ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, including 2,516,653,606 Class A ordinary shares and 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares; |
| ● | Includes up to 139,198,200 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs that we will issue and sell in this offering; and |
| ● | excludes all ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of our outstanding options and ordinary shares reserved for future issuances under our share incentive plans. |
16
SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA AND OPERATING DATA
The following summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, summary consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, and summary consolidated statements of cash flows data for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of our Company included elsewhere in this prospectus, which were prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The following summary consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, summary consolidated balance sheets data as of June 30, 2025 and summary consolidated cash flows data for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025 are derived from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of results expected for future periods. You should read this Summary Consolidated Financial Data and Operating Data section together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The following table presents our summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | 187,523 | 100.0 | 161,321 | 22,231 | 100.0 | 80,857 | 100.0 | 66,415 | 9,271 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | (49,248 | ) | (26.3 | ) | (30,573 | ) | (4,213 | ) | (19.0 | ) | (21,400 | ) | (26.5 | ) | (13,058 | ) | (1,823 | ) | (19.7 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 138,275 | 73.7 | 130,748 | 18,018 | 81.0 | 59,457 | 73.5 | 53,357 | 7,448 | 80.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (94,647 | ) | (50.5 | ) | (87,618 | ) | (12,074 | ) | (54.3 | ) | (36,439 | ) | (45.1 | ) | (34,652 | ) | (4,837 | ) | (52.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (96,712 | ) | (51.6 | ) | (39,564 | ) | (5,452 | ) | (24.5 | ) | (24,743 | ) | (30.6 | ) | (22,966 | ) | (3,206 | ) | (34.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (47,453 | ) | (25.3 | ) | (37,811 | ) | (5,210 | ) | (23.4 | ) | (15,376 | ) | (19.0 | ) | (14,607 | ) | (2,039 | ) | (22.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 823 | 0.4 | 218 | 30 | 0.1 | 149 | 0.2 | 4,168 | 582 | 6.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (99,714 | ) | (53.2 | ) | (34,027 | ) | (4,688 | ) | (21.1 | ) | (16,952 | ) | (21.0 | ) | (14,700 | ) | (2,052 | ) | (22.1 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 23 | 0.01 | 12 | 2 | 0.01 | 6 | 0.01 | 2 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (211 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (964 | ) | (133 | ) | (0.6 | ) | (470 | ) | (0.6 | ) | (223 | ) | (31 | ) | (0.3 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of financial liabilities | (3,728 | ) | (2.0 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from derecognition of financial liabilities | (1,953 | ) | (1.0 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity method investment | (105,583 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,979 | ) | (4,819 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (17,416 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | (22.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share of loss of an equity method investment | (38 | ) | (0.02 | ) | 38 | 5 | 0.02 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,814 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (17,416 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | (22.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | 11 | — | 41 | 6 | 0.03 | (1 | ) | — | 593 | 83 | 0.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc | (105,610 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,900 | ) | (4,808 | ) | (21.6 | ) | (17,417 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,328 | ) | (2,000 | ) | (21.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (2,872 | ) | (1.5 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (915 | ) | (0.5 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (71,735 | ) | (38.3 | ) | (88,277 | ) | (12,165 | ) | (54.7 | ) | (42,677 | ) | (52.8 | ) | (46,048 | ) | (6,428 | ) | (69.3 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (181,132 | ) | (96.6 | ) | (123,177 | ) | (16,973 | ) | (76.4 | ) | (60,094 | ) | (74.3 | ) | (60,376 | ) | (8,428 | ) | (90.9 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,814 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (17,416 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | (22.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fair value changes of financial liabilities due to instrument-specific credit risk, net of nil income taxes | 781 | 0.4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification adjustment for gain on financial liabilities in net income, net of nil income taxes | 1,953 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment,
net of nil income taxes | (24,300 | ) | (13.0 | ) | (432 | ) | (60 | ) | (0.3 | ) | (158 | ) | (0.2 | ) | 157 | 22 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total comprehensive loss | (127,187 | ) | (67.8 | ) | (35,373 | ) | (4,874 | ) | (21.9 | ) | (17,574 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (14,764 | ) | (2,061 | ) | (22.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | (0.45 | ) | — | (0.27 | ) | (0.04 | ) | — | (0.13 | ) | — | (0.13 | ) | (0.02 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding used in computing net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | 400,206,197 | 2,134.2 | 460,147,059 | 63,409,960 | 2,852.4 | 460,147,059 | 5,690.9 | 460,147,059 | 64,234,053 | 6,928.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The following table presents our condensed consolidating schedule depicting the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025.
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | — | 28,302 | 441 | 187,082 | (28,302 | ) | 187,523 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | — | (5,008 | ) | (246 | ) | (43,994 | ) | — | (49,248 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | — | 23,294 | 195 | 143,088 | (28,302 | ) | 138,275 | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses | (9,756 | ) | (46,227 | ) | (7,154 | ) | (203,977 | ) | 28,302 | (238,812 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Other income, net | — | 292 | 7 | 524 | — | 823 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 4 | 2 | — | 17 | — | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | — | — | (64 | ) | (147 | ) | — | (211 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of financial liabilities | (3,728 | ) | — | — | — | — | (3,728 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Loss from derecognition of financial
liabilities | (1,953 | ) | — | — | — | — | (1,953 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity method investment | (15,433 | ) | (22,639 | ) | (7,016 | ) | (60,495 | ) | — | (105,583 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Share of loss of an equity method investment | — | — | — | (38 | ) | — | (38 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | (15,433 | ) | (22,639 | ) | (7,016 | ) | (60,533 | ) | — | (105,621 | ) | |||||||||||||
18
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | — | — | 3 | 8 | — | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc | (15,433 | ) | (22,639 | ) | (7,013 | ) | (60,525 | ) | — | (105,610 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (2,872 | ) | — | — | — | — | (2,872 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (915 | ) | — | — | — | — | (915 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (71,735 | ) | — | — | — | — | (71,735 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (90,955 | ) | (22,639 | ) | (7,013 | ) | (60,525 | ) | — | (181,132 | ) | |||||||||||||
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | — | 28,350 | 1,097 | 160,176 | (28,302 | ) | 161,321 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | — | (2,826 | ) | (59 | ) | (27,688 | ) | — | (30,573 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | — | 25,524 | 1,038 | 132,488 | (28,302 | ) | 130,748 | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses | (29 | ) | (33,194 | ) | (8,578 | ) | (151,494 | ) | 28,302 | (164,993 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Other income, net | (14 | ) | 66 | 151 | 15 | — | 218 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | — | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | — | — | (481 | ) | (483 | ) | — | (964 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity method investment | (40 | ) | (7,603 | ) | (7,869 | ) | (19,467 | ) | — | (34,979 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Share of loss of an equity method investment | — | — | 1,703 | (1,665 | ) | — | 38 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | (40 | ) | (7,603 | ) | (6,166 | ) | (21,132 | ) | — | (34,941 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | — | — | 31 | 10 | — | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc | (40 | ) | (7,603 | ) | (6,135 | ) | (21,122 | ) | — | (34,900 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (88,277 | ) | — | — | — | — | (88,277 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (88,317 | ) | (7,603 | ) | (6,135 | ) | (21,122 | ) | — | (123,177 | ) | |||||||||||||
19
| For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | — | 14,151 | 105 | 69,225 | (17,066 | ) | 66,415 | |||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | — | (1,251 | ) | (78 | ) | (11,814 | ) | 85 | (13,058 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | — | 12,900 | 27 | 57,411 | (16,981 | ) | 53,357 | |||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses | (3,589 | ) | (14,774 | ) | (1,782 | ) | (69,061 | ) | 16,981 | (72,225 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Other (loss) income, net | (8 | ) | 3,196 | 218 | 762 | — | 4,168 | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | — | — | (170 | ) | (53 | ) | — | (223 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| (Loss) Income before income taxes and share of loss of equity method investment | (3,596 | ) | 1,322 | (1,707 | ) | (10,940 | ) | — | (14,921 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Share of loss of an equity method investment | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income | (3,596 | ) | 1,322 | (1,707 | ) | (10,940 | ) | — | (14,921 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | — | — | 593 | — | — | 593 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income attributable to Yimutian Inc | (3,596 | ) | 1,322 | (1,114 | ) | (10,940 | ) | — | (14,328 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (46,048 | ) | — | — | — | — | (46,048 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (49,644 | ) | 1,322 | (1,114 | ) | (10,940 | ) | — | (60,376 | ) | ||||||||||||||
20
The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025.
| As of December 31, | As of June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash | 3,829 | 2,772 | 382 | 1,658 | 231 | |||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 139 | 733 | 101 | 541 | 76 | |||||||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 11,311 | 3,436 | 473 | 3,422 | 478 | |||||||||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 38,415 | 40,040 | 5,518 | 38,915 | 5,432 | |||||||||||||||
| Inventory | — | 237 | 33 | 876 | 122 | |||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 53,694 | 47,218 | 6,507 | 45,412 | 6,339 | |||||||||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 21,865 | 13,805 | 1,902 | 10,161 | 1,418 | |||||||||||||||
| Total assets | 75,559 | 61,023 | 8,409 | 55,573 | 7,757 | |||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 3,266 | 4,398 | 607 | 5,990 | 834 | |||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | 98,293 | 88,103 | 12,141 | 85,875 | 11,988 | |||||||||||||||
| Bank loans | 4,330 | 10,000 | 1,378 | 9,700 | 1,354 | |||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,681 | 20,990 | 2,892 | 20,903 | 2,918 | |||||||||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 228,711 | 248,643 | 34,264 | 266,479 | 37,199 | |||||||||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 21,526 | 13,079 | 1,802 | 3,579 | 500 | |||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 100,213 | 89,224 | 12,295 | 95,500 | 13,331 | |||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 7,924 | 4,961 | 684 | 3,152 | 440 | |||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 484,944 | 479,398 | 66,063 | 491,178 | 68,564 | |||||||||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 20,877 | 16,265 | 2,241 | 13,728 | 1,917 | |||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 505,821 | 495,663 | 68,304 | 504,906 | 70,481 | |||||||||||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,213,769 | 1,303,041 | 179,564 | 1,349,160 | 188,336 | |||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,644,031 | ) | (1,737,681 | ) | (239,459 | ) | (1,798,493 | ) | (251,060 | ) | ||||||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 75,559 | 61,023 | 8,409 | 55,573 | 7,757 | |||||||||||||||
The following table presents our condensed consolidating schedule depicting the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025.
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash | 496 | 55 | 47 | 3,231 | — | 3,829 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | — | — | — | 139 | — | 139 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,386 | 7,925 | — | — | — | 11,311 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from Yimutian Inc. | — | — | — | 5,394 | (1) | (5,394 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from WFOE | 30,558 | (2) | — | — | — | (30,558 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from other subsidiaries(3) | — | 5,243 | 9,455 | (14,698 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||||
21
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(4) | — | 68,893 | 1,275 | — | (70,168 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 10,798 | 475 | 4,729 | 22,411 | — | 38,415 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 45,238 | 82,591 | 6,053 | 40,630 | (120,818 | ) | 53,694 | |||||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net . | — | 7 | 41 | 2,099 | — | 2,147 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | — | 2,445 | 363 | 12,581 | — | 15,389 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Investments in subsidiaries | 447,947 | 1,800 | 436,143 | — | (885,890 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Investments in equity investees | — | — | — | 1,122 | — | 1,122 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | — | 298 | 76 | 2,833 | — | 3,207 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 447,947 | 4,550 | 436,623 | 18,635 | (885,890 | ) | 21,865 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | 493,185 | 87,141 | 442,676 | 59,265 | (1,006,708 | ) | 75,559 | |||||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | — | 25 | — | 3,241 | — | 3,266 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | — | — | 168 | 98,125 | — | 98,293 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bank loans | — | — | 4,330 | — | — | 4,330 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,681 | — | — | — | — | 20,681 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 1,062 | 185,775 | — | 41,874 | — | 228,711 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 3,541 | 17,985 | — | — | — | 21,526 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to Yimutian Inc. | — | 28,625 | (2) | — | 50,884 | (5) | (79,509 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to WFOE(6) | — | — | 5,243 | 68,893 | (74,136 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to other subsidiaries(7) | — | — | — | 1,275 | (1,275 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(8) | 5,394 | — | 9,455 | — | (14,849 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 15,224 | 32,250 | 1,833 | 50,906 | — | 100,213 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | — | 833 | 221 | 6,870 | — | 7,924 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 45,902 | 265,493 | 21,250 | 322,068 | (169,769 | ) | 484,944 | |||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | — | — | — | 14,030 | — | 14,030 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | — | 1,545 | 133 | 5,169 | — | 6,847 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | — | 1,545 | 133 | 19,199 | — | 20,877 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 45,902 | 267,038 | 21,383 | 341,267 | (169,769 | ) | 505,821 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,213,769 | — | — | — | — | 1,213,769 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries for preferred shares(9) | 54,429 | — | — | — | (54,429 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders | (820,916 | ) | (179,896 | ) | 421,319 | (282,282 | ) | (782,510 | ) | (1,644,285 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Non-controlling interests | — | — | (28 | ) | 282 | — | 254 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (820,916 | ) | (179,896 | ) | 421,291 | (282,000 | ) | (782,510 | ) | (1,644,031 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 438,755 | 87,142 | 442,674 | 59,267 | (952,279 | ) | 75,559 | |||||||||||||||||
22
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash | 129 | 111 | 995 | 1,537 | — | 2,772 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | — | — | 3 | 730 | — | 733 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,436 | — | — | — | — | 3,436 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from Yimutian Inc. | — | — | — | 5,394 | (1) | (5,394 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from WFOE | 31,014 | (2) | — | — | — | (31,014 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from other subsidiaries(3) | — | 12,386 | — | 10,898 | (23,284 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(4) | — | 75,840 | 28,900 | — | (104,740 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 10,960 | 507 | 5,383 | 23,190 | — | 40,040 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Inventory | — | — | 210 | 27 | — | 237 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 45,539 | 88,844 | 35,491 | 41,776 | (164,432 | ) | 47,218 | |||||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net. | — | 4 | 35 | 1,021 | — | 1,060 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | — | 1,394 | 1,745 | 6,450 | — | 9,589 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Investments in subsidiaries | 455,976 | 1,800 | 443,946 | — | (901,722 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | — | 298 | 76 | 2,782 | — | 3,156 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 455,976 | 3,496 | 445,802 | 10,253 | (901,722 | ) | 13,805 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | 501,515 | 92,340 | 481,293 | 52,029 | (1,066,154 | ) | 61,023 | |||||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | — | 98 | 223 | 4,077 | — | 4,398 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | — | — | 114 | 87,989 | — | 88,103 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bank loans | — | — | 5,000 | 5,000 | — | 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,990 | — | — | — | — | 20,990 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 1,078 | 212,565 | — | 35,000 | — | 248,643 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 3,594 | 9,485 | — | — | — | 13,079 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to Yimutian Inc. | — | 28,625 | (2) | — | 50,884 | (5) | (79,509 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to WFOE(6) | — | — | 12,386 | 75,840 | (88,226 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to other subsidiaries(7) | — | — | — | 28,900 | (28,900 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(8) | 5,394 | — | 10,898 | — | (16,292 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 15,531 | 26,480 | 1,041 | 46,172 | — | 89,224 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | — | 718 | 629 | 3,614 | — | 4,961 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 46,587 | 277,971 | 30,291 | 337,476 | (212,927 | ) | 479,398 | |||||||||||||||||
23
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | — | — | — | 12,223 | — | 12,223 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | — | 594 | 990 | 2,458 | — | 4,042 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | — | 594 | 990 | 14,681 | — | 16,265 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 46,587 | 278,565 | 31,281 | 352,157 | (212,927 | ) | 495,663 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,303,041 | — | — | — | — | 1,303,041 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries for preferred shares(9) | 54,429 | — | — | — | (54,429 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders | (902,543 | ) | (186,222 | ) | 450,044 | (300,403 | ) | (828,770 | ) | (1,767,894 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Non-controlling interests | — | — | (31 | ) | 272 | 29,972 | 30,213 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (902,543 | ) | (186,222 | ) | 450,013 | (300,131 | ) | (798,798 | ) | (1,737,681 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 447,085 | 92,343 | 481,294 | 52,026 | (1,011,725 | ) | 61,023 | |||||||||||||||||
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash | 707 | 175 | 72 | 704 | — | 1,658 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | — | — | — | 541 | — | 541 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,422 | — | — | — | — | 3,422 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from Yimutian Inc. | — | — | — | 5,394 | (1) | (5,394 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from WFOE | 30,886 | (2) | — | — | 11,549 | (42,435 | ) | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from other subsidiaries(3) | — | 13,449 | — | — | (13,449 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(4) | — | 86,452 | 29,164 | — | (115,616 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 11,073 | 593 | 4,318 | 22,931 | — | 38,915 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Inventory | — | — | 161 | 715 | — | 876 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current assets | 46,088 | 100,669 | 33,715 | 41,856 | (176,916 | ) | 45,412 | |||||||||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net. | — | 3 | 552 | 480 | — | 1,035 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | — | 860 | 1,643 | 3,930 | — | 6,433 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Investments in subsidiaries | 456,269 | 1,800 | 444,253 | — | (902,322 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | — | 298 | 31 | 2,364 | — | 2,693 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 456,269 | 2,961 | 446,479 | 6,774 | (902,322 | ) | 10,161 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | 502,357 | 103,630 | 480,194 | 48,630 | (1,079,238 | ) | 55,573 | |||||||||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | — | 139 | 364 | 5,487 | — | 5,990 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | — | — | — | 85,875 | — | 85,875 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bank loans | — | — | 4,200 | 5,500 | — | 9,700 | ||||||||||||||||||
24
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,903 | — | — | — | — | 20,903 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 1,074 | 230,405 | — | — | 266,479 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 3,579 | — | — | — | — | 3,579 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to Yimutian Inc. | — | 28,625 | (2) | — | 50,884 | (5) | (79,509 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to WFOE(6) | — | — | 13,449 | 86,473 | (99,922 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to other subsidiaries(7) | — | — | — | 29,164 | (29,164 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany payable to VIEs and VIEs subsidiaries(8) | 5,394 | — | 11,549 | — | (16,943 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 21,877 | 26,651 | 552 | 46,420 | — | 95,500 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | — | 425 | 567 | 2,160 | — | 3,152 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 52,827 | 286,245 | 30,681 | 346,963 | (225,538 | ) | 491,178 | |||||||||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | — | — | — | 12,205 | — | 12,205 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | — | 127 | 868 | 528 | — | 1,523 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | — | 127 | 868 | 12,733 | — | 13,728 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | 52,827 | 286,372 | 31,549 | 359,696 | (225,538 | ) | 504,906 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,349,160 | — | — | — | — | 1,349,160 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries for preferred shares(9) | 54,429 | — | — | — | (54,429 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders | (954,060 | ) | (182,743 | ) | 449,276 | (311,344 | ) | (829,242 | ) | (1,828,113 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Non-controlling interests | — | — | (624 | ) | 272 | 29,972 | 29,620 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (954,060 | ) | (182,743 | ) | 448,652 | (311,072 | ) | (799,270 | ) | (1,798,493 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 447,927 | 103,629 | 480,201 | 48,624 | (1,024,808 | ) | 55,573 | |||||||||||||||||
Notes:
| (1) | Represents the audit fees billed by the auditor of Yimutian Inc., which were paid by the VIEs and the VIEs Subsidiaries. |
| (2) | Represents primarily amounts receivable from WFOE to Yimutian Inc. in connection with convertible loans issued to Dezhou Decai Industrial Innovation Equity Investment Fund (Limited Partnership) (“Dezhou Decai”) in principal amount of RMB19.5 million in 2022 and, to a lesser extent, amounts receivable from WFOE in connection with advances by Yimutian Inc. to WFOE for business operations. |
| (3) | Represents advances made by WFOE and the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries to other subsidiaries for business operations. |
| (4) | Represents advances made by WFOE and other subsidiaries to the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries for business operations. |
| (5) | Represents amounts payable to Yimutian Inc. in connection with certain preferred shareholders’, including our founder’s, subscription of Yimutian Inc.’s Series B, C-2 and D preferred shares in 2023. Prior to paying the consideration of the preferred shares to Yimutian Inc., the preferred shareholders, including our founder, made shareholder loans to the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries in the same amount of the consideration for preferred shares. |
| (6) | Represents advances made by WFOE to the VIEs and the VIEs subsidiaries and other subsidiaries for business operations. |
| (7) | Represents advances made by other subsidiaries to the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries for business operations. |
| (8) | Represents advances made by the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries to other subsidiaries and Yimutian Inc. for business operations. |
| (9) | Represents amounts payable to Yimutian Inc. in connection with certain preferred shareholders’, including our founder’s, subscription of Yimutian Inc.’s Series B, C-2 and D preferred shares in 2023. Prior to paying the consideration of the preferred shares to Yimutian Inc., the preferred shareholders, including our founder, made shareholder loans to the VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries in the same amount of the consideration for preferred shares in 2023. The recorded amounts reflect adjustments for foreign exchange differences between the original investments made in Renminbi by the preferred shareholders and the U.S. dollar exchange rate as of December 31, 2023. |
25
The following table presents our summary consolidated statements of cash flows data for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 and for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash Flow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (17,956 | ) | (61,439 | ) | (8,467 | ) | (23,205 | ) | (8,641 | ) | (1,206 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (3,230 | ) | 149 | 21 | (167 | ) | (664 | ) | (93 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 18,545 | 60,368 | 8,319 | 22,562 | 8,126 | 1,134 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (215 | ) | (135 | ) | (14 | ) | (51 | ) | 65 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (2,856 | ) | (1,057 | ) | (141 | ) | (861 | ) | (1,114 | ) | (156 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 6,685 | 3,829 | 523 | 3,829 | 2,772 | 387 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3,829 | 2,772 | 382 | 2,968 | 1,658 | 231 | ||||||||||||||||||
The following table presents our condensed consolidating schedule depicting the consolidated cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025.
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash Flow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (4,916 | ) | (135,301 | ) | 121,258 | 1,003 | — | (17,956 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (7,083 | ) | (6 | ) | 5,019 | (1,160 | ) | 7,083 | (3,230 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 12,508 | 134,545 | (126,482 | ) | (2,026 | ) | (7,083 | ) | 18,545 | |||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (202 | ) | — | (13 | ) | — | — | (215 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | 307 | (762 | ) | (218 | ) | (2,183 | ) | — | (2,856 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 189 | 817 | 265 | 5,414 | — | 6,685 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 496 | 55 | 47 | 3,231 | — | 3,829 | ||||||||||||||||||
26
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash Flow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (1,205 | ) | (34,659 | ) | (32,281 | ) | 6,706 | — | (61,439 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | — | — | (351 | ) | 500 | — | 149 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 995 | 34,715 | 33,558 | (8,900 | ) | — | 60,368 | |||||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (157 | ) | — | 22 | — | — | (135 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (367 | ) | 56 | 948 | (1,694 | ) | — | (1,057 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 496 | 55 | 47 | 3,231 | — | 3,829 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 129 | 111 | 995 | 1,537 | — | 2,772 | ||||||||||||||||||
| For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Inc. | WFOE | Other Subsidiaries | VIEs and VIEs’ Subsidiaries | Eliminating adjustments | Consolidated totals | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash Flow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | 427 | (17,776 | ) | 10,011 | (1,303 | ) | — | (8,641 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | — | — | (653 | ) | (11 | ) | — | (664 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 71 | 17,840 | (10,285 | ) | 500 | — | 8,126 | |||||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 80 | — | (15 | ) | — | — | 65 | |||||||||||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | 578 | 64 | (923 | ) | (833 | ) | — | (1,114 | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 129 | 111 | 995 | 1,537 | — | 2,772 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 707 | 175 | 72 | 704 | — | 1,658 | ||||||||||||||||||
27
You are not purchasing equity securities of our subsidiaries that have substantive business operations in mainland China but instead are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company. Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company that conducts all of its operations and operates its business in mainland China through the VIEs and its subsidiaries in mainland China. Such structure involves unique risks to investors in the ADSs. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information in this prospectus before making an investment in the ADSs. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected if any of these risks occurs, and as a result, the market price of the ADSs could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. In particular, as we are a mainland China-based company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, you should pay special attention to the subsection headed “Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China” below. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks and uncertainties described below and elsewhere in this prospectus.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
If we are unable to attract or retain agricultural product sellers, our platform will become less appealing to wholesale markets and business buyers, and our business and financial results may be materially and adversely impacted.
We rely upon sellers of agricultural products on our platform, including farmers and food production or processing companies to provide quality agricultural products to wholesale markets and business buyers. The number of sellers on our platform increased from 3.2 million as of December 31, 2023 to 3.5 million as of December 31, 2024 and remained stable at 3.5 million as of June 30, 2025. Attracting and retaining new agricultural product sellers to our platform and engaging existing sellers on our platform are essential for our success. The number of agricultural product sellers on our platform or the frequency of their use of our platform could fluctuate and may materially decline as a result of many factors, such as the sellers’ perceived failure to achieve expected results and generate profits, the pricing of our services, and the emergence of competing platforms and alternative channels for sellers to approach buyers, some of which are beyond our control. If we are unable to effectively help the sellers sell their agricultural products to appropriate business buyers or provide quality services they desire, they may switch to other competing platforms. A decrease in the number of sellers on our platform would make it difficult for us to maintain and increase the variety and quantity of products available on our platform and cause a decline in our income. An insufficient number of agricultural product sellers on our platform would also reduce our network activity and it may be increasingly difficult for business buyers to purchase agricultural products in quality and quantity and at price satisfactory to them, which may lead to reduced number of buyers and the perceived utility of our platform. Activity on our platform may also fluctuate due to seasonality. See “— Our business and operating results may experience seasonal fluctuations” for more information. If agricultural product sellers do not establish or maintain active accounts with us, if we fail to provide high-quality services, or if we cannot otherwise attract and retain a sufficient number of agricultural product sellers, our business and results of operations could grow slower than expected or decline significantly.
If we are unable to attract or retain buyers of agricultural products, our platform will become less appealing to agricultural product sellers, and our business and financial results may be materially and adversely impacted.
Our success significantly depends on our ability to maintain or expand our network by attracting and retaining buyers on our platform. The number of buyers on our platform increased from 14.8 million as of December 31, 2023 to 16.3 million as of December 31, 2024, and further increased 16.8 million as of June 30, 2025. The number of buyers on our platform or the frequency of their use of our platform may fluctuate and could decline as a result of a number of factors, including declining number of agricultural product sellers on our platform, declining variety or decreasing quality of agricultural products available on our platform, dissatisfaction with our brand or reputation, or availability of competing platforms. To make sure our platform is continuously appealing to wholesale market stall operators and business buyers, we leverage our decade-long experience in the agriculture industry, our technology capabilities and extensive amount of data gathered to enable agricultural product sellers on our platform to supply a vast variety of quality agricultural products that meet varied needs of wholesale market stall operators and different types of business buyers across different geographical locations. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, over 44% of new buyers on our platform were acquired through word-of-mouth marketing thanks to our trusted brand. However, buyer demand and preferences evolve over time, and our ability to remain competitive, grow our business and maintain our market position depends on our ability to continually respond to or anticipate changes in the market conditions and buyer demand and preferences. We may not be able to respond to or anticipate such changes in a timely manner, and inability to adapt to these changes may result in a failure to attract new buyers or retain existing buyers. In addition, we cannot guarantee that our buyers acquisition efforts would always be achieved at low costs, or at all. Any reduction in the number or availability of buyers on our platform would likely lead to a reduction in platform usage by agricultural product sellers, which in turn would make our platform less attractive to wholesale market stall operators and business buyers, and thus reduce the value of our network and harm our business prospects and future results of operations.
28
We have incurred net losses since our inception. We cannot guarantee that our monetization strategies will be successful and generate sustainable revenues and realize profitability. If we are unable to achieve and maintain profitability in the future, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
We incurred net losses of RMB105.6 million in 2023 and RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million) in 2024. We incurred net losses of RMB17.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We mainly rely on charging membership fees for services rendered to merchants on our platform as well as transaction service fees for transactions facilitated through our platform. We cannot assure you that our monetization efforts will be successful and generate sustainable revenue sources and realize profitability. Our membership base, transaction volume, number of paying merchants and paying merchants’ spending on our platform may decline if merchants find that our services not appealing to them anymore. Due to limited track record of our new monetization efforts, we also cannot assure you that these efforts will yield expected results. As a result, we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability in the future. In addition, our expenses will likely increase in the future as we develop and launch new offerings and technologies, expand in existing and new markets, and continue to invest in our platform. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in increased revenues or growth in our business as anticipated. Furthermore, after we become a public company, we may incur additional compliance, accounting, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. Any failure to increase our revenues sufficiently to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving profitability or positive operating cash flow on a consistent basis. If we are unable to successfully address these risks and challenges as we encounter them, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our operating cash outflow, net current liabilities, and preferred shareholder redemption rights raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We had net cash used in operating activities of RMB18.0 million in 2023 and RMB61.4 million (US$8.5 million) in 2024. We had net cash used in operating activities of RMB23.2 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB8.6 million (US$1.2 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash from operating activities in the future, our business, results of operations and liquidity may be adversely affected. We also had net current liabilities (current liabilities less current assets) of RMB431.3 million as of December 31, 2023, RMB432.2 million (US$59.6 million) as of December 31, 2024 and RMB455.8 million (US$62.2 million) as of June 30, 2025. We may continue to have net current liabilities in the future as our business expands, in which case we may face a shortfall of working capital. We will require additional liquidity to continue our operations over the next 12 months. We are evaluating strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations. These strategies may include, but are not limited to, obtaining equity financing, issuing debt or entering into other financing arrangements, obtaining agreements with the existing investors to extend the due dates for outstanding debt, although there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining such additional financing on terms acceptable to us, if at all. In addition, we plan to diversify revenue streams and implement cost saving measures to grow revenues and decrease expenses. However, the feasibility of such plan is contingent upon many factors out of our control, and is highly uncertain and difficult to predict, and we may be unable to successfully execute such plan. As such, we cannot assure you that additional liquidity will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us when needed, if at all, and that we will be able to secure sufficient capital on commercially acceptable terms to fund our working capital requirements and planned capital expenditures. These factors give rise to substantial doubt over our ability to continue as a going concern. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
29
We have limited operating history and our evolving business make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter, and our historical growth and performance may not be indicative of our future growth and financial results.
We have a limited operating history. We started to operate our agricultural e-commerce business in 2015 and commenced offering sales-assistance services in 2019. Our business continues to evolve. We from time to time introduce new platform features, offerings and services. Our limited operating history, particularly with respect to monetization, and evolving business nature make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter. These risks and challenges include our ability to:
| ● | forecast our revenues and budget for and manage our expenses; |
| ● | attract new merchants and retain existing merchants in a cost-effective manner; |
| ● | comply with existing and new laws and regulations applicable to our business; |
| ● | anticipate and respond to macroeconomic changes and changes in the markets in which we operate; |
| ● | maintain and enhance the value of our reputation and brand; |
| ● | effectively compete with other market players; |
| ● | effectively manage our growth; |
| ● | successfully expand our geographic reach and overcome challenges particular to new geographical markets; |
| ● | hire, integrate and retain talented people at all levels of our organization; and |
| ● | successfully develop new platform features, offerings and services to enhance the experience of our platform participants. |
Although we have experienced growth historically, we may not be able to continue our growth. You should not consider our historical growth as indicative of our future financial performance. If we fail to address the risks and difficulties that we face, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Further, because we have limited historical financial data and operate in a rapidly evolving market, any predictions about our future revenues and expenses may not be as accurate as they would be if we had a longer operating history or operated in a more predictable market. We have encountered in the past, and will continue to encounter in the future, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies with limited operating histories in rapidly changing industries. If our assumptions regarding these risks and uncertainties, which we use to plan and operate our business, are incorrect or change, or if we do not address these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
30
Our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected if inclement weather persists or natural disasters occur. Changes in the availability of quality agricultural products and price fluctuations could also negatively affect our business.
The large number of agricultural products sold with the help of our platform are mainly produced in various locations in mainland China. Agricultural production in general, including our smart farming business, is highly susceptible to inclement weather and natural disasters. For example, in July 2021, Henan Province of China experienced persistent heavy rains, which led to a temporary closure of our business operations in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, and negatively affected certain of our platform participants located in Henan Province. If inclement weather persists or natural disasters or other catastrophic events occur, the supply of agricultural products would be constrained and the quality and variety of the products would likely decline, and the prices of agricultural products may also fluctuate significantly, in which case it may become difficult for our platform participants to complete transactions at satisfactory prices. Since we generate revenue from charging service fees and commissions from transactions completed on our platform, among others, the decreased transaction activity and fluctuation in prices of agricultural products could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, as we start to further grow our business throughout the agricultural product supply chain, we could be even more susceptible to such risks. Inclement weather and natural disasters could cause severe damage to crop we planted together with local partners, which could lead to losses of our investments and thus result in material adverse impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Apart from inclement weather and natural disasters, outbreaks of diseases such as swine flu and hog cholera could also led to significant fluctuations in prices of agricultural products, and thus negatively affect our business and results of operations.
Even if there is no inclement weather or natural disaster, due to the varying sources of supply for agricultural products sold on our platform, there is no guarantee the quality of such agricultural products will be continuingly consistent and the availability of quality agricultural products may be limited. While we have spent efforts to standardize certain products based on buyers’ needs, but we still, to a large extent, rely on sellers to supply high-quality agricultural products that meet buyers’ demands. Failure to maintain availability of high-quality products on our platform may impair buyer confidence and the attractiveness of our platform, which in turn would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business depends heavily on the market recognition and reputation of our brands. Any harm to our brands, failure to maintain and enhance our brand recognition or any negative publicity about us, our business, management, business partners or the agricultural B2B industry in general, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that the market recognition and reputation of our brands have significantly contributed to the success of our business. As a result, maintaining and enhancing our brand recognition and reputation are critical to our success and market position. Our reputation and brands may be negatively affected by various factors, some of which are difficult or impossible to predict or control, such as:
| ● | our ability to maintain a convenient and reliable user experience as consumer preferences evolve and as we expand into new product categories and new business lines; |
| ● | our ability to provide superior services and solutions on our platform; |
| ● | our ability to effectively manage the quality of products on our platform; |
| ● | the efficiency, reliability and quality of the services and solutions provided by us or third-party truck drivers, logistics service providers and other service providers; and |
| ● | our ability to increase brand awareness among existing and potential users through various means. |
Negative publicity about us, such as alleged misconduct by our employees or other parties on our platform, unethical business practices, or rumors relating to our business, management, employees, merchants on our platform, or our shareholders and affiliates could cause harm to our reputation, business and results of operations. These allegations, even if factually incorrect or based on isolated incidents, may lead to inquiries, regulatory investigations or legal actions against us. Such actions could substantially damage our brand and reputation and cause us to incur significant costs to defend ourselves. Any negative public perception or publicity regarding our business partners that we cooperate with, or any regulatory inquiries or investigations and lawsuits initiated against them, may also have an adverse impact on our brand and reputation. In addition, our brand and reputation could be damaged as a result of the negative publicity about the agricultural B2B industry in general or other agricultural e-commerce platforms in mainland China regarding security or product quality issues. If we are unable to maintain our reputation, further enhance our brand recognition and increase positive awareness of our platform, our platform participants may be reluctant to sell and buy products from our platform, and our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
31
Our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to maintain satisfactory user experience or high quality customer service.
The success of our business largely depends on our ability to provide satisfactory user experience and high-quality customer service, which in turn depends on a variety of factors, such as our ability to continue to provide a reliable and user-friendly interface for our users to showcase, browse and purchase agricultural products, sellers’ ability to provide reliable and timely delivery of agricultural products, and our ability to continue to provide superior after-sales services. Transactions volume may decrease if our platform is severely interrupted or otherwise fails to meet our users’ requests. If third-party delivery companies or truck drivers who connect with sellers through our platform fail to deliver agricultural products in a timely and reliable manner, for which we do not exercise any control, or if wholesale markets or business buyers are not satisfied with product quality, our platform participants’ user experience will be impaired and our merchant loyalty could be negatively affected. In addition, we depend on our transaction disputes department and online customer service representatives to provide online assistance to our users. If our transaction disputes department or online customer service representatives fail to satisfy users’ needs, our reputation and merchant loyalty could be harmed, and we may lose potential or existing users, which would result in a decrease in both of the transaction volume on our platform and our revenue. As a result, if we are unable to maintain satisfactory user experience and provide high quality user service, we may not be able to retain existing users or attract new users, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Agricultural product sellers on our platform deliver their products to wholesale markets or business buyers through a variety of third-party logistics service providers. Service interruptions, failures, or constraints of these third parties could severely harm our reputation, business and prospects.
Sellers of agricultural products on Douniu App deliver their products to wholesale markets through third-party truck drivers, while sellers on Yimutian App deliver their products to business buyers through third-party logistics service providers. Interruptions to or failures in services provided by these third parties could affect timely and successful delivery of the products to wholesale markets and business buyers. As we do not directly control or manage the operations of these third parties, we are unable to guarantee their performance. Failure to provide satisfactory services by these third parties, such as delays in delivery, product damage or loss during transit, shutdown or termination of services may damage our reputation and cause us to lose potential or existing buyers, and may ultimately adversely affect our results of operations.
As some agricultural products are perishable, if these third parties fail to deliver products to wholesale market stall operators or business buyers on time and in good condition, stall operators or business buyers may refuse to accept the products and their confidence in our platform may also be impaired. In such event, we cannot assure you that sellers or we will be able to find alternative cost-efficient service providers or operators to offer satisfactory services in a timely manner, or at all, which could cause our business and reputation to suffer or cause sellers and buyers to switch to other platforms and have negative impact on our operating results.
We may be subject to claims under consumer protection laws, in particular health and safety claims and product liability claims, if property or people are harmed by the products sold on our platform.
Our business involves sale of food products and is subject to inherent risks of product liability claims and the resulting negative publicity. Food products containing contaminants could be inadvertently sold on or through our platform and, if these contaminants are not eliminated by the time of consumption, they could cause bodily harm or death in severe situations. We are involved in product liability claims brought by buyers on our platform from time to time. We cannot assure you that product liability claims will not be asserted against us or that we will not be held liable for such incidents in the future. If claims are brought against us under any of these laws, we could be subject to monetary damages and actions by regulators, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we would have legal recourse under the laws of mainland China against the seller that supplied such products, attempting to enforce our rights against such seller may be expensive, time-consuming and ultimately futile. Other than monetary damages and regulatory actions, any actual or perceived food safety issue or product contamination associated with our platform could result in negative publicities and thus seriously harm our reputation. Adverse publicity concerning food safety of agricultural products in mainland China in general could also have a negative impact on our business in addition to the general negative consequences on the whole industry.
32
In addition, operators of e-commerce platforms may be subject to certain provisions of consumer protection laws even where the operator is not the producer, provider or retailer of the products or services purchased by the consumer. For example, pursuant to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, or the Consumer Protection Law, if we fail to provide a consumer with the name, address and contact details of the seller that sold the defective product, we may be liable to compensate such consumer damages suffered by him/her, even though we are entitled to seek indemnification from sellers. In addition, if we do not take appropriate remedial action against sellers for their actions that we know, or should have known, that would infringe upon the rights and interests of consumers, we may be held jointly liable for infringement alongside the sellers. Moreover, the Consumer Protection Law provides that a platform will be held liable for failing to meet any undertaking it made to consumers with regard to products listed on the platform. Furthermore, according to the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions, or the Online Transaction Measures, we are required to report violations of applicable consumer protection laws, regulations or administrative rules by sellers to the State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR, or its local branches, and take appropriate remedial measures, including ceasing to provide services to the relevant sellers, as a platform. We may also be held jointly liable with sellers that sell agricultural products without proper licenses or authorizations. See also “— We are subject to existing and new laws and regulations imposing various requirements on e-commerce business” for further details.
We do not maintain product liability insurance for products transacted on our platform, and our rights of indemnity from sellers or suppliers on our platform may not adequately cover us for any liability we may incur. Claims against us, even if they are eventually unsuccessful, could result in significant expenditure of funds and diversion of management time and resources. Any claims against us, whether successful or not, could result in loss in confidence on the part of our users, which would be difficult and costly to reestablish, and significantly impair our brand value, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
We are subject to existing and new laws and regulations imposing various requirements on e-commerce business.
E-commerce business is subject to various laws and regulations in mainland China, and the mainland China government authorities may continue to promulgate new laws, regulations and rules governing the e-commerce industry, tighten enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations, and impose additional requirements and other obligations on our business including the operation of our e-commerce platform and our market promotion activities. Compliance with these laws, regulations and rules may be costly, and any incompliance or associated inquiries, investigations and other governmental actions may divert significant management time and attention and our financial resources, bring negative publicity, or subject us to liabilities or administrative penalties:
| ● | According to the E-Commerce Law of PRC, e-commerce platform operators who fail to take necessary actions when they know or should have known that the merchants on their platform infringe others’ personal or property safety, or the products or services provided by the merchants do not meet the requirements for product safety, or otherwise infringe upon consumers’ legitimate rights, will be held jointly liable with the merchants. Additionally, with respect to the products or services affecting consumers’ life and health, the e-commerce platform operators will bear responsibilities if they fail to review the qualifications of merchants or fail to safeguard the interests of the consumers. We may be held responsible if the agricultural products sold through our platform caused harm to the interests and health of consumers. |
33
| ● | The Online Transaction Measures of PRC also require e-commerce platforms to timely remind individual merchants to register with local branches of SAMR if their total annual transaction volume across different platforms exceeds RMB100,000. Our policy expressly requires merchants on our platform that are captured by these rules to complete the registrations. We may lose existing or potential merchants who do not or are unwilling to comply with the registration and related requirements, and we may be found liable under the E-Commerce Law and related regulations if we are deemed to have failed to implement the required procedures. The E-Commerce Law and the related regulations are relatively new and subject to implementation rules by local regulatory authorities. As such, we still face uncertainties in relation to their further interpretations and applications. |
| ● | Among other things, the Interim Provisions for Regulating Promotional Activities of PRC, or the Interim Provisions, was designed to promote consumer protection and prohibit false or misleading commercial information used in promotional activities. As a platform operator, we are required by the Interim Provisions to design rules and procedures to foster fair and transparent merchandise promotional activities, and assist the authorities in their investigation of violations by platform merchants, which will result in additional compliance costs. In addition, business operators in mainland China are prohibited from inducing consumers into transactions via misleading pricing terms or engaging in other anti-competitive conducts associated with product price. If we are found to have violated these laws and regulations, we may be subject to fines and other administrative penalties. |
| ● | According to the Anti-monopoly Guidelines of PRC, business practices such as deploying big data analytics to set discriminatory terms for merchandise price or other transaction terms, coercive exclusivity arrangements with transaction counterparties, blocking of competitor interface through technological means and unlawful collection of user data without consent, are prohibited. As the Anti-monopoly Guidelines were newly promulgated, it is still uncertain as to the specific impact on our business or results of operations and prospects. If we are found to have any non-compliance issues by the authorities, we may be subject to fines and other penalties. |
| ● | The Internet Anti-Unfair Competition Provisions enhance the responsibilities of platform operators, who are required to strengthen the regulation of competitive behaviors within the platform. According to regulations, if platform operators discover that operators within the platform engage in unfair competitive practices, sell goods or provide services illegally, or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, they must take timely measures, preserve relevant records, and report to the market supervision authorities at county level or above where the platform operator is located; otherwise, the platform operators will face certain administrative penalties. The Internet Anti-Unfair Competition Provisions also raise the compliance requirements for platforms, for example, platform operators are not allowed to use service agreements, transaction rules, or other means by the operators within the platform to impose unreasonable restrictions or attach unreasonable conditions on the transactions, transaction prices, and dealings with other operators within the platform, and platform operators should fairly and reasonably determine the service charges in the service agreements and transaction rules. |
| ● | The impact of the laws or regulations in mainland China governing property rights of virtual currency on our business has yet to be assessed, and it is not clear what liabilities, if any, we may have relating to the loss of virtual currency by merchants. Merchants on our platform purchase Tian Bi (田币) to exchange value-added services we offer. However, Tian Bi is not a virtual currency that is exchangeable into Renminbi or any other currencies or can be consumed on any other platforms. The mainland China government may re-evaluate or amend the virtual currency related laws and regulations or policies to strengthen the supervision on issuance and operation of such virtual currencies. It is unclear who is the legal owner of virtual items and whether the ownership of virtual items is protected by law. Although we have not been involved in any virtual items related lawsuits previously, we cannot assure you that such lawsuits will not be brought against us in the future. Any adverse changes in the laws and regulations or policies could impose liabilities on us for loss of virtual currency by merchants on our platform. In addition, laws and regulations of mainland China regulating virtual currency are designed for online games. We believe Tian Bi is not a kind of “game virtual currency” that is subject to the Circular of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce on Strengthening the Administration of Virtual Currencies for Online Gaming and other related regulations. However, we cannot assure you that the MOC and MOFCOM will hold the same view with us. If the government authorities regard Tian Bi in our platform as a kind of “game virtual currency” or new laws and regulations related to virtual currency used on an e-commerce platform are promulgated in the future, we may incur additional expenses or invest considerable resources in complying with those requirements. |
34
In light of the evolving legislative activities and varied local implementation practices of consumer protection, anti-monopoly and competition laws and regulations in relation to e-commerce in mainland China, compliance with these laws, regulations, rules, guidelines and implementations may be costly, and any incompliance or associated inquiries, investigations and other governmental actions may divert significant management time and attention and our financial resources, bring negative publicity, subject us to liabilities or administrative penalties, and may materially and adversely affect our financial conditions, operations and business prospects.
We may be subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection. Actual or alleged failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection laws and regulations could damage our reputation, deter current and potential users from using our services and subject us to significant legal, financial and operational consequences.
Our business generates and processes a large amount of data, and we are subject to laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection in mainland China. The mainland China government has enacted a series of laws and regulations on the protection of personally identifiable data in recent years. For example, the CAC released jointly with several other administrations the Cybersecurity Review Measures on December 28, 2021, which became effective on February 15, 2022. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, network platform operators that possess personal information of over one million individual users shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. Any failure to timely complete the required cybersecurity review may result in regulatory sanctions including, among others, government enforcement actions and investigations, fines, penalties, and suspension of our non-compliant operations, as well as reputational damage or legal proceedings or actions against us, any of which may have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations. As a network platform operator who possesses personal information of more than one million users for purposes of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, we have applied for and completed a cybersecurity review with respect to our proposed overseas listing pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures. According to the Regulations on Network Data Security Management promulgated by the State Council on September 24, 2024, a network data processor that handles the personal information of more than 10 million people is considered a processor of important data. Processors of important data are required to adopt stricter data security management measures, such as conducting annual risk assessments of their network data processing activities and submitting risk assessment reports to the relevant authorities at provincial level or above. In cases of mergers, divisions, dissolutions, bankruptcies, or other circumstances that may affect the security of important data, the processors of important data shall take measures to ensure the security of network data, and report to the relevant authorities at provincial level or above on the disposal plan for key data, the name and contact information of the recipient. Failure to fulfill these obligations may result in administrative penalties, including fines, suspension of business, and revocation of business qualifications or even business licenses. See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Cybersecurity, Information Security Protection.”
Moreover, ensuring our compliance with the evolving data privacy and protection laws in mainland China have increased our operating cost. While we have adopted a rigorous and comprehensive policy for the collection, processing, sharing, disclosure authorization and other aspects of data use and privacy and taken necessary measures to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee the effectiveness of these policies and measures undertaken by us. Additionally, the effectiveness of our privacy and data protection measures is also subject to system failure, interruption, inadequacy, security breaches or cyberattacks. Any failure or perceived failure to comply with all applicable laws and regulations, or any failure or perceived failure of our business partners to do so, or any failure or perceived failure of our employees to comply with our internal control measures, may result in negative publicity and legal proceedings or regulatory actions against us, and could result in fines, revocation of licenses, suspension of operations or other legal or administrative penalties, which may in turn damage our reputation, discourage current and potential users and subject us to damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Furthermore, any inability to adequately address data privacy or security-related concerns, complaints, inquiries or allegations, even if unfounded, when they arise, or to comply with applicable laws, regulations, standards and other obligations relating to data privacy and security, could result in additional cost and liability to us, harm our reputation and brand, damage our relationships with merchants, impair users’ trust in our privacy practices and make them reluctant to give their consent to share their data with us. As a result, our ability to retain or increase our membership base and member engagement may be materially and adversely affected, and we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue as anticipated, all of which would have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
35
In addition, we and our counterparties, including business partners and external service providers, might be subject to contractual obligations regarding the processing of personal information. While we believe our conduct and our counterparties’ conduct under these agreements are in material compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, standards, certifications and orders relating to data privacy or security, we or our counterparties may fail, or be alleged to have failed, to be in full compliance. In the event that our acts or omissions result in alleged or actual failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations, standards, certifications and orders relating to data privacy or security, we may incur liability. While we endeavor to include indemnification provisions or other protections in the agreements we enter into with our counterparties to mitigate liability and losses stemming from our counterparties’ acts or omissions, we may not always be able to obtain such protections and, even where we can, there is no guarantee that our counterparties will honor such provisions or that such protections will cover the full scope of our liabilities and losses. Any failure or perceived failure of compliance by us or our counterparties may result in proceedings or actions against us, which could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.
The laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection are complex and evolving, and the interpretation and application thereof will be determined on an ad hoc basis depending on the facts and circumstances. These laws and regulations and other similar legal and regulatory developments could affect how we operate our platform, render services and process data, which could negatively impact demand for our services and the efficiency of our services to users. We may incur substantial costs to comply with such new laws and regulations, meet the demands of our users relating to their own compliance with applicable laws and regulations and establish and maintain internal compliance policies. If we are unable to comply with the then-applicable laws and regulations, or to address any privacy and data protection concerns, such actual or alleged failure could damage our reputation, deter current and potential users from using our solutions and could subject us to significant legal, financial, and operational consequences.
Failure to effectively deal with any fictitious transactions or other fraudulent conduct would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may face risks with respect to fraudulent activities on our platform. For example, merchants on our platform may engage in fictitious or “phantom” transactions with themselves or their collaborators in order to artificially inflate their own ratings on our platform, reputation and search results rankings. This activity may harm other sellers by enabling the perpetrating seller to be favored over legitimate sellers, and may harm consumers by deceiving them into believing that a seller is more reliable or trusted than the seller actually is. This activity may also result in inflated transaction volume on our online marketplace. Other parties may also engage in similar or other fraudulent or illegal activities on our platform. See also “— Illegal, improper or otherwise inappropriate activity of sellers, buyers, other users or our employees, whether or not occurring while utilizing our platform, could expose us to liability and harm our business, brand, financial condition and results of operations” for more details. Although we have implemented various measures to detect and reduce the occurrence of fraudulent activities on our platform, there can be no assurance that such measures will be effective in combating fraudulent. Such fictitious transactions and fraudulent conduct may subject us to lawsuits, regulatory investigations, fines and penalties.
Moreover, illegal, fraudulent or collusive activities by our employees, such as fraud, bribery or corruption, could also subject us to liability, negative publicity or losses. Although we have adopted internal control procedures and policies governing the review and approval of sales activities and other matters, we cannot assure you that such procedures and policies will effectively prevent fraud or illegal activity by our employees. Any actual or alleged fraudulent or deceptive conduct by our employees could result in negative publicity and severely impair our members’ confidence and trust in us, damage our reputation and diminish the value of our brands, and impact our ability to attract new or retain current members, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
36
The proper functioning of our technology platform is essential to our business. Any failure to maintain the satisfactory performance of our mobile apps and websites or any disruption to our technology systems could materially and adversely affect our ability to deliver consistent services to users of our platform and harm our business and reputation.
The proper functioning of our technology systems is essential to our business. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our technology systems are critical to our success, our ability to attract and retain merchants and our ability to maintain and deliver consistent services to merchants. However, our technology infrastructure may fail to keep pace with increased transaction volumes on our platform, especially with respect to our new product and service offerings, and therefore merchants on our platform may experience delays as we seek to source additional technological capacity, which could impair the merchants’ user experience and harm our reputation and would adversely affect our results of operations.
Additionally, we need to continue to upgrade and improve our technology infrastructure to support our business growth. However, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in executing these infrastructure upgrades, and the failure to do so may impede our growth. We currently rely on cloud services and servers operated by external cloud service providers to store our data, which allows us to analyze a large amount of data simultaneously and to update our user database and user profiles quickly. Any interruption or delay in the functionality of these external cloud service and server providers may materially and adversely affect the operations of our business.
We may be unable to monitor and ensure high-quality maintenance and upgrade of our technology systems and infrastructure on a real-time basis, and users may experience service outages and delays in accessing and using our platform. In addition, we may experience surges in online traffic and orders associated with promotional activities and generally as we scale, which can put additional demand on our platform at specific times. Our technology or infrastructure may not always function properly. We face the risk of system interruptions caused by telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hacking or other attempts to harm our systems. Such interruptions may result in the unavailability or slowdown of our platform and compromise the quality of our services, which in turn could potentially diminish the volume of products sold and negatively impact the overall appeal of our platform. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to system interruptions, slowdown or unavailability of mobile app, delays or errors in transaction processing, loss of data or the inability to provide high-quality services to our platform users. The occurrence of any of such incidents could cause significant disruption to our daily operations. As a result, our reputation may suffer material and adverse impacts, leading to potential decline in our market share and exposing us to liability claims.
If we fail to adopt new technologies such as data analytics or adapt our website, mobile applications and systems to changing user requirements or emerging industry standards, our business may be materially and adversely affected.
To remain competitive, it is imperative that we continually enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our mobile applications and website. The internet technology industry undergoes rapid technological evolution, accompanied by evolving user requirements and preferences, and the frequent introductions of new services based on new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices, any of which could render our existing technologies and systems obsolete. If we do not spend our development budget efficiently on commercially successful and innovative technologies, we may not realize the expected benefits of our strategy. We also cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively use new technologies or adapt our website, mobile applications, proprietary technologies and systems to meet evolving user requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a cost-effective and timely manner in response to changing market conditions or user requirements, whether for technical, legal, financial or other reasons, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
37
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to identify, develop, acquire or license leading technologies that are useful for our business, and to respond to technological advances such as data analytics and emerging industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely manner. A core functionality of our platform is to effectively match sellers with suitable business buyers and other users on our platform, which is heavily reliant on our customized recommendation and data analytics technology capabilities. As a result, our technology capabilities play a vital role in retaining and attracting merchants to our platform. We have made substantial investments in developing and applying new technologies, including machine learning and data analytics, across our platform and in our services and solutions. We intend to continue investing significant resources in developing new technologies and offerings of services and products. We have also incurred significant amount of research and development expenses for the development of these technologies. If our investments in research and development fail to yield satisfactory results, we may encounter challenges in effectively matching sellers with suitable buyers or providing optimal product recommendations to merchants. As a result, merchants may switch to a competitor platform if ours fail to meet their expectations. In addition, effective management of some of the other important aspects of our operations, such as sales and marketing activities, also relies on our informed decision-making supported by our data analytics and other technologies. Any failure to improve our technology capabilities in data analytics and other technologies, or any shortcomings in producing satisfactory results with our technology capabilities, may materially and adversely affect our user retention, financial condition and results of operations.
Our new initiatives, such as agricultural sourcing and trading services, also carry a high level of risk, as each involves emerging industries and unproven business strategies and technologies, for which we may have limited or no prior development or operational experience. Because such offerings are new and the technologies used to support them are evolving rapidly, they will likely involve unforeseen expenses, regulatory challenges, and other risks. There can be no assurance that demand for such initiatives will exist or be sustained at the levels that we anticipate, or that any of these initiatives will gain sufficient traction or market acceptance to generate sufficient revenues to offset any new expenses or liabilities associated with these new investments. It is also possible that competing service and product offerings developed by others may render our service and product offerings less competitive or outdated. Further, our development efforts with respect to new service and product offerings and technologies could distract management from current operations, and will divert capital and other resources from our more established service and product offerings and technologies. Even if we succeed in developing new service and product offerings or technologies, regulatory authorities may subject us to new rules or restrictions in response to our innovations, which could increase our expenses or prevent us from successfully commercializing these new initiatives. If we do not realize the expected benefits from our investments, our business, financial condition, operating results, and prospects may be adversely impacted. See also “— If we are unable to effectively manage our growth or implement our business strategies, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.”
If we are unable to effectively manage our growth or implement our business strategies, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Our business has become increasingly complex in terms of both the type and scale of business we operate. Any further expansion may increase the complexity of our operations and place a significant strain on our managerial, operational, financial and human resources. Our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage our growth or to implement these systems, procedures and control measures successfully. If we are unable to do so, our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
We are also actively pursuing various growth initiatives, strategies and operating plans to enhance our business. Specifically, we are implementing a number of monetization strategies to boost our revenue growth, including increasing our investment in agricultural sourcing and trading services. Additionally, we plan to further strengthen our position as a market leader in the agricultural B2B industry in China. To further support our growth, we plan to continue to invest in infrastructure development and technology innovation. See “Business — Strategies” for more information. All of these initiatives and efforts will require significant managerial, financial and human resources, and we cannot assure you that our business strategies will be successfully implemented or generate sustainable revenues and profit or that our new business initiatives will be successful. If we are not able to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively, our expansion efforts may not be successful and our business and prospects may be materially and adversely affected. In particular, the monetization strategies in relation to new business initiatives are new and still evolving, some of which are at the inception or trial stage and may prove to be unsuccessful. It may also take longer than expected for us to achieve a desired market share in a highly competitive environment, or for merchants to accept the newly launched services.
38
The anticipated benefits from these efforts are based on assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. If, for any reason, the benefits we realize fall short of our estimates or if the implementation of these growth initiatives, strategies and operating plans negatively impact our operations, exceed expected costs, or take longer to effectuate than we expect, or if our assumptions are proven inaccurate, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
We may face challenges in expanding service and product offerings on our platform.
The sellers on our platform offer a wide range of agricultural products, including vegetables, fruit, pasture products, seeds and seedlings, aquatic products, herbal medicine, agricultural and sideline products, nuts and dried fruit, tea, oil crops, industrial crops, mushroom and fungi, cattle feed, agricultural groceries, fertilizer, flower and bonsai, pesticide, agricultural equipment and facilities, and more. Expansion of product offerings in both categories and items introduce new risks and challenges. Our limited familiarity with these products and lack of buyer data relating to these products may make it challenging for us to accurately anticipate buyer demand and preferences, inspect and control quality and ensure proper handling and delivery. As a result of selling such products, sellers may experience undesirable sales volume, receive increasing number of buyer complaints about such products and face costly product liability claims, which could harm our brand and reputation as well as our financial performance. We may also be involved in disputes with sellers in connection with these claims and complaints.
As we broaden the range of our product offerings, we will need to efficiently collaborate with a large number of new sellers while establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with our existing and new sellers. To support our growth and our expansion, we will need to devote management, operating, financial and human resources which may divert our attention from existing businesses, incur upfront costs, and require the implementation of a variety of new and upgraded management, operating, financial and human resource systems, procedures and controls. There is no assurance that we will be able to implement all of these systems, procedures and control measures successfully or address the various challenges in expanding our future businesses and operations effectively. It may also be difficult for us to achieve profitability in the new product categories and our profit margin, if any, may be lower than initially anticipated, which would adversely affect our overall results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to recoup our investments in introducing these new product categories.
Any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may subject us to administrative penalties or other government sanctions and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In accordance with the laws and regulations of mainland China, we are required to maintain various approvals, licenses, permits and filings to operate our business. As advised by Global Law Office, as of the date of this prospectus, our PRC counsel, our mainland China subsidiaries and the VIEs have obtained all material licenses and permits from the mainland China government authorities that are necessary for our business operations in mainland China. However, the interpretation of the legal requirements regarding certain licenses and permits is determined by the government authorities on an ad hoc basis depending on the facts and circumstances. We cannot assure you that the government authorities’ current interpretation on such licensing requirements will remain the same in the future. In addition, with respect to the business (including the business content and business model) we currently operate or will operate in the future, government authorities may require us to obtain additional licenses or permits or provide stricter supervision requirements with respect to the manner and scope of our operations. We cannot guarantee that we will not be subject to any penalties, sanctions, fines or other administrative measures as a result of non-compliance with any of our past operations. If we or the VIEs are determined necessary to obtain relevant licenses, there is no guarantee that we or the VIEs would be able to obtain such licenses or permits or meet all the supervision requirements in a timely manner, or at all. If we or the VIEs fail to do so, we may not be able to continue our ordinary course of business consistent with past practice, or at all, and may also be subject to fines and certain other penalties.
39
We depend on our senior management team to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain, manage, and motivate our key personnel, our business may be harmed.
Our future success depends on our continued ability to identify, hire, develop, manage, motivate, and retain qualified personnel, particularly those who have specialized skills and experience in technology fields and the agriculture industry. Further, we may not be able to retain the services of our key employees or other members of senior management in the future. In particular, we rely on Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, who is critical to our business and strategic direction.
We do not maintain key person life insurance for any member of our senior management. Any changes in our senior management team may be disruptive to our business. If we fail to retain or effectively replace members of our senior management team, or if our senior management team fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies, our business could be harmed.
Our growth strategy also depends on our ability to expand our organization by attracting and retaining high-quality personnel. Identifying, recruiting, training, integrating, managing, and motivating talented individuals will require significant time, expense, and attention. Competition for talent is intense. In particular, hiring for technical personnel is highly competitive in China. If we are unable to effectively attract and retain qualified personnel, our business could be harmed.
We currently rely on commercial banks for payment processing and escrow services on our platform. If these payment services are restricted or curtailed in any way, are offered to us on less favorable terms, or become unavailable to us or our merchants for any reason, our business may be materially and adversely affected.
All online payments for products sold on our platform are settled through commercial banks. Our business depends on the billing, payment and escrow systems of these payment service providers to maintain accurate records of payments of sales proceeds by buyers and collect such payments. If the quality, utility, convenience or attractiveness of these payment processing and escrow services declines, or we have to change the pattern of using these payment services for any reason, the attractiveness of our platform could be materially and adversely affected.
Business involving online payment services is subject to a number of risks that could materially and adversely affect third-party online payment service providers’ ability to provide payment processing and escrow services to us, including:
| ● | dissatisfaction with these online payment services or decreased use of their services by buyers and sellers; |
| ● | increasing competition, including from other established Chinese internet companies, payment service providers and companies engaged in other financial technology services; |
| ● | changes to rules or practices applicable to payment systems that link to commercial banks; |
| ● | breach of buyers’ personal information and concerns over the use and security of information collected from buyers; |
| ● | service outages, system failures or failures to effectively scale the system to handle large and growing transaction volumes; |
| ● | increasing costs to commercial banks, including fees charged by banks to process transactions through online payment channels, which would also increase our costs of revenues; and |
| ● | failure to manage funds accurately or loss of funds, whether due to employee fraud, security breaches, technical errors or otherwise. |
40
In particular, secured transmission of confidential information such as credit card numbers and personal information over public networks is essential to maintain merchant confidence. We do not have control over the security measures of online payment vendors, and security breaches of the online payment systems that we use could expose us to litigation and possible liability for failing to secure confidential merchant information and could, among other things, damage our reputation and the perceived security of all of the online payment systems that we use. If a well-publicized internet or mobile network security breach were to occur, sellers and buyers concerned about the security of their online financial transactions may become reluctant to transact through our platform even if the publicized breach did not involve payment systems or methods used by us. In addition, there may be billing software errors that would damage user confidence in these online payment systems. If any of the above were to occur and damage our reputation or the perceived security of the online payment systems we use, we may lose users and users may be discouraged from purchasing on our website, which may have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, certain commercial banks in China impose limits on the amounts that may be transferred by automated payment from buyers’ bank accounts to their linked accounts with online payment services. We cannot predict whether these and any additional restrictions that could be put in place would have a material adverse effect on our platform.
The commercial banks that we work with are subject to the supervision of the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC. The PBOC may publish rules, guidelines and interpretations from time to time regulating the operation of financial institutions and payment service providers that may in turn affect the pattern of services provided by such entities for us. For example, in November 2017, the PBOC published a notice, or the PBOC No. 217 Notice, on the investigation and administration of illegal offering of settlement services by financial institutions and third-party payment service providers to unlicensed entities. The PBOC No. 217 Notice intended to prevent unlicensed entities from using licensed payment service providers as a conduit for conducting the unlicensed payment settlement services, so as to safeguard the fund security and information security. In connection with provision of settlement services, Yimutian Xinnong entered into a cooperative agreement on payment services with CITIC Bank Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch in August 2018, pursuant to which the commercial bank, as a licensed payment company, opens an internal special account to receive payment from buyers and provide settlement services to sellers on our platform. Douniu Technology also entered into a similar cooperative agreement on payment services with Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Branch in December 2019. We believe that our practice of receiving settlement services from commercial banks is not in violation of the PBOC No. 217 Notice because the commercial bank opens an internal special account to receive payment from the buyers and we will submit to the bank materials verifying the truthfulness of the transactions and the bank will also verify other information if it deems necessary before it distributes the payment to merchants and us. In addition, in October 2024, our PRC counsel consulted with the PBOC Beijing Branch, the competent authority in respect of payment business in China, which confirmed that it would not actively take regulatory actions against the companies that received settlement services from commercial banks. However, we cannot assure you that if required by the PBOC or new legislation, our cooperative payment service providers will not suspend their services or explore new models to offer their services to us, in which case we may not be able to claim our ownership and exclusive control of the payments from the buyers in the bank accounts opened with the relevant commercial banks, and we may incur additional expenses or invest considerable resources in complying with the requirements. If the PBOC or other government authorities deem our cooperation with payment service providers to be violative of law, we may also have to suspend or terminate our cooperation with these payment service providers or explore new models for using their services.
We cannot assure you that we will be successful in entering and maintaining amicable relationships with these commercial banks and online payment service providers. Identifying, negotiating and maintaining relationships with these providers require significant time and resources. Our current agreements with these service providers also do not prohibit them from working with our competitors. They could choose to terminate their relationships with us or propose terms that we cannot accept. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that the terms we negotiated with these payment service providers, including the payment processing fee rates, will remain as favorable. If the terms with these payment service providers become less favorable to us, such as the increase of payment processing fee rate, we may have to raise the transaction services fees for certain of our merchants, which may cause us to lose merchants, or absorb the additional costs by ourselves, both of which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, these service providers may not perform as expected under our agreements with them, and we may have disagreements or disputes with such payment service providers, any of which could adversely affect our brand and reputation as well as our business operations.
41
Our online marketing services constitute internet advertisement, which subjects us to laws, rules and regulations applicable to advertising.
We provide online marketing services to sellers of agricultural products. Pursuant to the Measures on Internet Advertisement, or the Internet Advertisement Measures, which was promulgated by SAMR and took effect in May 2023 to regulate any advertisement published on the internet, including but not limited to, through websites, webpage and apps, in the form of narrative, picture, audio and video, the Advertising Law and the relevant provisions of the Internet Advertisement Measures apply to the internet information service providers. As such, our online marketing services and other related services constitute internet advertisement. See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Advertisement” for more details.
PRC advertising laws, rules and regulations require advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors to ensure that the content of the advertisements they prepare or distribute is fair and accurate and is in full compliance with applicable law. Violation of these laws, rules or regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising fees and orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements. In circumstances involving serious violations, the mainland China government may suspend or revoke a violator’s business license or license for operating advertising business. In addition, the Internet Advertising Measures requires paid search results to be distinguished from natural search results so that consumers will not be misled as to the nature of these search results. As such, we are obligated to distinguish others from the merchants who purchase online marketing and related services or the listings by these merchants. Any penalties or fines for any failure to comply with these requirements may significantly reduce the attractiveness of our platform and increase our costs and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, PRC advertising laws and regulations prohibit or restrict certain types of advertising. For example, advertisements for certain products such as tobacco are not allowed to be published, and advertisements for other products and services such as fodder, seeds, breeding livestock and poultry, aquatic seedlings and breeding are subject to certain content restrictions and other regulations. Moreover, for advertising content related to specific types of products and services, advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors must confirm that the advertisers have obtained requisite government approvals, including the advertiser’s operating qualifications, proof of quality inspection of the advertised products, and, with respect to certain industries, government approval of the content of the advertisement and filing with the local authorities. Pursuant to the Internet Advertising Measures, we are required to take steps to monitor the content of advertisements displayed on our platforms. Complying with the abovementioned requirements requires considerable resources and time, and could significantly affect the operation of our business, while at the same time also exposing us to increased liability under relevant laws, rules and regulations. The costs associated with complying with these laws, rules and regulations, including any penalties or fines for our failure to so comply if required, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any further change in the classification of our online marketing and other related services by the mainland China government may subject us to additional legal and regulatory requirements, which may significantly impact our operations and materially affect our business and prospects.
Illegal, improper or otherwise inappropriate activity of sellers, buyers, other users or our employees, whether or not occurring while utilizing our platform, could expose us to liability and harm our business, brand, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on sellers and stallholders at wholesale markets to supply and sell agricultural products on our platform and on truck drivers or third-party couriers to deliver agricultural products to wholesale markets and business buyers. Illegal, improper or otherwise inappropriate activities, which may include assault, abuse, theft and other misconducts, of sellers, buyers or other platform participants or our employees, including such activities by individuals who may have previously participated in our platform but no longer receive or provide services offered through it, or those by individuals who intentionally impersonate users of our platform, could adversely affect our brand, business, financial condition and results of operations. While we have implemented various measures intended to anticipate, identify and address the risk of these types of activities, these measures may not adequately address or prevent all illegal, improper or otherwise inappropriate activity by other parties and we may not be able to exercise effective control over the conduct of other parties including our employees. In the event of any unsatisfactory performance, lack of certain qualifications or licenses, misconduct, or illegal acts, such as dishonesty, personal torts or extortion, by parties other than our employees, result in any disputes, such disputes may involve us and we may suffer reputational and financial damage even if we are not held liable. At the same time, if the measures we have taken to guard against these illegal, improper or otherwise inappropriate activities are too restrictive and inadvertently prevent or discourage sellers, buyers or other platform participants from remaining engaged on our platform, or if we are unable to implement and communicate these measures fairly and transparently or are perceived to have failed to do so, the growth and retention of the number of sellers, buyers and other platform participants on our platform and their utilization of our platform could be negatively impacted. Further, any negative publicity related to the foregoing, whether such incident occurred on our platform or on our competitors’ platforms, could adversely affect our reputation and brand, which could negatively affect demand for platforms like ours, and potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure. Any of the foregoing risks could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
42
Our business and operating results may experience seasonal fluctuations.
Our business and operating results may experience seasonality and are not necessarily indicative of future performance. For example, there is typically a decline of fruit procurement in July and around the Chinese New Year, while the procurement amounts during spring and fall are generally higher than other periods of a year. This is mainly because summer procurements of vegetable and fruit are primarily sourced locally, rather than remotely from other cities or provinces through online platforms. In addition, user activities on our platform were relatively less frequent during the Chinese New Year holiday in the first quarter of each year and the summer months mainly due to the impact of natural disasters such as flood in cultivation sites and key logistics nexuses for the circulation of agricultural products. As a result, our operating results in the second and fourth quarters of a calendar year are generally higher than those of other quarters. In addition to seasonality, other factors, many of which are out of our control, can also cause fluctuations in our operating results, such as our ability to attract and retain merchants, shifts in merchants’ needs and behavior patterns, our ability to effectively manage our growth, potential harm to our brand or reputation, changes in regulatory environments, and other risks described elsewhere in this prospectus. There can be no assurance that our historical operating patterns will continue in future periods, as many of these factors are unpredictable and beyond our control or influence. The quarterly fluctuations in our revenue and results of operations could result in volatility and cause the price of our ADSs to decline.
If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations and prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.
Prior to our initial public offering in August 2025, we were a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. Our management has not completed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, and our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. As of the date of this prospectus, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. According to the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our company’s annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness that has been identified relates to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to properly address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and related disclosures. We have taken measures and plan to continue to take measures to remedy this material weakness. For details, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” The implementation of these measures may not fully address the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and we cannot conclude that it has been fully remedied. Our failure to correct this material weakness or our failure to discover and address any other material weaknesses could result in inaccuracies in our financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, requires that we include a report from management on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, after we become a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.
43
During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Generally speaking, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations and lead to a decline in the trading price of the ADSs. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions.
If the single facility where substantially all of our computer and communications hardware is located fails, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be harmed.
Our ability to provide high quality services depends in part on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems. Substantially all of the computer hardware necessary to operate our platform is located at a single leased facility. Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorist attacks, acts of war, break-ins, earthquake and similar events. We have redundant systems and data centers in multiple locations for disaster backup and recovery purposes, and our business interruption insurance may be insufficient to compensate us for losses that may occur. In addition, our servers are vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of critical data, the inability to accept and fulfill customer orders or the unauthorized disclosure of confidential user data. The occurrence of any of the foregoing risks could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
Merchant growth and activity on mobile devices depends upon effective use of mobile operating systems, networks and standards that we do not control.
Substantially all of our online services are offered through mobile applications. Merchants have to download our mobile applications for their particular devices as opposed to accessing our sites from an internet browser on their mobile device. As new mobile devices and platforms are released, it is difficult to predict the problems we may encounter in developing applications for these alternative devices and platforms, and we may need to devote significant resources to the development, support and maintenance of such applications. In addition, our future growth and our results of operations could suffer if we experience difficulties in the future in integrating our mobile applications into mobile devices or if problems arise with our relationships with providers of mobile operating systems or mobile application download stores, if our applications receive unfavorable treatment compared to competing applications on the download stores, or if we face increased costs to distribute or have users use our mobile applications. We are further dependent on the interoperability of our sites with popular mobile operating systems that we do not control, such as iOS and Android, and any changes in such systems that degrade the functionality of our sites or give preferential treatment to competitive sites could adversely affect the usage of our sites on mobile devices. In the event that it is more difficult for merchants to access and use our sites on their mobile devices, or if merchants choose not to access or to use our sites on their mobile devices or to use mobile products that do not offer access to our sites, the growth of merchants using our platform could be harmed and our business, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.
44
We rely on certain key operating metrics to evaluate the performance of our business, and perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business.
We rely on certain key operating metrics, such as annual paying merchants as a percentage of active merchants, to evaluate the performance of our business. These metrics are calculated using our internal data and have not been validated by an independent third party. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our services. For example, individuals who have multiple accounts and devices registered with our platform could result in an overstatement of the number of merchants on our platform. We are also subject to the risk associated with artificial manipulation of data. Our operating metrics may also differ from estimates published by third parties or from similarly titled metrics used by other companies due to differences in methodology and assumptions. If these metrics are perceived to be inaccurate by investors or investors make investment decisions based on operating metrics we disclosed but with their own methodology and assumptions or those published or used by third parties or other companies, our reputation may be harmed, which could negatively affect our business, and we may also face potential lawsuits or disputes.
We are dependent on app stores to distribute our mobile apps.
We currently collaborate with Apple’s app store and major Android app stores to distribute our mobile applications to users. As such, the promotion, distribution and operation of our applications are subject to such distribution platforms’ standard terms and policies for application developers, which are subject to the interpretation of, and frequent changes by, these distribution platforms. If these third-party distribution platforms modify their terms and conditions in a manner that negatively impacts our business, or refuse to distribute our applications, or if any other major distribution platform with which we would like to seek collaboration refuses to collaborate with us in the future on commercially favorable terms, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
We have granted, and may continue to grant share-based incentive awards, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses, and you may incur immediate and substantial dilution.
We believe the granting of share-based compensation is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel and employees. We have adopted the 2015 share incentive plan in December 2015, or the 2015 Plan, and the 2025 share incentive plan, or the 2025 Plan, to incentivize our employees, directors and consultants. See “Management — Share Incentive Plans.” Upon completion of our initial public offering, options granted under the 2015 Plan that are vested became exercisable. Therefore, we recorded an amount of cumulative share-based compensation of RMB47.2 million (US$6.6 million) for those options which had been vested as of June 30, 2025.
We plan to continue to grant share-based compensation to employees in the future, which could result in an increase in our expenses associated with share-based compensation, which may in turn have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Furthermore, the perceived value of the equity awards is an important factor for prospective candidates and existing employees when considering their employment with us. Thus, any decline in the perceived value of our equity or equity awards could have an adverse impact on our ability to attract or retain highly skilled employees. Furthermore, there is no assurance that the number of shares reserved for issuance under our share incentive plans will be sufficient to grant equity awards adequate to recruit new employees and to compensate existing employees, which poses a potential challenge for us to provide competitive equity-based compensation to attract and retain talent.
We face certain legal and regulatory risks relating to certain real properties that we lease.
We do not own any properties, and we leased certain properties in mainland China for business operations purposes. Certain lessors of the leased properties in mainland China have not provided us with valid property ownership certificates or any other documentation proving their right to lease those properties to us. In addition, certain leased properties had been mortgaged before we leased the property. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not aware of any actions or claims raised by any third parties challenging our use of these properties we currently lease, nor have we received any notices from the government authorities of mainland China. We cannot assure you that these leases will not be subject to any challenges, lawsuits or other actions taken against the properties leased by us. If our lessors are not the owners of these properties or they have not obtained consents from the owners or their lessors or permits from the government authorities, their rights with respect to the properties might be successfully challenged and our leases could be invalidated. If these leases are invalid, we may be forced to relocate the operations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we fail to find suitable replacement properties on terms acceptable to us for the affected operations at a timely manner, or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
45
In addition, the lease agreements of our leased properties in mainland China have not been registered with the government authorities of mainland China as required by laws of mainland China, and although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, we may be exposed to potential fines if we fail to rectify within the prescribed time period after receiving notices from the government authorities of mainland China.
We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.
We regard our trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies, and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and contractual arrangements, including confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties, to protect our proprietary rights. Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property may not be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, although we are not aware of any copycat websites or mobile apps that attempt to cause confusion or traffic diversion from us at the moment, we may become an attractive target to such attacks in the future because of our brand recognition in the agricultural B2B industry in China.
In addition, there can be no assurance that our patent applications would be approved, that any issued patents would adequately protect our intellectual property, or that such patents would not be challenged by third parties or found by a judicial authority to be invalid or unenforceable. If the trademark authority grants rulings in favor of any third party, we may be prohibited from using the trade name and logo for our mobile app in our business operations, and, as a result, we may need to change the name and logo of our mobile app, which may have an adverse effect on our business.
Confidentiality agreements may be breached by counterparties, and there may not be adequate remedies available to us for any such breach. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights or to enforce our contractual rights in mainland China. Policing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and the steps that we take may be inadequate to prevent the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources, and could put our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated or narrowed in scope. There can be no assurance that we would prevail in such litigation, and even if we manage to prevail, we may not obtain a meaningful recovery. In addition, our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors. Any failure in maintaining, protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations.
We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or would not infringe upon or otherwise violate patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We have been, and from time to time in the future may be, subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be other third-party intellectual property that is infringed by our services or other aspects of our business. There could also be existing patents of which we are not aware that our services may inadvertently infringe. There can be no assurance that holders of patents purportedly relating to some aspect of our technology platform or business, if any such holders exist, would not seek to enforce such patents against us in mainland China or any other jurisdictions as applicable. As the application and interpretation of patent laws of mainland China and the procedures and standards for granting patents in mainland China are still evolving, we cannot assure you that we do not and will not violate patent-related laws and regulations in mainland China, which may subject us to patent disputes. If we are found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives of our own. In addition, we may incur significant expenses, and may be forced to divert management’s time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merits. Successful infringement or licensing claims made against us may result in significant monetary liabilities and may materially disrupt our business and operations by restricting or prohibiting our use of the intellectual property in question, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
46
Increasing focus with respect to environmental, social and governance matters may impose additional costs on us or expose us to additional risks. Failure to comply with the laws and regulations on environmental, social and governance matters may subject us to penalties and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulatory authorities and public advocacy groups have been increasingly focusing on environment, social and governance, or ESG, issues in recent years, making our business more sensitive to ESG issues and changes in governmental policies and laws and regulations associated with environment protection and other ESG-related matters. Investor advocacy groups, certain institutional investors, investment funds, and other influential investors are also increasingly focused on ESG practices and in recent years have placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of their investments. Regardless of the industry, increased focus from investors and the regulatory authorities on ESG and similar matters may hinder access to capital, as investors may decide to reallocate capital or to not commit capital as a result of their assessment of a company’s ESG practices. Any ESG concern or issue could increase our regulatory compliance costs. If we do not adapt to or comply with the evolving expectations and standards on ESG matters from investors and the regulatory authorities or are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, regardless of whether there is a legal requirement to do so, we may suffer from reputational damage and the business, financial condition, and the price of our ADSs could be materially and adversely effected.
Our platform and proprietary technologies are highly technical, and any undetected errors could adversely affect our business.
Our platform is a complex system composed of many interoperating components and incorporates software that is highly complex. Our business is dependent upon our ability to prevent system interruption on our platform. Our software may now or in the future contain undetected errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities. Some errors in our software code may only be discovered after the code has been released. Bugs in our software, misconfigurations of our systems, and unintended interactions between systems could result in our failure to comply with certain national or regional reporting obligations, or could cause downtime that would impact the availability of our services to platform participants.
Development of proprietary technologies is time-consuming, expensive and complex, and may involve unforeseen difficulties. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technologies from operating properly and consequently adversely affect our information infrastructure and other aspects of our business where our technologies are applied. If the provision of our services does not function reliably or fails to achieve merchants’ and business partners’ expectations in terms of performance, we may lose existing, or fail to attract new, merchants or business partners, which may damage our reputation and adversely affect our business.
We have from time to time found defects or errors in our system and technologies and may discover additional defects in the future that could result in platform unavailability or system disruption. In addition, we have experienced outages on our platform in the past. If sustained or repeated, any of these outages could reduce the attractiveness of our platform to platform participants. In addition, our release of new software in the past has inadvertently caused, and may in the future cause, interruptions in the availability or functionality of our platform. Any errors, bugs, or vulnerabilities discovered in our code or systems after release could result in an interruption in the availability of our platform or a negative experience for platform participants, and could also result in negative publicity and unfavorable media coverage, damage to our reputation, loss of platform users, loss of revenues or liability for damages, regulatory inquiries, or other proceedings, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial results.
47
We may not be able to develop our existing information infrastructure and technologies, recoup the investments we have made for such development, continue to innovate or adapt to industry changes, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The agricultural B2B industry is characterized by rapid technological advancements, evolving industry standards and regulatory requirements, introductions of new services as well as changing merchants’ demands. We are also impacted by changes and developments in the agriculture and other related industries in which we operate. These changes and developments necessitate ongoing innovation, and failure to do so would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may need to constantly upgrade our information infrastructure to increase scalability, improve performance and additional built-in functionality of our platform, to keep pace with our business growth, which may require significant investments of time and resources, including hardware upgrades, software updates, and recruitment and training of new engineering personnel. Failure to improve our information infrastructure accordingly may materially affect our ability to adopt new services, and could result in unanticipated system disruptions, slow response times and impaired platform participants’ user experiences, which may, in turn, materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operation, prospects and reputation.
Meanwhile, we have been enhancing our technological capabilities and developing a number of technologies to support our business operations. If we experience problems with the functionality and effectiveness of our technologies in the course of development, or if we fail to continually improve our technologies to meet our business needs as expected, our business, financial condition, results of operation, prospects and reputation could be materially and adversely affected.
Furthermore, we invested and expect to continually invest, significant amounts in upgrading our information infrastructure and developing our technologies. We are likely to recognize costs associated with these investments earlier than the anticipated benefits and the return on these investments may be lower or slower to materialize than expected. We may not be able to recover our capital expenditures or investments, in part or in full, or the recovery process may take longer than expected. As a result, the carrying value of the related assets may be subject to an impairment charge, which may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Security breaches and attacks against our systems and network or against the servers and computer systems of the third parties we rely on, and any potential resultant breach or failure to otherwise protect confidential and proprietary information, could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely heavily on technology, particularly the internet, to provide high-quality online services. However, our technology operations are vulnerable to disruptions arising from human error, natural disasters, power failure, computer viruses, spam attacks, unauthorized access and other similar events. Disruptions to, or instability of, our technology or external technology that allows our members to use our online services could materially harm our business, financial condition and result of operations.
Although we have employed significant resources to develop security measures against breaches, our cybersecurity measures may not detect or prevent all attempts to compromise our systems, including distributed denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software, break-ins, phishing attacks, social engineering, security breaches or other attacks and similar disruptions that may jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted by our systems or that we otherwise maintain. Breaches of our cybersecurity measures could result in unauthorized access to our systems, misappropriation of information or data, deletion or modification of merchant information, or a denial-of-service or other interruption to our business operations. As techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or sabotage systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us, we may be unable to anticipate, or implement adequate measures to protect against, these attacks. In addition, we may not be able to prevent third parties, especially hackers or other individuals or entities engaging in similar activities, from illegally obtaining such confidential or private information we hold as a result of merchants’ visits to our website and use of our mobile applications. Such individuals or entities obtaining such merchants’ confidential or private information may further engage in various other illegal activities using such information. In addition, we have limited control or influence over the security policies or measures adopted by third-party providers of online payment services through which some of our users may elect to make payment for purchases. Any negative publicity on our website’s or mobile applications’ safety or privacy protection mechanisms and policies, and any claims asserted against us or fines imposed upon us as a result of actual or perceived failures, could have a material and adverse effect on our public image, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.
48
Furthermore, we are also subject to cybersecurity risks inherent to third-party companies that we rely on who also possess or have access to our data. We were informed, in July of 2025, by our underwriter for the initial public offering that it had suffered a cybersecurity incident and specifically a ransomware incident, which has resulted in unauthorized access to some of the underwriter’s systems and data, and the exfiltration of certain data from the underwriter’s systems as well. Based on information currently available to the underwriter regarding the incident, the underwriter believes confidential information regarding our company that we had provided to the underwriter in connection with its due diligence for this offering was included in the data that was exfiltrated. We believe that any such risk is manageable and can be absorbed and addressed by our existing cybersecurity policies, procedures, and controls.
Save as disclosed above, as of the date of this prospectus, we had not been subject to any types of attacks that had materially and adversely affected our business operations. However, we and third parties that we rely on may experience cybersecurity incidents due to human error, malfeasance, system errors or vulnerabilities, or other issues. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyberattacks. Actual or perceived cybersecurity incidents relating to our data or confidential information could subject us to regulatory investigations and orders, litigation, indemnity obligations, damages, penalties, fines and other costs in connection with actual and alleged contractual breaches, violations of applicable laws and regulations and other liabilities. We do not currently maintain errors, omissions, and cyber liability insurance policies covering certain security and privacy damages. There can be no assurance that we would not in the future be subject to such attacks that may result in material damages or remediation costs. If we are unable to avert these attacks and security breaches, we could be subject to significant legal and financial liability, our reputation would be harmed and we could sustain substantial revenue loss from lost sales and user dissatisfaction.
Some of our technologies are adapted from open source or third-party models, which may pose particular risks to our technologies and platform in a manner that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We use open source and third-party models in connection with our technologies and anticipate using such models in the future. Open source model is generally freely accessible, usable and modifiable. Certain open source or third-party licenses may, in certain circumstances, require us to offer the components of our platform that incorporate the open source or third-party model for no cost, that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon, incorporating or using the open source or third-party model and that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of the particular open source or third-party license. The terms of certain open source or third-party licenses to which we are subject have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that open source or third-party software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide the features or use the technologies related to the open source or third-party model subject to those licenses. While we monitor our use of open source and third-party models and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of the underlying agreement, such use could inadvertently occur, or claims could be made that such use had occurred. If an author or other third party that distributes the model we use were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of one or more of these licenses, we could be required to incur significant legal expenses defending against such allegations and could be subject to significant damages, including being enjoined from using the technologies that are adapted from or rely on the open source or third-party models, offering the features of our platform that relate to the open source or third-party model, and being required to comply with the foregoing conditions, which could disrupt our ability to use the affected technologies or offer the affected features on our platform.
49
Additionally, we could face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, any open source model or derivative works that we have developed using such models, which could include proprietary source code, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, purchase a costly license or cease using the implicated technologies or offering the implicated features on our platform unless and until we can recode or reengineer such source code in a manner that avoids infringement. This reengineering process could require us to expend significant additional research and development resources, and we may not be able to complete the reengineering process successfully. In addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open source model can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide support, warranties, indemnification or other contractual protection regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. There is little legal precedent in this area and any actual or claimed requirement to disclose our proprietary source code or pay damages for breach of contract could harm our business and could help third parties, including our competitors, develop technologies and platforms that are similar to or better than ours. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition and results of operations.
The use of open-source software may also present additional security risks because the source code for open-source software is publicly available, which may make it easier for hackers and other parties to determine how to breach our website and systems that rely on open-source software. Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage, and, if not addressed, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
We may not have sufficient insurance coverage to cover our business risks.
We provide social security insurance for our employees as required by mainland China laws, and we also provide supplemental commercial medical insurance for our employees. We may not be able to acquire any insurance for certain types of risks such as business liability or service disruption insurance for all of our operations in mainland China, and our coverage may not be adequate to compensate for all losses that may occur, particularly with respect to loss of business or operations. For example, we do not maintain business interruption insurance, nor do we maintain key-man life insurance. Any business disruption, litigation, regulatory action, outbreak of epidemic disease or natural disaster could also expose us to substantial costs and diversion of resources. There can be no assurance that our insurance coverage is sufficient to prevent us from any loss or that we will be able to successfully claim our losses under our current insurance policy on a timely basis, or at all. If we incur any loss that is not covered by our insurance policies, or the compensated amount is significantly less than our actual loss, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Our operations depend on the performance of the internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in mainland China.
The successful operation of our business depends on the performance of the internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in mainland China. Almost all access to the internet is maintained through state-owned telecommunications operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the MIIT. Moreover, we have entered into contracts with various subsidiaries of a limited number of telecommunications service providers at provincial level and rely on them to provide us with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines. We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with mainland China’s internet infrastructure or the telecommunications networks provided by telecommunications service providers. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure. However, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunications service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If internet access fees or other charges to internet members increase, our member traffic may decline and our business may be harmed.
50
We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or if capital is not available to us, our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.
If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows, we would require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, as well as to make marketing expenditures to improve our brand awareness, develop new services, further improve our existing services, build and maintain our offline facilities, enhance our operating infrastructure, and acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. However, additional funds may not be available when we need them on terms that are acceptable to us or at all. Volatility in the equity and credit markets, including due to macroeconomic conditions, may also have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain equity or debt financing. An inability to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it could significantly limit our ability to continue to pursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances, and may adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.
If we raise additional capital, it may dilute our shareholders’ ownership in us or cause our shareholders to be subordinated to the rights of senior security holder.
We may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt or equity financings in order to meet various objectives, such as:
| ● | acquiring businesses, users, technologies, services; |
| ● | taking advantage of growth opportunities, including more rapid expansion; |
| ● | making capital improvements to increase our capacity; |
| ● | developing new services or funding service development requirements; and |
| ● | responding to competitive pressures. |
Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity, or convertible debt securities, may dilute our shareholders’ respective ownership percentages in us. Furthermore, any additional debt or equity financing we may need may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. If future financing is not available or is not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to raise additional capital, which could significantly limit our ability to implement our business plan or grow our business.
Certain facts, forecast and other statistics in this prospectus obtained from publicly available sources have not been independently verified and may not be reliable.
Certain facts, forecast and other statistics in this prospectus are derived from various government and official resources. However, our directors cannot guarantee the quality or reliability of such source materials. We believe that the sources of the said information are appropriate sources for such information and have taken reasonable care in extracting and reproducing such information. We have no reason to believe that such information is false or misleading or that any fact has been omitted that would render such information false or misleading. Nevertheless, the information derived from official government publications has not been independently verified by us or the placement agent or any of their respective affiliates or advisers and, therefore, we make no representation as to the accuracy of such facts and statistics. Further, we cannot assure our investors that they are stated or compiled on the same basis or with the same degree of accuracy as similar statistics presented elsewhere. In all cases, our investors should consider carefully how much weight or importance should be attached to or placed on such facts or statistics.
51
We, and our directors and officer, may be involved in legal and/or regulatory proceedings that are expensive and time consuming and, if resolved adversely, that may materially adversely affect us.
We, and our directors or officers, may be subject to disputes with various counterparties with which we transact from time to time in the ordinary course of our business, such as service providers, customers, competitors and investors, which may lead to legal proceedings. These proceedings, if and when materialize, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law could also be asserted against us by consumers and businesses that utilize our services, by competitors, or by governmental entities in civil or criminal investigations and proceedings or by other entities. These claims could be asserted under a variety of laws, including but not limited to consumer finance laws, product liability laws, consumer protection laws, intellectual property laws, unfair competition laws, privacy laws, labor and employment laws, securities laws, real estate laws, tort laws, contract laws, property laws and employee benefit laws. For example, we are currently subject to certain ongoing contract disputes as well as other proceedings in mainland China. These cases are still ongoing, but we believe the claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves accordingly. We are unable, however, to predict the outcome of these cases, or reasonably estimate a range of possible loss, if any, given the current status of the proceedings. We have not recorded any accrual for expected loss payments with respect to these cases as of the date of this prospectus and do not believe that any of the ongoing claims is material to our overall business operations. There is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves in legal and administrative actions or in asserting our rights under various laws. Even if we are successful in our attempt to defend ourselves in legal and administrative actions or to assert our rights under various laws, enforcing our rights against the various parties involved may be expensive, time-consuming and ultimately futile. These actions could expose us to negative publicity and to substantial monetary damages and legal defense costs, injunctive relief and criminal and civil fines and penalties, including but not limited to suspension or revocation of licenses to conduct business.
Acquisitions, strategic alliances and investments could be costly, difficult to integrate, disrupt our business and adversely affect our results of operations and value of your investment.
As we continue to expand our operations, we have and may in the future enter into strategic alliances or to acquire substantial asset or equities from a pool of candidates that fit our criteria. We are not certain that we will be able to consummate any such transactions in the future or identify those candidates that would result in the most successful combinations, or that future acquisitions will be able to be consummated at reasonable prices and terms. We cannot assure you that we will realize the anticipated benefits of these or any future acquisitions. The pursuit of potential acquisitions may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses related to identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable acquisitions, whether or not they are consummated.
In addition, increased competition for acquisition candidates could result in fewer acquisition opportunities for us and higher acquisition prices. Strategic investments or acquisitions will involve risks commonly encountered in business relationships, including:
| ● | lack of suitable acquisition candidates; |
| ● | intense competition with other auction groups or new industry consolidators for suitable acquisitions; |
| ● | deterioration of our financial capabilities; |
| ● | difficulties in assimilating and integrating the operations, personnel, systems, data, technologies, products and services of the acquired business; |
| ● | non-performance by, or conflicts of interest with, the parties with whom we enter into investments or alliances; |
| ● | inability of the acquired technologies, products or businesses to achieve expected levels of revenue, profitability, productivity or other benefits; |
| ● | difficulties in retaining, training, motivating and integrating key personnel; |
| ● | diversion of management’s time and resources from our normal daily operations; |
| ● | difficulties in successfully incorporating licensed or acquired technology and rights into our platform and service offerings; |
| ● | difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies within the combined organizations; |
| ● | difficulties in retaining relationships with users, employees and third-party service providers of the acquired business; |
52
| ● | risks of entering markets in which we have limited or no prior experience; |
| ● | regulatory risks, including remaining in good standing with existing regulatory bodies or receiving any necessary pre-closing or post-closing approvals, as well as being subject to new regulators with oversight over an acquired business; |
| ● | assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights or increase our risk for liability; |
| ● | failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology or maintain acquired facilities; |
| ● | liability for activities of the acquired business before the acquisition, including intellectual property infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities; |
| ● | potential disruptions to our ongoing businesses; and |
| ● | unexpected costs and unknown risks and liabilities associated with strategic investments or acquisitions. |
We may not make any investments or acquisitions, and we cannot guarantee that any future investments or acquisitions will be successful, beneficial for our business strategy, or generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated acquisition costs or otherwise yield the intended benefits. In addition, we cannot assure you that any future investment in or acquisition of new businesses or technology will lead to the successful development of new or enhanced service offerings, or that any new or enhanced technology or services, if developed or offered, will achieve market acceptance or prove to be profitable. Furthermore, we may fail to identify or secure suitable acquisition, investment and other strategic opportunities, or our competitors may capitalize on such opportunities before we do, which could impair our ability to compete effectively with our competitors and adversely affect our growth prospects and results of operations.
We face risks related to natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, health epidemics, and other catastrophic incidents, which could significantly disrupt our operations.
Natural disasters, including earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, as well as health scares related to epidemic diseases, and any similar event could materially impact our business. If a disaster or other disruption were to occur in the future that affects the regions where we operate our business, our operations could be materially and adversely affected due to loss of personnel and damages to property and the agricultural products that we plant under the smart farming business. Even if we are not directly affected, such a disaster or disruption could affect our operations or financial condition as we conduct nationwide operations in mainland China.
In addition, our business could be affected by public health epidemics, such as the outbreak of avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Zika virus, Ebola virus, coronavirus or other disease. In recent years, outbreaks of COVID-19 resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions and the temporary closure of businesses and facilities worldwide. In particular, the COVID-19 related control measures have had an impact on logistics services. Uncertainties existed with respect to the timely delivery of agricultural products to be shipped to buyers, which led to decreases in trading volumes, paying ratios and the number of active merchants on our platform. As a result, our business and financial results were adversely affected from early 2020 to late 2022.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact our results of operations going forward will depend on future developments of the pandemic, which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, including the appearance of new variants with different characteristics, the effectiveness of efforts to contain or treat cases, and future actions that may be taken in response to these developments. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this prospectus.
53
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no operations of its own and we currently conduct our operations in mainland China through our subsidiaries and the VIEs. Investors in our ADSs should note that they are purchasing equity interests in a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity interests in the VIEs in mainland China. Given that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in mainland China, including potential future actions by the mainland China government, if the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if regulations or interpretation of the existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs.
According to the Announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Launching the Pilot Program of Expanding the Opening-up in Value-added Telecommunications Services, issued by the MIIT on April 8, 2024, the restrictions on foreign shareholding percentages for information services, including information releasing platforms and information delivery services (excluding internet news information, online publishing, online audio-visual services, and internet-based cultural businesses) are lifted. Each of the VIEs, i.e., Beijing Douniu and Yimutian Xinnong, currently holds an ICP License to operate business that involves the provision of internet information services. Despite the lifting of restrictions on foreign shareholding percentages, in accordance with the laws and regulations effective at the time Beijing Douniu and Yimutian Xinnong applied for the ICP Licenses (including the Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises (2022 revision) promulgated by the State Council on December 11, 2001 and last amended on March 29, 2022 and the applicable versions of the Special Administrative Measures on Access of Foreign Investment, published by the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, and the Ministry of Commerce), foreign investors are prohibited from holding more than 50% equity interest in any enterprise engaged in such internet information provision businesses.
Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands company, and we currently operate our businesses in mainland China through our subsidiaries and through contractual arrangements with the VIEs instead of holding any equity interests in the VIEs. Yimutian Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary in mainland China, has entered into a series of contractual arrangements with the VIEs, which enable us to (i) direct activities of the VIEs that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIEs; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, to the extent that we have satisfied the conditions for consolidation of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests and assets in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by law of mainland China. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of the VIEs, and thus consolidate their financial results as the VIEs under the U.S. GAAP. See “Corporate History and Structure — Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs.”
In the opinion of Global Law Office, our PRC counsel, (i) the ownership structures of our WFOE and the VIEs in mainland China, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, are not in violation of mandatory laws and regulations of mainland China currently in effect in all material respects; and (ii) the contractual arrangements between our WFOE, the VIEs and the respective shareholders of the VIEs governed by laws of mainland China are not in violation of mandatory laws or regulations of mainland China currently in effect in all material respects, and valid and binding upon each party to such arrangements in accordance with their terms. However, our PRC counsel has also advised us that the interpretation and application of current and future laws, regulations and rules of mainland China are evolving, and thus the regulatory authorities of mainland China may take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC counsel. If the mainland China government finds that the contractual arrangements do not comply with the restrictions or prohibitions on foreign investment in certain sectors, or if the mainland China government otherwise finds that Yimutian Inc. or the VIEs are in violation of laws or regulations of mainland China or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the regulatory authorities of mainland China, including the MIIT and SAMR, would have discretion in dealing with such violations or failures, including, without limitation:
| ● | revoking the business licenses and/or operating licenses of such entities; |
| ● | discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on our operation through any transactions between our subsidiaries in mainland China and the VIEs; |
54
| ● | imposing fines, confiscating the income from our subsidiaries in mainland China or the VIEs, or imposing other requirements with which we or the VIEs may not be able to comply; |
| ● | requiring us to restructure our ownership structure or operations, including terminating the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and deregistering the equity pledges of the VIEs, which in turn would affect our ability to consolidate, derive economic interests from, or exert effective control over the VIEs; |
| ● | restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds of this offering or other offshore financing activities to fund our business and operations in mainland China and our right to collect revenues; or |
| ● | taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business. |
Any of these events could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If occurrences of any of these events result in our inability to direct the activities of the VIEs in mainland China that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from our consolidated variable interest entities, we may not be able to consolidate their financial results in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
We believe, to the best of our knowledge, our contractual arrangements do not violate any applicable laws and regulations of mainland China currently in force in all material aspects. However, because the interpretation and application of current and future laws and regulations of mainland China are evolving, we cannot preclude the possibility that the regulatory authorities of mainland China may take a view that is contrary to ours. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of the VIEs or our failure to receive the economic benefits from the VIEs or our inability to claim our contractual control rights over the assets of the VIEs that conduct substantially all of our operations in mainland China, we may not be able to consolidate the entity in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause our ADSs to significantly decline in value or become worthless.
Our contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership and the VIE shareholders may fail to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements.
We operate our businesses in mainland China through our subsidiaries and through contractual arrangements with the VIEs instead of holding all the equity interests in the VIEs. Our revenue and cash flow from our such businesses are attributed to the VIEs. The contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the VIEs. Direct ownership would allow us, for example, to directly or indirectly exercise our rights as a shareholder to effect changes in the boards of directors of the VIEs, which, in turn, could effect changes, subject to any applicable fiduciary obligations at the management level. However, under the contractual arrangements, as a legal matter, if the VIEs or their equity holders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend significant resources to enforce those arrangements and resort to litigation or arbitration and rely on legal remedies under laws in mainland China. These remedies may include seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, any of which may not be effective. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements or we experience significant delays or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over the VIEs and may lose control over the assets owned by the VIEs. As a result, we may be unable to consolidate the VIEs in our consolidated financial statements, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
55
The interpretation and implementation of the enacted Foreign Investment Law may change from time to time, and these potential changes may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress of the PRC promulgated the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, or the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in mainland China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law of the PRC, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law of the PRC and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law of the PRC, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected regulatory trend of mainland China 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 investments. The interpretation and implementation of the Foreign Investment Law is still evolving and may change from time to time, especially in regard to, including, among other things, the nature of consolidated affiliated entity contractual arrangements and specific rules regulating the organization form of foreign-invested enterprises within the five-year transition period. For instance, though the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly classify contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, it contains a catch-all provision under the definition of “foreign investment,” which includes investments made by foreign investors in mainland China through means stipulated in laws or administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council. Therefore, we cannot assure you that future laws, administrative regulations or provisions promulgated by the State Counsel will not construe contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment. Furthermore, if future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council mandate further actions to be taken by companies with respect to existing contractual arrangements, such as unwinding our existing contractual arrangements and/or disposal of our related business operations, we may face substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to take timely and appropriate measures to cope with any of these or similar regulatory compliance challenges could materially and adversely affect our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.
Any failure by any of the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their respective obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.
If any of the VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under law of mainland China, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective under law of mainland China. For example, if the shareholders of any of the VIEs refuse to transfer their equity interest in such VIEs to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they otherwise act in bad faith toward us, then we 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 any of the VIEs, our ability to exercise shareholders’ rights or foreclose the share pledge according to the contractual arrangements may be impaired. If these or other disputes between the shareholders of the VIEs and third parties were to impair our ability to direct the activities of and receive economic benefits from the VIEs, our ability to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs would be affected, which would in turn result in a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.
In addition, the shareholders of the VIEs may be involved in personal disputes with third parties or other incidents that may have an adverse effect on their respective equity interests in the VIEs and the validity or enforceability of the contractual arrangements. For instance, in the event that such shareholder divorces his or her spouse, the spouse may claim that the equity interest of the VIEs held by such shareholder is part of their marital or community property and should be divided between such shareholder and his or her spouse. If such claim is supported by the competent court, the equity interest may be obtained by the shareholder’s spouse or another third party who is not bound by our contractual arrangements, which could make us unable to direct the activities of and receive economic benefits from the VIEs. Even if we receive a consent letter from the spouse of a nominee shareholder of the VIEs where such spouse undertakes that he or she would not take any actions to interfere with the contractual arrangements, including by claiming that the equity interest of the VIEs held by such shareholder is part of their marital or community property, we cannot assure you that these undertakings will be complied with or effectively enforced. Similarly, if any of the equity interests of the VIEs are inherited by a third party on whom the current contractual arrangements are not binding, we may not be able to direct activities of the VIEs that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIEs or receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, which could cause significant disruption to our business operations and harm our financial condition and results of operations.
All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by law of mainland China. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with law of mainland China, and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with legal procedures in mainland China.
All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by mainland China law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in mainland China, which means that these agreements would be subject to interpretation in accordance with the laws of mainland China and any disputes arising therefrom would be resolved in accordance with legal procedures in mainland China. We face uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such arbitration should legal action become necessary. In addition, under law of mainland China, rulings by arbitrators are final, parties cannot appeal the arbitration results in courts, and 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 courts of mainland China, which would require additional expenses and time. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if additional time or procedures are required in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to direct activities of the VIEs that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIEs or receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.
56
The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
The shareholders of the VIEs may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with us. These shareholders may breach, or cause the VIEs to breach, or refuse to renew, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and the VIEs, which would have a material and adverse effect on our ability to effectively control the VIEs and receive economic benefits from them. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with the VIEs to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
We may invoke the right under the equity pledge agreements with the shareholders of the VIEs to enforce the equity pledge in the case of any shareholder’s breach of the contractual arrangements. For individuals who are also our directors and officers, we rely on them to abide by the laws of the Cayman Islands, which provide that directors and officers owe a fiduciary duty to the company that requires them to act in good faith and in what they believe to be the best interests of the company and not to use their position for personal gains. The shareholders of the VIEs have executed powers of attorney to appoint the WFOE or a person designated by the WFOE to vote on their behalf and exercise voting rights as shareholders of the VIEs. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of the VIEs with these contractual arrangements, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of part of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.
Contractual arrangements in relation to the VIEs may be subject to scrutiny by the tax authorities of mainland China and they may determine that we or the VIEs owe additional taxes, which could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.
Under applicable laws and regulations of mainland China, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the tax authorities of mainland China within ten years after the taxable year when the transactions are conducted. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the mainland China tax authorities determine that the VIE contractual arrangements were not entered into on an arm’s-length basis in such a way as to result in an impermissible reduction in taxes under applicable laws, rules and regulations of mainland China, and adjust the income of the VIEs in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction of expense deductions recorded by the VIEs for tax purposes in mainland China, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing tax expenses of our subsidiaries in mainland China. In addition, the tax authorities of mainland China may impose late payment fees and other penalties on the VIEs for the adjusted but unpaid taxes according to the applicable regulations. Our financial position could be materially and adversely affected if the VIEs’ tax liabilities increase or if it is required to pay late payment fees and other penalties.
We may lose the ability to use, or otherwise benefit from, the licenses, approvals and assets held by the VIEs, which could severely disrupt our business, render us unable to conduct some of our business operations and constrain our growth.
As part of our contractual arrangements with the VIEs, the VIEs hold certain assets (including equity interests in the subsidiaries of the VIEs), licenses and permits that are material to our business operations, such as the ICP License and the EDI License. The contractual arrangements contain terms that specifically obligate VIEs’ shareholders to ensure the valid existence of the VIEs and restrict the disposal of material assets of the VIEs. However, in the event the VIEs’ shareholders breach the terms of these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate the VIEs, or the VIEs declare bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to conduct some or even all of our business operations or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the VIEs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, 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 the assets of such VIE, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business as well as constraining our growth.
57
We rely on our WFOE and the VIEs for certain operations in mainland China. We also rely on dividends and other payments from the VIEs to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, and any limitation on the ability of the VIEs to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders.
Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman holding company and relies principally on dividends and other distributions paid by its subsidiaries in mainland China for cash needs, including paying dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, servicing any debt we and the VIEs may incur and paying our and the VIEs’ operating expenses. If the VIEs incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Current laws and regulations of mainland China permit our subsidiaries in mainland China to pay dividends to us only out of its retained earnings, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations and the VIEs shall make up its losses of previous years when conducting outward remittance. Under the applicable requirements of laws and regulations of mainland China, the VIEs is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards each year to fund certain statutory reserves until the accumulated amount of such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. At its discretion, the WFOE may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to its discretionary reserve fund, or its staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China
The approval of the CSRC or other PRC government authorities may be required in connection with our future offerings under PRC law, and if required, we cannot predict whether or for how long we will be able to obtain such approval.
On July 6, 2021, the PRC government authorities issued Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities in Accordance with the Law. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies and proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of regulatory systems to deal with the risks and incidents faced by China-based overseas-listed companies. On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Overseas Listing Trial Measures and relevant five guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, Chinese domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either in direct or indirect means, are required to fulfill the filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. Where an issuer submits an application for initial public offering to competent overseas regulators, such issuer must file with the CSRC within three business days after such application is submitted. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures also requires subsequent reports to be filed with the CSRC on material events, such as change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer(s) who have completed overseas offerings and listings. We are required to complete the filing procedures with the CSRC in connection with our initial public offering and have duly completed the required flings with the CSRC in accordance with the requirements under the Trial Measures. The CSRC has concluded the filing procedure and published the filing results on the CSRC website on February 17, 2025.
However, any future securities offerings and listings outside of mainland China by our company, including but not limited to follow-on offerings, secondary listings, and going private transactions, will be subject to the filing requirements with the CSRC under the Trial Measures, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with such filing requirements in a timely manner, or at all. If we fail to obtain the approval or complete the filings and other regulatory procedures, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies, which may include fines and penalties on our operations in mainland China, limitations on our operating privileges in mainland China, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries in mainland China, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities also may take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt our offerings before settlement and delivery of the shares offered. Consequently, if investors engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, they do so at the risk that settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory authorities later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals or accomplish the required filing or other regulatory procedures for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties or negative publicity regarding such approval requirement could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, reputation, and the trading price of our ADSs.
58
In addition, we cannot assure you that any new rules or regulations promulgated in the future will not impose additional requirements on us. If it is determined in the future that approval from the CSRC or other regulatory authorities or other procedures are required for this offering, it is uncertain whether we can or how long it will take us to obtain such approval or complete such procedures and any such approval or completion could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such procedures for this offering, or a rescission of any such approval if obtained by us, would subject us to sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory authorities for failure to seek CSRC approval or other government authorization for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries in mainland China, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.
The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the ADSs that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals or accomplish the required filing or other regulatory procedures for this offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties or negative publicity regarding such approval requirement could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, reputation, and the trading price of our ADSs.
We are subject to evolving laws and regulations of mainland China that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs, and the mainland China government’s oversight over our business operations could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs.
Our principal operating subsidiaries and the VIEs are incorporated under and governed by the laws of mainland China. The legal system of mainland China is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference, but have limited precedential value. In 1979, the mainland China government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general, such as foreign investment, corporate organization and governance, commerce, taxation and trade.
As all of our business is conducted in mainland China, our operations are principally governed by laws and regulations of mainland China. The legal system in mainland China evolves rapidly, and the interpretations of laws, regulations and rules may change from time to time.
As a result, we may be required to modify our business practices and incur additional costs from time to time to maintain compliance with the requirements. The enforcement of laws in mainland China and rules and regulations in mainland China can change quickly with little advance notice. Their interpretations and enforcement involve uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to us. In addition, a mainland China-based company, such as our company, may be subject to applicable processes or procedural requirements in order to obtain or maintain permits or licenses required to conduct business in mainland China. In the absence of required permits or licenses, government authorities could impose material sanctions or penalties on us. In addition, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce the legal protection that we enjoy either by law or contract. However, litigation typically takes time, which may result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources and management attention, and we cannot predict the outcome of administrative and court proceedings.
59
Similar to situations of many other countries, the mainland China government has oversight over the conduct of our business and may influence or intervene our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs. Recent regulatory developments in mainland China may subject us to additional regulatory review, including the cybersecurity review, data security assessment and disclosure requirement, or otherwise restrict our ability to offer securities and raise capital outside mainland China, all of which may affect the business of us and the VIEs and the value of our securities. Regulatory authorities in mainland China may in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that may have an impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the mainland China government has recently promulgated certain measures to supervise overseas securities offering of domestic entities, indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over securities offerings and other capital markets activities that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in mainland China-based companies like us. If we fail to comply with the new measures relating to overseas securities offering of domestic entities, such failure could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares or the ADSs, or 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 in extreme cases, become worthless.
Our ADSs may be prohibited from trading in the United States under the HFCAA in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in mainland China and Hong Kong. The delisting of the ADSs, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
Pursuant to the HFCAA, if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our shares or the ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States.
On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. The independent registered public accounting firm that we use, Assentsure PAC, is headquartered in Singapore. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, was signed into law, which amended the HFCAA (i) to reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two, and (ii) so that any foreign jurisdiction could be the reason why the PCAOB does not have complete access to inspect or investigate a company’s auditors. As it was originally enacted, the HFCAA applied only if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate because of a position taken by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction where the relevant public accounting firm is located. As a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the HFCAA now also applies if the PCAOB’s inability to inspect or investigate the relevant accounting firm is due to a position taken by an authority in any foreign jurisdiction. The denying jurisdiction does not need to be where the accounting firm is located.
Each year, the PCAOB will determine whether it can inspect and investigate completely audit firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in the jurisdiction where the accounting firm that we use to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the SEC is headquartered, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following the filing of the annual report on Form 20-F for the relevant fiscal year. In accordance with the HFCAA, our securities would be prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years in the future. If our shares and ADSs are prohibited from trading in the United States, there is no certainty that we will be able to list on a non-U.S. exchange or that a market for our shares will develop outside of the United States. A prohibition of being able to trade in the United States would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our ADSs when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our ADSs. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.
60
Increases in labor costs, including wages, and enforcement of more stringent labor laws and regulations in mainland China, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Overall economy and the average wage in mainland China have increased in recent years and are expected to continue to grow. The average wage level for our employees has also increased in recent years. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased labor costs to those who pay for our services, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Under the PRC Social Insurance Law and the Administrative Measures on Housing Provident Fund, employees are required to participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, and housing provident funds, and employers are required, together with their employees or separately, to pay contribution to social insurance and housing provident funds for their employees. Government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments of the requisite statutory employee benefits, and employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. As of the date of this prospectus, certain of our subsidiaries in mainland China and the VIEs failed to make adequate contribution of social insurance and housing provident fund for their employees based on an amount required by applicable laws of mainland China. In addition, certain subsidiaries and the VIEs made contribution of social insurance and housing provident fund for their employees in the name of certain third-party institutions, rather than in their own name. Competent authorities in mainland China may require us to pay, or in the case of any shortfalls, to cover, such social insurance and housing fund contributions, or require us to make contribution for our employees in the name of our subsidiaries and the VIEs. We could also be subject to fines and legal sanctions due to any failure to make social insurance and housing fund contributions for our employees.
In addition, we have been subject to stricter regulatory requirements in terms of entering into labor contracts with our employees and paying various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. Pursuant to the PRC Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules, employers are subject to stricter requirements in terms of signing labor contracts, minimum wages, paying remuneration, determining the term of employees’ probation and unilaterally terminating labor contracts. In the event that we decide to terminate some of our employees or otherwise change our employment or labor practices, the PRC Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules may limit our ability to effect those changes in a desirable or cost-effective manner, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
As the interpretation and implementation of labor-related laws and regulations are still evolving, we cannot assure you that our employment practices do not and will not violate labor-related laws and regulations in mainland China, which may subject us to labor disputes or government investigations. We cannot assure you that we have complied or will be able to comply with all labor-related law and regulations regarding including those relating to obligations to make social insurance payments and contribute to the housing funds. If we are deemed to have violated labor laws and regulations, we could be required to provide additional compensation to our employees and our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.
Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We have conducted all of our operations in mainland China and all of our revenues have been derived from our operations in mainland China. Our results of operations and prospects are, to a significant degree, subject to economic, political and legal developments in mainland China, as well as the global economic conditions in general. The global macroeconomic environment still faces numerous challenges. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Hamas-Israel conflict and the attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have heightened geopolitical tensions across the world. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Ukraine food exports has contributed to increases in food prices and thus to inflation more generally. There have also been concerns about the relationship between China and other countries which may potentially have economic effects. In particular, there is significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and China with respect to a wide range of issues including trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs. Economic conditions in the areas where we operate are sensitive to global economic conditions, as well as changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the economic conditions in the areas where we operate may materially and adversely affect the business, results of operations and our financial condition.
61
Heightened tensions in international relations, including between the United States and China, may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There have been heightened tensions in international economic relations in recent years and these tensions may continue to escalate in the future. These tensions have resulted in changes in international trade policies and, as they further escalate, may result in additional barriers to trade. For example, the tensions between the United States and China in recent years have led to additional, or higher tariffs imposed by the United States on products imported from China and restrictions on the sale of certain products into the United States. China has responded by imposing, and proposing to impose additional, or higher tariffs on products imported from the United States, among other measures. While cross-border business currently is not an area of our focus, if we plan to expand our business internationally in the future, any unfavorable government policies on international trade may affect consumer demands, our ability to provide certain products through our platform or our ability to provide services in certain countries.
In addition, international political tensions have escalated and continue to be subject to uncertainties with respect to a wide range of issues. For example, the U.S. government has adopted measures aiming to prohibit or restrict U.S. investment in China-associated companies that operate in certain industries. Rising political tensions could reduce levels of trades, investments, technological exchanges, and other economic activities, which would materially and adversely affect the global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets. These developments may also lead to increased compliance costs, operational disruptions, and potential constraints on our access to capital markets. Any further escalation of international tensions may have a negative impact on the general, economic, political, and social conditions of the countries where we intend to operate in the future and may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Recent litigation and negative publicity surrounding mainland China-based companies listed in the United States may negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs.
We believe that recent litigation and negative publicity surrounding companies with operations in mainland China that are listed in the United States have negatively impacted the stock prices of these companies. Certain politicians in the United States have publicly warned investors to shun mainland China-based companies listed in the United States. The SEC and the PCAOB also issued a joint statement on April 21, 2020, reiterating the disclosure, financial reporting and other risks involved in the investments in companies that are based in emerging markets as well as the limited remedies available to investors who might take legal action against such companies. Furthermore, various equity-based research organizations have recently published reports on mainland China-based companies after examining their corporate governance practices, related party transactions, sales practices and financial statements, and these reports have led to special investigations and listing suspensions on U.S. national exchanges. Any similar scrutiny on us, regardless of its lack of merit, could cause the market price of our ADSs to fall, divert management resources and energy, cause us to incur expenses in defending ourselves against rumors, and increase the premiums we pay for director and officer insurance.
We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries in mainland China to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.
Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company and relies principally on dividends and other distributions on equity from its subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders and services of any debt we may incur. The ability of the subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. Current regulations in mainland China permit our subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China to pay dividends to their respective shareholders only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland 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. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. If our subsidiaries and the VIEs in mainland China incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us.
62
To address the persistent capital outflow and the RMB’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, have implemented a series of capital regulation measures in the subsequent months, including stricter vetting procedures for mainland China-based companies to remit foreign currency for overseas acquisitions, dividend payments and shareholder loan repayments. For instance, the People’s Bank of China issued the Circular on Further Clarification of Relevant Matters Relating to Offshore RMB Loans Provided by Domestic Enterprises on November 26, 2016, which provides that offshore RMB loans provided by a domestic enterprise to offshore enterprises with which it has an equity relationship shall not exceed 30% of the domestic enterprise’s most recent audited owner’s equity, and such percentage limit has been increased to 50% in January 2021. The circular may constrain our subsidiaries in mainland China’ ability to provide offshore loans to us. The mainland China government may strengthen its capital regulations from time to time and dividends and other distributions of our subsidiaries in mainland China may be subject to tightened scrutiny in the future. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax at a rate of 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-mainland-China resident enterprises unless reduced under treaties or arrangements between the central government of mainland China and governments of other countries or regions where the non-mainland-China resident enterprises are tax resident.
The custodians or authorized members of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, may fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets.
Under law of mainland China, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts, are executed using the chop or seal of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with SAMR. A company chop or seal may serve as the legal representation of the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a signature.
In order to secure the use of our chops and seals, we have established internal control procedures and rules for using these chops and seals. In any event that the chops and seals are intended to be used, the responsible personnel will submit the application, which will then be verified and approved by authorized employees in accordance with our internal control procedures and rules. In addition, in order to maintain the physical security of our chops, we generally have them stored in secured locations accessible only to authorized employees.
Although we monitor such authorized employees, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. There is a risk that our employees could abuse their authority, for example, by entering into a contract not approved by us or seeking to gain control of one of our subsidiaries. If any employee obtains, misuses or misappropriates our chops and seals or other controlling non-tangible assets for whatever reason, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve and divert management from our operations.
Mainland China regulations of loans to and direct investment in domestic entities by offshore holding companies and governmental regulations of currency conversion may restrict or delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
As an offshore holding company with subsidiaries in mainland China, we may transfer funds to our mainland China subsidiaries by means of loans or capital contributions. Any funds we transfer to our subsidiaries in mainland China, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to mainland China regulations and approval by or registration with government authorities in mainland China. According to the regulations on foreign-invested enterprises, or the FIEs, in mainland China, capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China are subject to registration with SAMR or its local counterpart and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE. In addition, (i) any foreign loan procured by our subsidiaries in mainland China is required to be registered with SAFE or its local branches and (ii) our subsidiaries in mainland China may not procure loans which exceed the difference between its total investment amount and registered capital or, as an alternative, they may only procure loans subject to the calculation approach and limitation as provided by the People’s Bank of China.
63
On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which took effect as of June 1, 2015 and was last amended in March 2023. SAFE Circular 19 launched a nationwide reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of FIEs and allows FIEs to settle their foreign exchange capital at their discretion, but continues to prohibit FIEs from using the Renminbi fund converted from their foreign exchange capital for expenditure beyond their business scopes, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between nonfinancial enterprises. SAFE issued the Circular on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in mainland China may also convert their foreign debts from foreign currency to Renminbi on a discretionary basis. SAFE Circular 16 provides an integrated standard for conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including, but not limited, to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) on a discretionary basis which applies to all enterprises registered in mainland China. SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope or prohibited by laws or regulations in mainland China, while such converted Renminbi shall not be provided as loans to its non-affiliated entities. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds from this offering, to our mainland China subsidiaries, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in mainland China. On October 23, 2019, SAFE further issued the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Promoting the Facilitation of Cross-Border Trade and Investment, or SAFE Circular 28, which took effect on the same day. SAFE Circular 28 allows non-investment foreign-invested enterprises to use their capital funds to make equity investments in mainland China as long as such investments do not violate then effective negative list for foreign investments and the target investment projects are genuine and in compliance with laws. In addition, SAFE Circular 28 stipulates that qualified enterprises in certain pilot areas may use their capital income from registered capital, foreign debt and overseas listing, for the purpose of domestic payments without providing authenticity certifications to the banks in advance for those domestic payments. On April 10, 2020, SAFE promulgated the Circular of SAFE on Optimizing Foreign Exchange Administration to Support the Development of Foreign-related Business the reform of facilitating the payments of incomes under the capital accounts shall be promoted nationwide. Violations of these circulars or any future foreign exchange related rules could result in severe monetary or other penalties.
In light of the various requirements imposed by the mainland China regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, domestic entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the necessary government approvals or complete the necessary registrations in a timely manner, or at all, with respect to future capital contributions or foreign loans by us to our mainland China subsidiaries. If we fail to receive such approvals or complete such registration or filing, our ability to use the proceeds we expect to receive from this offering to capitalize our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
The M&A Rules and certain other regulations in mainland China establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in mainland China.
The Rules on Merger & Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six regulatory agencies in mainland China on August 8, 2006 and amended on June 22, 2009, and some other regulations and rules concerning mergers and acquisitions established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a domestic enterprise in mainland China. Moreover, the PRC Anti-monopoly Law, or the Anti-monopoly Law, promulgated by the SCNPC on June 24, 2022, requires that SAMR shall approve in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. In addition, the security review related regulations and rules including Notice of the General Office of the State Council on the Establishment of the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors and the Security Review Rules issued by General Office of the PRC State Council effective on March 4, 2011 and the Provisions on the National Security Review of Foreign Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises or the National Security Review Provisions, issued by the MOFCOM effective on September 1, 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. In the future, we may grow our business by acquiring complementary businesses. The anti-monopoly enforcement agencies of mainland China have in recent years strengthened enforcement under the PRC Anti-monopoly Law. As a result, we may receive greater scrutiny and attention from regulators and more frequent and stringent investigation or review by regulators, which will increase our compliance costs, and it could be time-consuming to comply with the regulations described above to complete future transactions. Furthermore, any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOFCOM or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
64
Fluctuations in exchange rates could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
The conversion of Renminbi into other currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The Renminbi has fluctuated against other currencies, at times significantly and unpredictably. The value of Renminbi against other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. It is difficult to predict how market forces or government policies may impact the exchange rate between Renminbi and other currencies in the future.
Limited hedging options are available in mainland China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by foreign exchange regulations of mainland China that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.
In mainland China, regulations relating to offshore investment activities by domestic residents may subject our domestic resident beneficial owners or our subsidiaries in mainland China to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our subsidiaries in mainland China, limit ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.
SAFE issued Circular on Several Issues concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Residents to Engage in Financing and in Return Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Companies, or Circular No. 75, on October 21, 2005, which became effective on November 1, 2005. Under Circular 75, prior registration with the local SAFE branch is required for domestic residents to establish or to control an offshore company for the purposes of financing that offshore company with assets or equity interests in an onshore enterprise located in mainland China. In July 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, which repealed and replaced Circular 75 in its entirety. SAFE Circular 37 requires domestic residents (including mainland China individuals and mainland China corporate entities) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing with such domestic residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests. SAFE Circular 37 is applicable to our shareholders who are domestic residents and may be applicable to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future. See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange”.
65
We are committed to complying with these regulations and to ensuring that our shareholders and beneficial owners who are subject thereto will comply with the SAFE rules and regulations. However, because the implementation of the regulatory requirements by the authorities of mainland China will be determined on an ad hoc basis depending on the facts and circumstances, we cannot assure you that such registration will always be practically available in all circumstances as provided in those regulations.
We have requested shareholders or beneficial owners who directly or indirectly hold shares in our Cayman Islands holding company and are known to us as being domestic residents to complete their registration with or to obtain approval by the local SAFE, the NDRC, or the MOFCOM branches. However, we may not be informed of the identities of all the mainland China individuals or entities holding direct or indirect interest in our company, nor can we compel our beneficial owners to comply with the SAFE registration requirements. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are domestic residents have complied with, and will in the future make, obtain or update any applicable registrations or approvals required by SAFE, the NDRC and the MOFCOM regulations. Any failure or inability by such shareholders, beneficial owners or our subsidiaries to comply with SAFE, the NDRC and the MOFCOM regulations may subject us to fines or legal sanctions, such as restrictions on our cross-border investment activities or ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to distribute dividends to, or obtain foreign exchange-denominated loans from, our company or prevent us from making distributions or paying dividends. As a result, our business operations and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.
Any failure to comply with regulations of mainland China regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the Chinese plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.
Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, domestic residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for the foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose companies. In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company. Pursuant to these rules, domestic citizens of mainland China and non-domestic citizens who reside in mainland China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the subsidiaries in mainland China of such overseas-listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas-entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests. We and our executive officers and other employees who are mainland China citizens or who reside in mainland China for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted options will be subject to these regulations when our company becomes an overseas-listed company upon the completion of this offering. Failure to complete SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions, and there may be additional restrictions on the ability of them to exercise their stock options or remit proceeds gained from sale of their stock into mainland China. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees under mainland China law. See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange.”
In addition, the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT has issued circulars concerning employee share options or restricted shares. Under these circulars, employees working in mainland China who exercise share options, or whose restricted shares or restricted share units vest, will be subject to individual income tax of mainland China. Our subsidiaries in mainland China have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees related to their share options, restricted shares or restricted share units. In addition, the sales of the ADSs or shares held by such mainland China individual employees after their exercise of the options, or the vesting of the restricted shares or restricted share units, are also subject to mainland China individual income tax. If the employees fail to pay, or the subsidiaries in mainland China fail to withhold, their income taxes according to the laws, rules and regulations, the subsidiaries in mainland China may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities or other government authorities of mainland China.
66
If we are classified as a mainland China resident enterprise for mainland China enterprise income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-mainland-China shareholders and ADS holders.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of mainland China with its “de facto management body” within mainland China is considered a “resident enterprise” and will be subject to the enterprise income tax on its global income at the rate of 25%. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control and overall management over the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In 2009, the SAT, issued the Notice of the SAT Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, and was amended in 2014 and 2017, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a mainland China-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in mainland China. Although this circular only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by mainland China enterprises or mainland China enterprise groups, not those controlled by mainland China individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in the circular may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a mainland China enterprise or a mainland China enterprise group will be regarded as a mainland China tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in mainland China and will be subject to mainland China enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function have their presence mainly in mainland China; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in mainland China; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in mainland China; and (iv) not less than half of the enterprise’s directors or senior management with voting rights habitually reside in mainland China. Further to SAT Circular 82, in June 2018 the SAT amended the Measures for the Administration of Income Tax for Chinese-Funded Holding Resident Enterprises Registered Abroad (for Trial Implementation), or the SAT Bulletin 45, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 provides for procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters.
We believe our company is not a mainland China resident enterprise for mainland China tax purposes. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by mainland China tax authorities and the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” If the tax authorities of mainland China determine that our company is a mainland China resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we will be subject to mainland China enterprise income on our worldwide income at the rate of 25%. Furthermore, we will be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our shareholders (including our ADS holders) that are non-resident enterprises. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including our ADS holders) may be subject to tax of mainland China at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, if such gain is treated as derived from a source of mainland China. Furthermore, if we are deemed a mainland China resident enterprise, dividends paid to our non-mainland China individual shareholders (including our ADS holders) and any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by such shareholders (including ADS holders) may be subject to tax of mainland China at a rate of 20% (which in the case of dividends may be withheld at source). These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is unclear whether non-mainland China shareholders (including ADS holders) of our company would, in practice, be able to obtain the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and mainland China in the event that we are treated as a mainland China resident enterprise. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
We face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in mainland China resident enterprises by their non-mainland China holding companies.
On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Public Notice Regarding Certain Enterprise Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises, or the SAT Bulletin 7. SAT Bulletin 7 extends its tax jurisdiction to transactions involving the transfer of taxable assets through offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity securities through a public securities market. SAT Bulletin 7 also brings challenges to both foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of taxable assets.
67
On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Public Notice on Issues Relating to Withholding at Source of Income Tax of Non-resident Enterprises, or the SAT Bulletin 37, which came into effect on December 1, 2017 and was amended in June 15, 2018. The SAT Bulletin 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of non-resident enterprise income tax.
Where a non-resident enterprise transfers taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, which is an Indirect Transfer, the non-resident enterprise as either transferor or transferee, or the mainland China entity that directly owns the taxable assets, may report such Indirect Transfer to the tax authorities. Using a “substance over form” principle, the tax authority of mainland China 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 tax of mainland China. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to enterprise income tax of mainland China, 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 mainland China resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under tax laws in mainland China if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.
We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where taxable assets in mainland China are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries and investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxed if our company is transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions, under SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37. For transfer of shares in our company by investors who are non-mainland-China resident enterprises, our subsidiaries in mainland China may be requested to assist in the filing under SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Bulletin 7 and/or SAT Bulletin 37 or to request the transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these bulletins, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under these bulletins, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Our subsidiaries in mainland China may be obliged to withhold individual income taxes for the individual transferors during several historical share transfer transactions where our subsidiaries are transferees.
There exist several historical share transfer transactions where some of our subsidiaries in mainland China were transferees and certain individuals were transferers. For each such share transfer transaction, our subsidiary involved was regarded as a withholding agent, having obligations to make tax declaration to competent tax authorities and withhold individual income taxes on behalf of transferor for his or her share transfer income. Although the historical share transfers were conducted for either nil or nominal consideration, we cannot rule out the possibilities that the consideration of such transactions and corresponding taxable income will be verified and adjusted by tax authorities under certain circumstances as specified in appliable tax laws, and thus our subsidiaries will be required to withhold relevant individual income taxes therefor. Failure to fulfill any of such obligations related to individual share transfer transactions may subject our subsidiaries to penalties under tax laws in mainland China.
You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions against us based on foreign laws.
Yimutian Inc. is an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct all of our operations in mainland China. As a result, the ability of a shareholder of our company to effect service of process upon us inside mainland China or to enforce against us or them in mainland China any judgment obtained from non-mainland China courts is subject to the laws and regulations of mainland China, and there is uncertainty as to whether an investor will be able to effect such service of process or enforcement of judgment.
68
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are basically provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, which was promulgated by the National People’s Congress of the PRC, or the NPC, on April 9, 1991, and was last amended by SCNPC on December 24, 2021, taking effect as of January 1, 2022. Courts in mainland China may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between the PRC and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have written treaties providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts with the United States, the Cayman Islands or many other countries and regions. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the courts in mainland China will not enforce a foreign judgment if it is decided as having violated the basic principles of laws of mainland China or national sovereignty, security or public interest. Therefore, recognition and enforcement in mainland China of judgments of a court in any of these non-PRC jurisdictions in relation to any matter not subject to a binding arbitration provision are subject to determination in accordance with the laws and regulations of mainland China on an ad hoc basis depending on the facts and circumstances.
The SEC, U.S. Department of Justice and other U.S. authorities often have substantial difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and officers, in certain emerging markets, including mainland China. Legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for investigations or litigation or to obtaining access to funds outside the United States, lack of support from local authorities, and other various factors make it difficult for the U.S. authorities to pursue actions against non-U.S. companies and individuals, who may have engaged in fraud or other wrongdoings. Additionally, public shareholders investing in the ADSs have limited rights and few practical remedies in emerging markets where we operate, as shareholder claims that are common in the United States, including class actions under securities law and fraud claims, generally are difficult or impossible to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in many emerging markets, including mainland China. As a result of all of the above, you may have more difficulties in protecting your interests in your emerging market investments.
It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within mainland China.
Shareholder claims or regulatory investigation that are common in the United States may be difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in many foreign jurisdictions, including mainland China. For example, in mainland China, there are legal, procedural or other requirements on providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigation initiated outside mainland China. Although the authorities in mainland China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States may not be efficient in the absence of a mutual and 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 investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. While detailed interpretation of or implementation 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 mainland China may increase difficulties faced by you in protecting your interests.
69
Risks Related to the ADS and This Offering
The trading price of the ADSs is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.
The trading price of our ADSs has been volatile since our ADSs started to trade on Nasdaq and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, including the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in mainland China that have listed their securities in the United States. In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for the ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:
| ● | variations in our net revenues, earnings and cash flows; |
| ● | announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors; |
| ● | announcements of new offerings, solutions and expansions by us or our competitors; |
| ● | changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
| ● | detrimental adverse publicity about us, our services or our industry; |
| ● | announcements of new regulations, rules or policies relevant to our business; |
| ● | additions or departures of key personnel; |
| ● | our controlling shareholder’s business performance and reputation; |
| ● | release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities; and |
| ● | potential litigation or regulatory investigations. |
Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which the ADSs will trade.
In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class-action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class-action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we remain an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. This election allows us to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies, and as a result of this election our financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that comply with public company effective dates, including other emerging growth companies that have not made this election.
70
Future sales of the ADSs, the ordinary shares or our other equity securities, and the availability of a large number of such securities for sale, could depress the price of the ADSs.
The sale of a significant number of the ADSs, ordinary shares or our other equity securities in the public market after this offering, or the perception that such sales may occur, could materially and adversely affect the market price of the ADSs. These factors could also materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a discussion of possible future sales of the ADSs.
The ADSs sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by any of our existing “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Shares held by our existing shareholders may also be sold in the public market in the future, subject to the restrictions in Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act and the applicable lock-up agreements. Although we, our directors, executive officers and all of our existing shareholders will be subject to a lock-up, any substantial sale or perceived substantial sale of the ADSs, ordinary shares over a short period of time after the expiration of the lock-up period could cause the price of the ADSs to fall.
Similar sales of ordinary shares by holders after vesting of awards or holders of options who have exercised their options under any incentive plan that we intend to implement could also cause the price of the ordinary shares to fall.
You may experience dilution of your holdings due to the inability to participate in rights offerings.
We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.
You must rely on the judgment of our management as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price.
Our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds received by us. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether proceeds are being used appropriately. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not improve our efforts to achieve or maintain profitability or increase our ADS price. The net proceeds from this offering may be placed in investments that do not produce income or that lose value.
Because our public offering price is substantially higher than our net tangible deficit per share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.
If you purchase ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for the ADSs than the amount paid by our existing shareholders for their ordinary shares on a per ADS basis. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately US$3.00 per ADS, representing the difference between the public offering price of US$2.75 per ADS (calculated as a weighted average of this offering and our initial public offering for demonstration purposes), and our pro forma as adjusted net tangible deficit per ADS as of June 30, 2025, after giving effect the net proceeds we receive from our offerings. In addition, holders of our ADSs may experience further dilution of their interest if we issue additional shares in the future to raise additional capital. See “Dilution” for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in the ADSs will be diluted upon the completion of this offering.
71
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for the ADSs will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the market price or trading volume for the ADSs to decline.
The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of ADSs could adversely affect their market price.
Sales of substantial amounts of ADSs in the public market after the completion of this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. The ADSs sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, and shares held by our existing shareholders may also be sold in the public market in the future, subject to the restrictions in Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act and the applicable lock-up agreements. Our directors and executive officers will enter into lock-up agreements. Under these agreements, these parties have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise dispose of any securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, our securities for a period of sixty days after the date of this prospectus without the prior consent of the placement agent. However, the placement agent may release these securities from these restrictions at any time, subject to applicable regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of the ADSs. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our securities after this offering.
Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the ADSs.
Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is in the short seller’s interest for the price of the security to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the issuer and its business prospects in order to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a security short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.
Public companies that have substantially all of their operations in mainland China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity have centered on allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, many of these companies are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.
It is not clear what effect such negative publicity could have on us. If we were to become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we could have to expend a significant amount of resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend ourselves. While we would strongly defend against any such short seller attacks, we may be constrained in the manner in which we can proceed against the short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming, and could distract our management from growing our business. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against us could severely impact our business operations, and any investment in the ADSs could be greatly reduced or even rendered worthless.
72
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and we may use these proceeds in ways with which you may not agree.
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds of this offering, and our management will have considerable discretion in deciding how to apply these proceeds. You will not have the opportunity to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately before you make your investment decision. You must rely on the judgment and discretion of our management regarding the application of a portion of the net proceeds of this offering. We cannot assure you that the net proceeds will be used in a manner that would improve our results of operations or increase the ADS price, nor that these net proceeds will be placed only in investments that generate income or appreciate in value.
Forum selection provisions in our memorandum and articles of association and our deposit agreement with the depositary bank could limit the ability of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, ADSs or other securities to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us, our directors and officers, the depositary bank, and potentially others.
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, if the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute, the state courts in New York County, New York) are the exclusive forum within the United States for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Our deposit agreement also provides that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, if (i) the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute or (ii) the designation of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for any particular dispute is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the state courts in New York County, New York) is the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. However, the enforceability of similar federal court choice of forum provisions has been challenged in legal proceedings in the United States, and it is possible that a court could find this type of provision to be inapplicable, unenforceable, or inconsistent with other documents that are relevant to the filing of such lawsuits. If a court were to find the federal choice of forum provision contained in our memorandum and articles of association or our deposit agreement to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. If upheld, the forum selection clause in our memorandum and articles of association, as well as the forum selection provisions in the deposit agreement, may limit a security-holder’s ability to bring a claim against us, our directors and officers, the depositary bank, and potentially others in his or her preferred judicial forum, and this limitation may discourage such lawsuits. In addition, the Securities Act provides that both federal and state courts have jurisdiction over suits brought to enforce any duty or liability under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accepting or consent to this forum selection provision does not constitute a waiver by you of compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. You may not waive compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The exclusive forum provision in our memorandum and articles of association will not operate so as to deprive the courts of the Cayman Islands from having jurisdiction over matters relating to our internal affairs.
The depositary for the ADSs will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders’ meetings if you do not give voting instructions to the depositary, except in limited circumstances, which could adversely affect your interests.
Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders’ meetings if you do not give voting instructions to the depositary, unless:
| ● | we have failed to timely provide the depositary with our notice of meeting and related voting materials; |
| ● | we have instructed the depositary that we do not wish a discretionary proxy to be given; |
| ● | we have informed the depositary that there is substantial opposition as to a matter to be voted on at the meeting; or |
| ● | a matter to be voted on at the meeting, if approved, would materially and adversely affect the rights of shareholders. |
73
The effect of this discretionary proxy is that, if you fail to give voting instructions to the depositary, you cannot prevent our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, absent the situations described above, and it may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence our management. Holders of our ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.
Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future after this offering, you must rely on a price appreciation of the ADSs for a return on your investment.
We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings after this offering to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in the ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.
Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain requirements of Cayman Islands law. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. In either case, all dividends are subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may pay a dividend out of either profit or a share premium account, provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business.
Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in the ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of the ADSs. There is no guarantee that the ADSs will appreciate in value after this offering or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ADSs. You may not realize a return on your investment in the ADSs and you may even lose your entire investment in the ADSs.
You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts maybe limited, because Yimutian Inc. is incorporated under Cayman Islands law.
Yimutian Inc. is an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The corporate affairs of Yimutian Inc. are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by our minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England and Wales, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law may be narrower in scope or less developed than they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, with respect to Cayman Islands companies, plaintiffs may face special obstacles, including but not limited to those relating to jurisdiction and standing, in attempting to assert derivative claims in state or federal courts of the United States. In addition, while under Delaware law, controlling shareholders owe fiduciary duties to the companies they control and their minority shareholders, under Cayman Islands law, our controlling shareholders do not owe any such fiduciary duties to our company or to our minority shareholders. Accordingly, our controlling shareholders may exercise their powers as shareholders, including the exercise of voting rights in respect of their shares, in such manner as they think fit, subject only to very limited equitable constraints. One of the examples of such constraint is that the exercise of voting rights to amend the memorandum or articles of association of a Cayman Islands company must be exercised in good faith for the benefit of our company as a whole.
74
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of association, special resolutions which have been passed by shareholders, register of mortgages and charges, and a list of current directors) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our articles of association that will become effective immediately prior to completion of this offering to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. If we choose to follow home country practice, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.
As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “Description of Share Capital — Differences in Corporate Law.”
Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. All of our current operations are conducted in mainland China. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against our directors and executive officers in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of mainland China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and of mainland China, see “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities.” However, the deposit agreement gives you the right to submit claims against us to binding arbitration, and arbitration awards may be enforceable against us and our assets in mainland China even when court judgments are not.
ADSs holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.
The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, ADS holders waive any right they may have to a trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding against us or the depositary directly or indirectly arising out of, based on or relating in any way to our shares or other deposited securities, the ADSs or the ADRs, the deposit agreement or any transaction contemplated therein, or the breach thereof (whether based on contract, tort, common law or any other theory), including any suit, action, claim or proceeding under the U.S. federal securities laws.
If we or the depositary were to oppose a jury trial based on this waiver, the court would have to determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of the case in accordance with applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, or by a federal or state court in the State of New York, which has nonexclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this would be the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before investing in the ADSs.
If you or any other owners or holders of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other owners or holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including outcomes that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.
75
Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver is not permitted by applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or the ADSs serves as a waiver by any owner or holder of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to direct the voting of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs.
As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Yimutian Inc. is not obliged by the Companies Act (As Revised) to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. As a holder of ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our company or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights which attach to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you may vote only by giving voting instructions to the depositary, as holder of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary may try to vote the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs in accordance with your instructions. If we ask for your instructions, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try to vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with those instructions. If we do not instruct the depositary to ask for your instructions, the depositary may still vote in accordance with instructions you give, but it is not required to do so. You will not be able to directly exercise any right to vote with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares unless you cancel the ADSs and withdraw the shares and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to enable you to withdraw the shares underlying the ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting to allow you to attend the general meeting and to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs and becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. Where any matter is to be put to a vote at a general meeting, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and deliver our voting materials to you, if we ask it to. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure you can direct the depositary to vote your shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the shares underlying the ADSs are voted and you may have no legal remedy if the shares underlying the ADSs are not voted as you requested.
Holders of the ADSs may not receive cash dividends if the depositary decides it is impractical to make them available to such holders.
The depositary will pay cash dividends on the ADSs only to the extent that we decide to distribute dividends on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities, and we do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. To the extent that there is a distribution, the depositary of the ADSs has agreed to pay to holders of the ADSs the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. Holders of the ADSs will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares the ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of the ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to holders of the ADSs.
76
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could discourage a third party from acquiring us and adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.
Our currently effective amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction.
We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, or to terminate the deposit agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders.
We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment impose or increase any fees on a per ADS basis, charges or expenses (other than share transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges, transfer or registration fees, the transaction fee per cancellation request (including any cancellation request made through SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication) applicable delivery expenses or other such fees, charges or expenses, or that would otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of the ADS holders, such amendment will not become effective as to outstanding ADSs until the expiration of 30 days after notice of that amendment has been disseminated to the ADS holders, but no prior consent of the ADS holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when the ADSs are delisted from the stock exchange in the United States on which the ADSs are listed and we do not list the ADSs on another stock exchange in the United States, nor is there a symbol available for over-the-counter trading of the ADSs in the United States. If the ADS facility will terminate, ADS holders will receive at least 30 days’ prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that is disadvantageous to ADS holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADS holders may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.
You may be subject to limitations on the transfer of the ADSs.
The ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems it expedient in connection with the performance of its duties and in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of the ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.
Our dual-class voting structure will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.
Our authorized and issued ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares (with certain shares remaining undesignated, with power for our directors to designate and issue such classes of shares as they think fit.) Holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to twenty (20) votes per share, while the holder of Class A ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share. We will issue Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs in this offering. We will issue Class A ordinary shares represented by our ADSs in this offering. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into an equal number of Class A ordinary share at any time by the holders thereof, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances.
77
Upon the completion of this offering, Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer, will be able to exercise 73.81% of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital immediately following the completion of this offering, which includes the voting power of (i) 165,207,841 Class A ordinary shares, comprising 44,245,706 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 120,962,135 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Bailin Song, Mr. Haiyan Gao and Mr. Ming Gu pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016 and (ii) 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares, comprising 231,167,735 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng and an aggregate of 111,605,425 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Liu, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed by these individuals in 2016. For details on the powers of attorneys referenced in the preceding sentence, see “Principal Shareholders.” As a result of the dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, the holders of Class B ordinary shares will have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding mergers and consolidations, election of directors, and other significant corporate actions. Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares may dilute the percentage ownership of the existing holders of Class A ordinary shares within their class of ordinary shares. In addition, the holders of Class B ordinary shares may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover, or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.
The dual-class structure of our ordinary shares may adversely affect the trading market for the ADSs.
Certain shareholder advisory firms have announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our ordinary shares may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for the ADSs. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of the ADSs.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.
As a public company, our management will have additional obligations that will require their attention and we will incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we have not incurred as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related rules implemented or to be implemented by the SEC and the rules of Nasdaq. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as our executive officers and will require our management and personnel to devote a substantial amount of time to comply with these rules and regulations.
78
Yimutian Inc. is a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rule. As a result, we will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other companies.
Yimutian Inc. is a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Mr. Deng owns more than 50% of our total voting power. For so long as we remain a controlled company, we may rely on certain exemptions from the corporate governance rules. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements. Even if we cease to be a controlled company, we may still rely on exemptions available to foreign private issuers, including being able to adopt home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters. See “— We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies” and “— As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Yimutian Inc. is permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq listing standards.”
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies.
Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:
| ● | the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, quarterly certifications by the principal executive and financial officers or current reports on Form 8-K; |
| ● | the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; |
| ● | the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; |
| ● | the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD; and |
| ● | certain audit committee independence requirements in Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. |
We will be required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. For example, U.S. domestic issuers are required to file annual reports within 60 to 90 days from the end of each fiscal year. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.
As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Yimutian Inc. is permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq listing standards.
As a Cayman Islands exempted company listed on Nasdaq, we are subject to the Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards. However, Nasdaq rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from the Nasdaq listing standards. We currently intend to follow Cayman Islands corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq that listed companies must have a majority of independent directors. To the extent that we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would enjoy under the Nasdaq listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.
79
There can be no assurance that we will not be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year in which (i) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (the “asset test”), or (ii) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income. Although the law in this regard is not entirely clear, we treat our VIEs and their subsidiaries as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes because we control their management decisions and are entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits associated with them. As a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements. If it were determined, however, that we are not the owner of our VIEs and their subsidiaries for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be treated as a PFIC for the current and subsequent taxable years.
Assuming that we are the owner of our VIEs and their subsidiaries for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based on the current and anticipated value of our assets and the composition of our income and assets, including goodwill (taking into account the expected proceeds from, and our anticipated market capitalization immediately following, this offering), we do not presently expect to be or become a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future. While we do not expect to be or become a PFIC, no assurance can be given in this regard because the determination of whether we are or will become a PFIC for any taxable year is a fact-intensive inquiry made on an annual basis that depends, in part, upon the composition and classification of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of the ADSs may cause us to be or become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years because the value of our assets for the purpose of the asset test, including the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, may be determined by reference to the market price of the ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). In estimating the value of our goodwill, we have taken into account the expected cash proceeds from, and our anticipated market capitalization following, this offering. If our market capitalization is less than anticipated or subsequently declines, we may be or become classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years. The composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash (including the cash raised in this offering) for active purposes, our risk of being or becoming a PFIC may substantially increase.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) holds the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. For more information, see the discussions under “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations” and “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
We incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.
We are a public company and expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consuming and costly.
As a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance with acceptable policy limits and coverage, should we decide to purchase such insurance. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.
80
In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against companies following periods of instability in the market price of those companies’ securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.
There can be no assurance of the accuracy or completeness of certain facts, forecasts and other statistics obtained from various government publications, market data providers and other independent third-party sources, including the industry expert reports, contained in this prospectus.
This prospectus, particularly “Industry,” contains information and statistics relating to our industry. Such information and statistics have been derived from third-party reports, either commissioned by us or publicly accessible, and other publicly available sources. We believe that the sources of the information are appropriate sources for such information, and we have taken reasonable care in extracting and reproducing such information. However, we cannot guarantee the quality or reliability of such source materials. The information has not been independently verified by us or any other party involved in the offering, and no representation is given as to its accuracy. Collection methods of such information may be flawed or ineffective, or there may be discrepancies between published information and market practice, which may result in the statistics being inaccurate or not comparable to statistics produced for other economies. You should therefore not place undue reliance on such information. In addition, we cannot assure you that such information is stated or compiled on the same basis or with the same degree of accuracy as similar statistics presented elsewhere. In any event, you should consider carefully the importance placed on such information or statistics.
This is a best efforts offering, no minimum number or dollar amount of securities is required to be sold, and we may not raise the amount of capital we believe is required for our business plans.
The placement agent has agreed to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit offers to purchase the securities in this offering. The placement agent has no obligation to buy any of the securities from us or to arrange for the purchase or sale of any specific number or dollar amount of the securities. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to the closing of this offering, the actual offering amount, placement agent’s fees, and proceeds to us are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amounts set forth above. We may sell fewer than all of the securities offered hereby, which may significantly reduce the amount of proceeds received by us, and investors in this offering will not receive a refund in the event that we do not sell a number of securities sufficient to fund our business plan. Thus, we may not raise the amount of capital we believe is required for our operations in the short term and may need to raise additional funds, which may not be available or available on terms favorable to us, or at all.
81
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “is/are likely to,” “potential” and “continue,” among others.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this prospectus 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 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 under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to:
| ● | general economic, political, demographic and business conditions in China and globally; |
| ● | our mission, goals and strategies; |
| ● | our future business development, financial condition and results of operations; |
| ● | the demand for and market acceptance of our services; |
| ● | competition in the industries in which we operate; |
| ● | the availability of qualified personnel and the ability to retain such personnel; |
| ● | changes in government policies and regulation; |
| ● | other factors that may affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations; and |
| ● | other risk factors discussed under “Risk Factors.” |
These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from our expectations are generally set forth in “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Business,” “Regulation” and other sections in this prospectus. You should read thoroughly this prospectus and the documents that we refer to with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus contains certain data and information that we obtained from various government and private publications. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. Our industry may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of this market to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of the ADSs. In addition, the rapidly evolving nature of this industry results in significant uncertainties for any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of 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.
82
We expect to receive total estimated net proceeds from this offering of approximately US$8.45 million, after deducting placement agent commissions and estimated expenses payable by us. However, because this is a best-efforts offering and there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to the closing of this offering, the actual offering amount, placement agent commissions, and net proceeds to us are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amounts set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
We plan to use the net proceeds of this offering primarily for working capital and general corporate purposes.
If an unforeseen event occurs or business conditions change, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus. In utilizing the proceeds from this offering, we are permitted under laws and regulations of mainland China to provide funding to our mainland China subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions, and only if we satisfy the applicable government registration and approval requirements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet these requirements on a timely basis, if at all. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — Mainland China regulations of loans to and direct investment in domestic entities by offshore holding companies and governmental regulations of currency conversion may restrict or delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.” See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange” for more information about such statutory limits.
The foregoing represents our current intentions based upon our present plans and business conditions to use and allocate the net proceeds of this offering. However, we have flexibility and discretion to apply the net proceeds of this offering. If an unforeseen event occurs or business conditions change, we may use the proceeds of this offering differently than as described in this prospectus. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to the ADS and This Offering — We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds from this offering and we may use these proceeds in ways with which you may not agree.”
Pending any use described above, we plan to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, debt instruments or demand deposits.
83
Our board of directors has discretion on whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain requirements of Cayman Islands law. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. In either case, all dividends are subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium account, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if we decide to pay dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the board of directors may deem relevant.
As of the date of this prospectus, we have not declared or paid any dividends. We do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future after this offering. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may rely on dividends from our subsidiaries in mainland China for our cash requirements, including any payment of dividends to our shareholders. Mainland China’s regulations may restrict the ability of our mainland China subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. See “Regulation — Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange.”
If we pay any dividends on our ordinary shares, we will pay those dividends which are payable in respect of the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs to the depositary, as the registered holder of such Class A ordinary shares, and the depositary then will pay such amounts to the ADS holders in proportion to the underlying Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs held by such ADS holders, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. See “Description of American Depositary Shares.” Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.
84
The table below sets forth our capitalization as of June 30, 2025:
| ● | on an actual basis; |
| ● | on a pro forma as adjusted basis to reflect the issuance and sale of Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering at the public offering price of (i) all of our issued and outstanding 2,286,229,707 preferred shares as of June 30, 2025 on a one-for-one basis into Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to the completion of this offering; (ii) the recognition of share-based compensation expense of approximately RMB47 million (equivalent to US$6.6 million) assuming the IPO performance condition had been met as of June 30, 2025; (iii) the issuance and sale of 113,050,000 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in our initial public offering in August 2026 at the initial public offering price of US$4.10 per ADS, and (iv) the issuance and sale of 167,037,500 Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs by us in this offering at an assumed price of US$1.796 per ADS, resulting in total net proceeds of US$27.2 million after deducting the fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
| Actual | Pro Forma as Adjusted(1) | |||||||||||||||
| RMB | US$ | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,903 | 2,918 | 20,903 | 2,918 | ||||||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 266,479 | 37,199 | 266,479 | 37,199 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 287,382 | 40,117 | 287,382 | 40,117 | ||||||||||||
| Mezzanine equity | 1,349,160 | 188,336 | - | - | ||||||||||||
| Shareholders’ deficit | ||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 5,000,000,000 shares authorized, 460,147,059 shares issued, 2,902,704,057 shares issued and 3,161,640,221 shares issued and outstanding) | 31 | 4 | 257 | 36 | ||||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 47,006 | 6,562 | 1,779,519 | 248,411 | ||||||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (99,238 | ) | (13,853 | ) | (99,238 | ) | (13,853 | ) | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,775,912 | ) | (247,908 | ) | (1,775,912 | ) | (247,908 | ) | ||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (1,828,113 | ) | (255,195 | ) | (95,374 | ) | (13,314 | ) | ||||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 29,620 | 4,135 | 29,620 | 4,135 | ||||||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,798,493 | ) | (251,060 | ) | (65,754 | ) | (9,179 | ) | ||||||||
| Total capitalization(2) | (161,951 | ) | (22,607 | ) | 221,628 | 30,938 | ||||||||||
| Notes: |
| (1) | The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only. |
| (2) | Total capitalization is the sum of financial liabilities, shareholder loans, at amortized cost, mezzanine equity and total shareholders’ deficit. |
| (3) | The translations from U.S. dollars to Renminbi and from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at US$1.00 to RMB7.1636, the exchange rate in effect as of June 30, 2025, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. |
85
Our net tangible deficit as of June 30, 2025 was US$251,060 thousand, representing US$0.55 per ordinary share as of that date. Net tangible deficit represents the amount of our total consolidated assets less the amount of our total consolidated liabilities and total mezzanine equity. Dilution is determined by subtracting net tangible deficit per ordinary share as adjusted from the initial public offering price per ordinary shares. Because the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same dividend and other rights, except for voting and conversion rights, the dilution is presented based on all issued and outstanding ordinary shares, including Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares.
Without taking into account any other changes in such net tangible deficit after June 30, 2025, other than to give effect to the issuance and sale of (i) 113,050,000 Class A ordinary shares offered by us in our initial public offering at the public offering price of US$4.1 and (ii) 139,198,200 Class A ordinary shares offered by us in this offering at the assumed public offering price of US$1.796 per ADS (based on the last reported closing trading price of our ADSs on February 5, 2026 on Nasdaq), after deduction of the placement agent’s fees payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible deficit as of June 30, 2025 would have been approximately US$9.2 million, or US$0.01 per ordinary share and US$0.25 per ADS. This represents an immediate decrease in net tangible deficit of US$13.75 per ADS to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible deficit of US$0.12 per ordinary share, or US$3.00 per ADS, to purchasers of ADSs in this offering.
The following table illustrates the dilution at the public offering price of US$2.75 per ADS, assuming all ADSs are exchanged for Class A ordinary shares:
| Per Ordinary Share |
Per ADS | |||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||
| Assumed public offering price | US$ | 0.11 | US$ | 2.75 | ||||
| Net tangible deficit as of June 30, 2025 | US$ | (0.55 | ) | US$ | (13.75 | ) | ||
| Pro forma as adjusted net tangible deficit after giving effect to this offering as of June 30, 2025 | US$ | (0.01 | ) | US$ | (0.25 | ) | ||
| Amount of dilution in net tangible deficit to new investors in this offering | US$ | 0.12 | US$ | 3.00 | ||||
A US$1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of US$1 per ADS would increase (decrease) our pro forma as-adjusted net tangible book value after giving effect to this offering by US$4.2 million, the pro forma as-adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS after giving effect to this offering by US$0.01 per ordinary share and US$0.25 per ADS and the dilution in pro forma as-adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share and per ADS to new investors in this offering by US$0.15 per ordinary share and US$3.75 per ADS, assuming no change to the number of ADSs offered by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting placement agent’s fees and other estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The following table summarizes, on a pro forma basis as of June 30, 2025, the differences between the existing shareholders and the new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares (in the form of ADSs or shares) purchased from us in this offering, the total consideration paid and the average price per ordinary share and per ADS paid before deducting placement agent’s fees and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The total number of ordinary shares does not include ordinary shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the option to purchase additional ADSs granted to the placement agent.
| Ordinary Shares | Average Price Per | Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purchased | Total Consideration | Ordinary | Price | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | Share | Per ADS | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Existing shareholders | 2,746,376,766 | 91.59 | % | US$ | 129,121 | 81.90 | % | US$ | 0.05 | US$ | 1.25 | |||||||||||||
| New investors | 252,248,200 | 8.41 | % | US$ | 28,540 | 18.10 | % | US$ | 0.11 | US$ | 2.75 | |||||||||||||
| Total | 2,998,624,966 | 100.00 | % | US$ | 157,661 | 100.00 | % | |||||||||||||||||
As of the date of this prospectus, there are 616,474,350 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding share options, and there are a total of 198,656,133 Class A ordinary shares available for future issuance upon the exercise of grants under the 2015 and 2025 Plan. To the extent that any of these share options are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors in our company.
The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only.
86
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
Cayman Islands
We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands in order to enjoy the following benefits:
| ● | political and economic stability; |
| ● | an effective judicial system; |
| ● | a favorable tax system; |
| ● | the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and |
| ● | the availability of professional and support services. |
However, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the following:
| ● | the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors; and |
| ● | with respect to Cayman Islands companies, plaintiffs may face special obstacles, including but not limited to those relating to jurisdiction and standing, in attempting to assert derivative claims in state or federal courts of the United States. |
Our memorandum and articles of association do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.
All of our operations are conducted in China, and substantially all of our assets are located in China. All of our directors and executive officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for a shareholder to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons, or to enforce against us or them judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have appointed Cogency Global Inc. located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168 as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, and Global Law Office, our counsel as to laws of mainland China, have advised us, respectively, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands and China, respectively, would:
| ● | recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States; or |
| ● | entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. |
87
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP has informed us that although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the United States (and the Cayman Islands is not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), a judgment obtained in such jurisdiction will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (b) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (c) is final and conclusive, (d) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty and (e) is not impeachable on the grounds of fraud and was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.
Mainland China
We have been advised by Global Law Office, our PRC counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of mainland China would enforce judgments of United States courts or Cayman Islands courts obtained against us or these persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the United States federal and state securities laws. Global Law Office has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under PRC Civil Procedures Law. Mainland China’s courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between mainland China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. Mainland China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in mainland China will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of laws of mainland China or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a court in mainland China would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or in the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on laws of mainland China against a company for disputes relating to contracts or other property interests in mainland China, if they can establish sufficient nexus to mainland China for a court in mainland China to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit.
However, it would be difficult for foreign shareholders to establish sufficient nexus to mainland China for a court in mainland China to have jurisdiction pursuant to the PRC Civil Procedures Law by virtue only of holding the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
88
CORPORATE HISTORY AND STRUCTURE
Our Corporate History
We commenced our business operations in China under the brand name of Yi Cun Wang (易村网) in 2011 through Yi Cun Tong Da (Beijing) Network Technology Co., Ltd., which was established on August 1, 2011 and renamed as Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd., or Yimutian Xinnong, on June 15, 2015. On June 15, 2015, we also changed our brand name to Yimutian. Beijing Douniu was established on May 28, 2015 under the name of Beijing Tian Rong Yi Network Technology Co., Ltd. and was changed to its current name on December 26, 2018. Since our inception in 2011, we have been led by our founders and directors, Mr. Jinhong Deng, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou, who have nearly two decades of experience in both the agriculture industry and the internet technology industry. See “Management” for more information. We focus on digitalizing China’s agricultural infrastructure and facilitating transactions of agricultural products from farmland to wholesale markets and business buyers and to maximize transaction efficiency.
To further facilitate offshore financing, we established Yimutian Inc. in the Cayman Islands on January 29, 2014. On February 25, 2014, Yimutian Inc. established a wholly owned subsidiary, Yimutian Hong Kong Limited, or Yimutian HK, in Hong Kong as an intermediate holding company. Yimutian HK further established a wholly owned subsidiary, Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Yimutian, on May 14, 2014 in mainland China. Beijing Yimutian currently primarily engages in digital agricultural commerce services.
On May 30, 2014, we entered into a series of contractual agreements with Yimutian Xinnong and its shareholders then through our WFOE. These contractual agreements were subsequently replaced and superseded by updated agreements on November 8, 2017, March 27, 2020 and October 18, 2023, respectively. On December 14, 2016, we entered into a series of contractual agreements with Beijing Douniu (which was under the name of Beijing Tian Rong Yi Network Technology Co., Ltd.) and its shareholders then through our WFOE. These contractual agreements were subsequently replaced and superseded by a series of updated contractual agreements on December 26, 2018 and October 18, 2023, respectively.
As a result of the contractual arrangements, we are considered the primary beneficiary of Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu for accounting purpose and have consolidated their operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP, to the extent the conditions for consolidation of these companies under U.S. GAAP were satisfied.
On August 15, 2018, Yimutian Xinnong established Guangdong Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Guangdong Yimutian, which engages in the provision of digital agricultural solutions, as its wholly-owned subsidiary.
On August 19, 2025, our ADSs commenced trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “YMT.” We raised from the initial public offer approximately US$11.5 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting commissions and the offering expenses payable by us.
89
Our Corporate Structure
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including our principal subsidiary and the VIEs and their principal subsidiaries, immediately upon the completion of this offering.

Notes:
| (1) | Beijing Douniu is 99% owned by Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and 1% owned by Mr. Min Liu, our director and senior vice president. Both Mr. Deng and Mr. Liu are beneficial owners of our company. |
| (2) | Yimutian Xinnong is 88.53% owned by Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder, chairman, chief executive officer, 6.34% owned by Ms. Jiefang Ji, the founder of Wise Prime International Limited, a shareholder of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Yahui Zhou, the founder of Keeneyes Future Holding Limited, a shareholder of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Zhijia Liu, our director, 0.85% owned by Mr. Bailin Song, a beneficial owner of shares of our company, 0.85% owned by Mr. Mi Zhou, our director, 0.85% owned by Mr. Min Liu, our director, senior vice president, and 0.85% owned by Mr. Haiyan Gao, a beneficial owner of shares of our company. |
Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs
Yimutian Xinnong primarily engages in the operation of Yimutian App, an agricultural product B2B e-commerce platform, which involves the provision of internet information services. Beijing Douniu engages in the operation of Douniu App, an online agricultural product wholesale market circulation platform. Laws and regulations of mainland China restrict foreign investment in companies that engage in value-added telecommunication services. As such, we entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu and their respective shareholders. These contractual arrangements with the VIEs allow us to direct activities of the VIEs that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIEs, receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs to the extent that we have satisfied the conditions for consolidation of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP, and have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by laws of mainland China. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are considered to be the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purpose and consolidated their operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP, to the extent the conditions for consolidation of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP are satisfied.
Even though these contractual arrangements allow us to be considered the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purpose, which results in the consolidation of the VIEs’ operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP, to the extent the conditions for consolidation of the VIEs under U.S. GAAP are satisfied, this may be less effective than equity ownership, and we could face heightened risks and costs in enforcing these contractual arrangements, because there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future laws, regulations, and rules of mainland China relating to the legality and enforceability of these contractual arrangements. For the risks related to the nominee shareholders of the VIEs, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no operations of its own and we currently conduct our operations in mainland China through our subsidiaries and the VIEs. Investors in our ADSs should note that they are purchasing equity interests in a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity interests in the VIEs in mainland China. Given that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in mainland China, including potential future actions by the mainland China government, if the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if regulations or interpretation of the existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs.” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Any failure by any of the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their respective obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material and adverse effect on our business.”
90
Agreements that make us the primary beneficiary of the VIEs
Powers of Attorney. Pursuant to the powers of attorney executed by the shareholders of the VIEs, each of them irrevocably authorizes the WFOE, or any person designated by the WFOE, to act on their respective behalf as proxy attorney, to the extent permitted by law, to exercise all rights of shareholders concerning all the equity interest held by each of them in the VIEs, including without limitation, the right to (i) propose, convene and attend shareholders’ meetings and sign relevant resolutions, (ii) exercise all shareholder’s rights under laws of mainland China and the articles of association of the VIEs, such as the voting right, nomination right and appointment right, (iii) receive dividends and sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of all the equity held in part or in whole in the VIEs. The powers of attorney remain irrevocably effective as long as such shareholders remain as the shareholders of the VIEs.
Equity Pledge Agreements. Pursuant to the equity pledge agreements among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective shareholders, the shareholders of the VIEs pledged all of their equity interests in the VIEs to the WFOE to guarantee the performance of the obligations by such shareholders and by the VIEs under the exclusive option agreements, the exclusive business cooperation agreements and the powers of attorney. In the event of a breach by the VIEs or any of their respective shareholders of the obligations under these contractual arrangements, the WFOE, as pledgee, will have the right to enforce the pledge. The shareholders of the VIEs also covenant that, without the prior written consent of the WFOE, they will not dispose of the pledged equity, create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity. The agreements will in general remain in effect until the fulfillment of all obligations under the other VIE agreements. As of the date of this prospectus, we have completed the registration of the equity pledge contemplated under the equity pledge agreements with the competent authorities in accordance with the laws and regulations of mainland China.
Letters of Confirmation and Undertaking. Pursuant to the letters of confirmation and undertaking executed by the shareholders of the VIEs, each of them, among other things, (i) confirms that his/her spouse does not have the right to claim any interests in the respective equity of the VIEs (together with any other interests therein) or exert influence on the day-to-day management and voting matters of the respective equity of the VIEs; undertakes that (ii) in the event of his/her divorce, he/she will take all actions that the WFOE deems necessary to safeguard the execution of the contractual arrangement; (iii) he/she will not participate in, engage in, or merge with any business that competes with the WFOE or hold any interest from such business; (iv) he/she will not cause any conflict of interest between the WFOE and the VIEs or himself/herself; and (v) in the event of such conflict of interest, he/she will act in accordance with the WFOE’s instruction to eliminate such conflict of interest. These letters are effective during the term of the VIE agreements.
Spousal Consent Letters. Pursuant to the spousal consent letters executed by the spouses of the applicable individual shareholders of the VIEs, each of them unconditionally and irrevocably agreed that the equity in the WFOE held by and registered in the name of such shareholder be disposed of in accordance with the exclusive business cooperation agreements, the exclusive option agreements, the equity pledge agreements, the powers of attorney, and the letters of confirmation and undertaking, and that such shareholder may perform, amend or terminate such agreements without his or her spouse’s consent. In addition, each of them agrees not to assert any rights over the equity interest in the VIEs held by his or her respective spouses. In the event that any of them obtains any equity interest in our VIEs held by their respective spouses for any reason, such spouses agree to be bound by similar obligations and agree to enter into similar contractual arrangements. These letters are effective during the term of the VIE agreements.
91
Agreements that allow us to receive economic benefits from the VIEs
Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements. Pursuant to the exclusive business cooperation agreements, among the WFOE and the VIEs, the WFOE has the exclusive right to provide the VIEs with comprehensive technological support and consulting services, including but not limited to software licensing, technology research and development, staff training and technology consultations. Without the WFOE’s prior written consent, the VIEs may not accept the same or similar service contemplated by the agreement provided by any third party during the term of the agreement. The VIEs agreed to pay the WFOE service fees, the amount of which will be subject to adjustment by the WFOE. The exclusive business cooperation agreement remains effective indefinitely except agreed otherwise or terminated by the WFOE in writing. Unless terminated by the WFOE in writing or pursuant to certain other provisions in the agreements, the exclusive business cooperation agreements are effective for an indefinite term.
Agreements that provide us with the option to purchase the equity interest in the VIEs
Exclusive Option Agreements. Pursuant to the exclusive option agreements entered among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective shareholders, each of the shareholders of the VIEs has irrevocably granted the WFOE, or any person or persons designated by the WFOE, an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity in the VIEs. The WFOE or person(s) designated by the WFOE may exercise such options to purchase equity in the VIEs at the lowest price permitted under laws of mainland China. The VIEs and their respective shareholders covenant that, without the WFOE’s prior written consent, they will not, among other things, (i) amend the VIEs’ articles of association, (ii) increase or decrease the VIEs’ registered capital or change its structure of registered capital, and (iii) sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of any assets of the VIEs’ that is more than US$50,000. The shareholders of the VIEs covenant that they will not create any pledge or encumbrance on their equity in the VIEs, other than those created under the equity pledge agreements as part of the contractual arrangements. The exclusive option agreements will be terminated when the entire equity interests in the VIEs have been transferred to our company or its designee(s).
In the opinion of Global Law Office, our PRC counsel:
| ● | the ownership structures of the WFOE and the VIEs in mainland China, both currently and immediately after giving effect to this offering, are not in violation of mandatory laws and regulations of mainland China currently in effect in all material respects; and |
| ● | the contractual arrangements between the WFOE, the VIEs and the respective shareholders of the VIEs governed by laws of mainland China are not in violation of mandatory laws or regulations of mainland China currently in effect in all material respects, and valid and binding upon each party to such arrangements in accordance with their terms. |
However, our PRC counsel has also advised us that the interpretation and application of current and future laws, regulations and rules of mainland China are evolving, and thus the regulatory authorities of mainland China may take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC counsel. If the mainland China government finds that the contractual arrangements do not comply with the restrictions or prohibitions on foreign investment in certain sectors, or if the mainland China government otherwise finds that Yimutian Inc. or the VIEs are in violation of laws or regulations of mainland China or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the regulatory authorities of mainland China would have discretion in dealing with such violations or failures. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure — Yimutian Inc. is a Cayman Islands holding company with no operations of its own and we currently conduct our operations in mainland China through our subsidiaries and the VIEs. Investors in our ADSs should note that they are purchasing equity interests in a Cayman Islands holding company rather than equity interests in the VIEs in mainland China. Given that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, regulations, and rules relating to the agreements that establish the VIE structure for our operations in mainland China, including potential future actions by the mainland China government, if the mainland China government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with the laws of mainland China, or if regulations or interpretation of the existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in the VIEs.” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — We are subject to evolving laws and regulations of mainland China that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs, and the mainland China government’s oversight over our business operations could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our Class A ordinary shares or ADSs.”
92
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our combined and consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our actual results may differ materially from those we currently anticipate as a result of many factors, including those we describe under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We are the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China, in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024, according to the F&S Report. In facilitating transactions of agricultural products, we have the following main lines of business: (i) digital agricultural commerce services for efficient circulation of agricultural and food products, which are mainly offered via the Yimutian App, a versatile, merchant-friendly B2B e-commerce platform, complemented with offline, sales-assistance services via Douniu App, a platform matching offline transactions of agricultural products between sellers and wholesale buyers, (ii) agricultural sourcing and trading services that focus on reliable transaction services with sellers at cultivation and production sites and buyers with unmet or underserved demand, (iii) smart farming business, where we selectively cultivate produce based on our industry insights and (iv) other digital agricultural solutions, which primarily entail consulting, brand promotion and digital agricultural training programs. Our platform had over 40 million merchants as of June 30, 2025. In 2024, our platform facilitated approximately 147 million searches, 583 million calls and instant messages, and over 187 million potential transactions. In the six months ended June 30, 2025, our platform facilitated approximately 53 million searches, 313 million calls and instant messages, and over 118 million potential transactions. As of June 30, 2025, the merchants presented approximately 21 million SKUs on our platform. Building upon our experience in transaction matching since our inception, we connected over 770,000 sellers and over 6 million buyers in 2024 in the agricultural product supply chain with precise, dynamic and up-to-date information related to agricultural product transactions. We connected over 430,000 sellers and approximately 3 million buyers in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We further elevate merchant experiences with a full spectrum of services in advertising and client contact privilege via a suite of online tools.
In 2023 and 2024, our total revenues was RMB187.5 million and RMB161.3 million (US$22.2 million), respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, our total revenues reached RMB80.9 million and RMB66.4 million (US$9.3 million), respectively. We had net loss of RMB105.6 million in 2023 and RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million) in 2024. We had net loss of RMB17.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million) in the same period in 2025.
Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations have been, and are expected to continue to be, affected by a number of general factors affecting the agricultural B2B industry in general, including without limitation:
| ● | China’s overall economic growth and development, along with its digital economy transformation; |
| ● | the development of China’s agriculture industry and policy of China’s agriculture industry; |
| ● | the volume of agricultural production in China and inclement weather or natural disaster; |
| ● | the digitalization of China’s agriculture industry; |
| ● | the growth of China’s agricultural B2B industry; |
| ● | the application of AI technology in China’s agricultural B2B industry; and |
| ● | competitive landscape of China’s agricultural B2B industry and our market position therein. |
93
Any unfavorable changes on these general industry conditions could affect demand for our services and products and materially affect our results of operations. While our business is affected by general factors affecting the agriculture industry, specifically the agricultural B2B industry, we believe our results of operations are affected by a number of company specific factors, including the key factors as discussed below.
Our ability to expand our large and active merchant base
Our large and active merchant base has been key to our success, as membership fees charged to our paying merchants and transaction service fees charged for transaction facilitation services are among the main sources of our revenue. Our deep understanding in mainland China’s agricultural B2B market and insights accumulated through our decade of operations have helped us gained trust from both sellers and buyers involved in agricultural transactions. We believe annual paying merchants as a percentage of active merchants is a key operating metric to measure our loyal and active merchant base and reflect our monetization ability. This percentage slightly decreased from 14.0% in 2023 to 11.4% in 2024. The decrease in this percentage in 2024 was primarily due to our strategic decision to remove certain paid features in order to further improve the platform’s functionality and user experience. We believe this adjustment has made our services more accessible and attractive to a broader base of merchants, supporting our long-term growth objectives. The number of paying merchants for a certain period refers to the number of merchants that have paid for our services in such period. The number of active merchants for a certain period refers to the number of merchants that have been active on our platform in such period. Whether we can continue to grow our paying merchants as a percentage of monthly active merchants mainly depends on our ability to provide superior merchant experience. To this end, we expect to continue to focus on providing customized merchant experience through extending the depth and breadth of our knowledge graph and technologies in general, which fuel our recommendation and matching capabilities, and further expanding our service and product offerings that meet the evolving needs of merchants on our platforms.
Our ability to improve and expand service offerings
We have been in the forefront of innovation of agricultural commerce business, expanding our offerings from multiple aspects. Our digital agricultural commerce services have evolved from merely matching buyers and sellers online to more diverse services covering sales-assistance services connecting sellers with wholesale stallholders offline and various value-added services for promotion. We typically attract and accumulate paying merchants through value-added services, such as advertising service, offered on our platform. As some merchants achieve higher sales of products benefiting from such value-added services on our platform, they turn to subscribe for membership of our flagship product which provides a suite of online tools to further help merchants boost their sales, such as hosting premium storefronts on our platform. The paying merchants of our flagship product, who mainly receive our services on an annual basis, on average spent RMB5,243 (US$723) in 2024. Such paying merchants on average spent approximately RMB5,248 in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB5,896 (US$823) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We believe that there is a significant opportunity for cross-selling more of our digital agricultural commerce services to our existing paying merchants. We see great potential to further monetize our merchant base, and we plan to continue fine-tuning and expand our service offerings with new value-added services for marketing and improving merchant engagement.
Our ability to maintain and increase cooperation with business partners
We expect to launch new business initiatives to penetrate deeper in the agricultural product supply chain. The success of such business initiatives not only relies on market insights and technology capabilities, but also depends on our continued collaboration with local agricultural producers and processors from cultivation and production sites and buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities in both online and offline environment. We intend to deepen our business relationships with existing market participants in the agricultural product supply chain and build relationships with additional market participants with cultivation at scale or bulk procurement capacities. We believe that business partners will choose to cooperate with us because of our deep understanding of the agriculture industry, strong reputation and broad network of merchants on our Apps.
94
Our ability to promote our brands and market our services and products more effectively
We believe that our one-stop platform, with a wide variety of services and products offered thereon and positive merchant experience, makes us a reputable brand, and is our best and most effective marketing tools. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, we acquired over 44% of new merchants on our platform through word-of-mouth marketing, thanks to our reputable and trusted brand. Despite the acquisition cost of such merchants is close to nil, such merchants contribute great value to our business. They often interact with our platform over a long-term and spend more time on our platform than merchants acquired via other means. Besides word-of-mouth marketing, we also invest in branding, marketing and promotional activities. We plan to continue building our brand by enhancing merchant experience on our platform and enhancing efficiency in our selling and marketing activities.
Our ability to continue making investments in technology
Our dedication to technological advancements runs deep in our DNA, evident through our substantial investments in technology since our inception. We aim to provide more accurate and intelligent matching, as well as sales and marketing services, to merchants, enabling them to offer and procure high-quality products through secure, responsive, and scalable infrastructure and applications, thus further improving their transaction experience and efficiency. We expect to continue to invest in research and development in areas such as big data analysis, cloud computing, and other technologies, as well as in talent acquisition and retention.
Our ability to enhance our operating efficiency
Our results of operations are affected by our ability to control our operating costs and expenses. We expect to achieve greater efficiency in managing our costs and expenses. We believe our nationwide coverage, coupled with the network effect of our platform, will allow us to benefit more from substantial economies of scale. The staff cost and cloud service fees associated with the operation of our platform are expected to increase at a slower pace as our revenue growth, because most of our employees are working remotely from the production sites and wholesale markets, and we do not need to increase the size of our overall workforce proportionally with our business growth as we optimize human resource efficiency at the headquarters. As our business further grows, we believe we will be able to take advantage of economies of scale to further improve operating efficiency and achieve profitability over time.
Key Components of Results of Operations
Revenues
In 2023 and 2024, the six months ended June 30, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, we generated revenue from providing digital agricultural commerce services and other digital agricultural solutions. The following table breaks down our revenues by amounts and as percentages of total revenues for the periods indicated.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Digital agricultural commerce services | 170,921 | 91.1 | 152,606 | 21,030 | 94.6 | 76,548 | 94.7 | 63,685 | 8,890 | 95.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Membership services | 99,924 | 53.3 | 95,589 | 13,173 | 59.3 | 48,131 | 59.5 | 43,096 | 6,016 | 64.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Value-added services | 65,850 | 35.1 | 52,712 | 7,264 | 32.6 | 26,347 | 32.6 | 18,970 | 2,648 | 28.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transaction services | 5,147 | 2.7 | 4,305 | 593 | 2.7 | 2,070 | 2.6 | 1,619 | 226 | 2.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other digital agricultural solutions | 16,602 | 8.9 | 8,715 | 1,201 | 5.4 | 4,309 | 5.3 | 2,730 | 381 | 4.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | 187,523 | 100.0 | 161,321 | 22,231 | 100.0 | 80,857 | 100.0 | 66,415 | 9,271 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues consists of (i) staff cost and outsourcing labor service fees, (ii) technology service fees charged by cloud service providers, and (iii) depreciation.
95
The following table sets forth a breakdown of our cost of revenues by nature, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Staff cost and outsourcing labor service fees | 28,705 | 58.3 | 18,538 | 2,555 | 60.7 | 12,723 | 59.5 | 8,690 | 1,213 | 66.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology service fees | 6,587 | 13.4 | 4,482 | 618 | 14.6 | 3,764 | 17.5 | 1,995 | 278 | 15.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | 13,956 | 28.3 | 7,553 | 1,040 | 24.7 | 4,913 | 23.0 | 2,373 | 332 | 18.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | 49,248 | 100.0 | 30,573 | 4,213 | 100.0 | 21,400 | 100.0 | 13,058 | 1,823 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gross profit and gross margin
We recorded gross profit of RMB138.3 million and RMB130.7 million (US$18.0 million) in 2023 and 2024, respectively. We recorded gross profit of RMB59.5 million and RMB53.4 million (US$7.4 million) in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Our overall gross margin was 73.7% in 2023 and 81.0% in 2024, respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, our overall gross margin was 73.5% and 80.3%, respectively.
Operating expenses
Our operating expenses mainly consist of (i) selling and marketing expenses, (ii) general and administrative expenses, and (iii) research and development expenses. The following table sets forth the components of our operating expenses, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (94,647 | ) | (50.5 | ) | (87,618 | ) | (12,074 | ) | (54.3 | ) | (36,439 | ) | (45.1 | ) | (34,652 | ) | (4,837 | ) | (52.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (96,712 | ) | (51.6 | ) | (39,564 | ) | (5,452 | ) | (24.5 | ) | (24,743 | ) | (30.6 | ) | (22,966 | ) | (3,206 | ) | (34.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (47,453 | ) | (25.3 | ) | (37,811 | ) | (5,210 | ) | (23.4 | ) | (15,376 | ) | (19.0 | ) | (14,607 | ) | (2,039 | ) | (22.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 823 | 0.5 | 218 | 30 | 0.1 | 149 | 0.2 | 4,168 | 582 | 6.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | (237,989 | ) | (126.9 | ) | (164,775 | ) | (22,706 | ) | (102.1 | ) | (76,409 | ) | (94.5 | ) | (68,057 | ) | (9,500 | ) | (102.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Selling and marketing expenses. Our selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of (i) staff cost related to selling and marketing personnel, (ii) advertising and promotion expenses, and (iii) depreciation, rental and other expenses related to selling and marketing functions. We expect our sales and marketing expenses on an absolute dollar basis and as a percentage of revenues to vary from period to period over the short term, depending on the number of selling and marketing employees we are going to hire and spendings on marketing activities.
General and administrative expenses. Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of (i) share-based compensation expenses related to ordinary shares issuance, (ii) staff cost relating to general and administrative personnel, (iii) professional service fees, and (iv) other general corporate expenses. We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in the near term as we incur additional costs as a result of operating as a public company.
96
Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses consist of (i) staff cost relating to research and development professionals and (ii) rental, depreciation and other expenses related to research and development functions. We expect that our research and development expenses on an absolute dollar basis and as a percentage of revenues to vary from period to period over the short term, depending on the number research and development employees we are going to hire.
In addition, the performance conditions for the options we granted will be satisfied upon the completion of an initial public offering. The operating expenses are expected to increase in the foreseeable future, as share-based compensation expense will be recorded upon the completion of this offering.
Taxation
Cayman Islands
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Under the current tax laws of the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to tax on our income or capital gains. In addition, payments of dividends and capital in respect of our shares are not subject to taxation, and no withholding will be required in the Cayman Islands on the payment of any dividend or capital to any holder of our shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of our shares be subject to the Cayman Islands income or corporate tax.
Hong Kong
Our wholly owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong are subject to Hong Kong profits tax on their taxable income generated from operations in Hong Kong. Under the two-tiered profits tax rates regime in Hong Kong, the first HK$2 million of profits of the qualifying group entity will be taxed at 8.25%, and profits above HK$2 million will be taxed at 16.5%. Payments of dividends by our subsidiaries to our company are not subject to any withholding tax in Hong Kong.
Mainland China
Our subsidiaries in mainland China, the VIEs and the VIE’s subsidiaries that were established in mainland China are subject to PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the PRC EIT Law, on the taxable income, which have adopted a unified income tax rate of 25%, except for high and new technology enterprises, which are subject to a preferential income tax rate of 15%, and small enterprises with low profits, which are subject to a preferential income tax rate of 20%.
Beijing Yimutian, Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu were recognized as high and new technology enterprises. As such, they are entitled to a preferential income tax rate at 15% from 2023 to 2024.
We are subject to VAT on the products sold and services provided. We are also subject to surcharges on VAT payments in accordance with the laws of mainland China.
As a Cayman Islands holding company, we may receive dividends from our subsidiaries in mainland China through Yimutian HK. The PRC EIT Law and its implementing rules provide that dividends paid by a mainland China entity to a nonresident enterprise for income tax purposes is subject to mainland China withholding tax at a rate of 10%, and may be subject to reduction by an applicable tax treaty with China. Pursuant to the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, the withholding tax rate in respect to the payment of dividends by a mainland China enterprise to a Hong Kong enterprise may be reduced to 5% from a standard rate of 10% if the Hong Kong enterprise (i) directly holds at least 25% of the mainland China enterprise, (ii) is a tax resident in Hong Kong and (iii) could be recognized as a beneficial owner of the dividend from mainland China tax perspective. Pursuant to the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties, or Guoshuihan [2009] 81, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to apply the reduced withholding tax rate: (i) it must be a company; (ii) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the PRC resident enterprise; and (iii) it must have directly owned such required percentage in the mainland China resident enterprise throughout the 12 months prior to receiving the dividends. In October 2019, the SAT issued Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Issuing the Measures for Non-resident Taxpayers’ Enjoyment of Treaty Benefits, or SAT Circular 35, which became effective on January 1, 2020. SAT Circular 35 provides that nonresident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the tax authorities in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax. Instead, nonresident enterprises and their withholding agents may, by self-assessment and on confirmation that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-tax filing examinations by the tax authorities. Accordingly, Yimutian HK may be able to benefit from the 5% withholding tax rate for the dividends it receives from its mainland China subsidiaries, if it satisfies the conditions prescribed under Guoshuihan [2009] 81 and other tax rules and regulations. However, according to Guoshuihan [2009] 81 and SAT Circular 35, if the tax authorities consider the transactions or arrangements we have are for the primary purpose of enjoying a favorable tax treatment, the tax authorities may adjust the favorable withholding tax in the future.
97
If our holding company in the Cayman Islands or any of our subsidiaries outside of mainland China were deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the PRC EIT Law, it would be subject to enterprise income tax on its worldwide income at a rate of 25%.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. We believe that the period-to-period comparison of operating results should not be relied upon as being indicative of future performance.
| For the Year Ended December 31, | For the Six months ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except percentage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | 187,523 | 100.0 | 161,321 | 22,231 | 100.0 | 80,857 | 100.0 | 66,415 | 9,271 | 100.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | (49,248 | ) | (26.3 | ) | (30,573 | ) | (4,213 | ) | (19.0 | ) | (21,400 | ) | (26.5 | ) | (13,058 | ) | (1,823 | ) | (19.7 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 138,275 | 73.7 | 130,748 | 18,018 | 81.0 | 59,457 | 73.5 | 53,357 | 7,448 | 80.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (94,647 | ) | (50.5 | ) | (87,618 | ) | (12,074 | ) | (54.3 | ) | (36,439 | ) | (45.1 | ) | (34,652 | ) | (4,837 | ) | (52.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (96,712 | ) | (51.6 | ) | (39,564 | ) | (5,452 | ) | (24.5 | ) | (24,743 | ) | (30.6 | ) | (22,966 | ) | (3,206 | ) | (34.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (47,453 | ) | (25.3 | ) | (37,811 | ) | (5,210 | ) | (23.4 | ) | (15,376 | ) | (19.0 | ) | (14,607 | ) | (2,039 | ) | (22.0 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 823 | 0.4 | 218 | 30 | 0.1 | 149 | 0.2 | 4,168 | 582 | 6.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating loss | (99,714 | ) | (53.2 | ) | (34,027 | ) | (4,688 | ) | (21.1 | ) | (16,952 | ) | (21.0 | ) | (14,700 | ) | (2,052 | ) | (22.1 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Impairment loss on a long-term investment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 23 | 0.01 | 12 | 2 | 0.01 | 6 | 0.01 | 2 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (211 | ) | (0.1 | ) | (964 | ) | (133 | ) | (0.6 | ) | (470 | ) | (0.6 | ) | (223 | ) | (31 | ) | (0.3 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of financial liabilities | (3,728 | ) | (2.0 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from derecognition of financial liabilities | (1,953 | ) | (1.0 | ) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity method investment | (105,583 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,979 | ) | (4,819 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (17,416 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | (22.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share of loss of an equity method investment | (38 | ) | (0.02 | ) | 38 | 5 | 0.02 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (56.3 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,814 | ) | (21.7 | ) | (17,416 | ) | (21.5 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | (22.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
Revenues
Our revenues decreased by 14.0% from RMB187.5 million in 2023 to RMB161.3 million (US$22.2 million) in 2024.
Revenue from digital agricultural commerce services decreased by 10.7% from RMB170.1 million in 2023 to RMB152.6 million (US$21.0 million) in 2024, primarily due to the fact that to comply with regulations, the short video feature was disabled, resulting in a decline in monthly active users and business conversion rates.
98
Revenue from other digital agricultural solutions decreased by 47.5% from RMB16.6 million in 2023 to RMB8.7 million (US$1.2 million) in 2024, primarily due to government-related projects have decreased.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues slightly decreased by 37.9% from RMB49.2 million in 2023 to RMB30.6 million (US$4.2 million) in 2024.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit decreased from RMB138.3 million in 2024 to RMB130.7 million (US$18.0 million) 2024. Our gross margin increased from 73.7% in 2022 to 81.0% in 2024, which was primarily due to the decrease in our staff cost related to cost of revenues and decrease in our total revenues for the reasons discussed above.
Selling and Marketing Expenses
Our selling and marketing expenses decreased by 7.4% from RMB94.6 million in 2023 to RMB87.6 million (US$12.1 million) in 2024, primarily due to a decrease in advertising and promotion expenses and a decrease in staff cost related to selling and marketing personnel.
General and Administrative Expenses
Our general and administrative expenses decreased by 59.1% from RMB96.7 million in 2023 to RMB39.6 million (US$5.5 million) in 2024, primarily due to the increase of share-based compensation expenses related to awards granted to certain directors and management personnel of our company in 2023 and decrease in staff cost.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses decreased by 20.3% from RMB47.5 million in 2023 to RMB37.8 million (US$5.2 million) in 2024, primarily due to our reduction in the research and development workforce associated with operations that were in the trial-and-error stage and decrease in staff cost.
Change in Fair Value of Financial Liabilities
Change in fair value of financial liabilities amounted to RMB3.7 million and nil in 2023 and 2024, respectively. It was included overseas direct investment (ODI) convertible loans and exchangeable notes, at their fair value at upon conversion.
Gain (Loss) from Derecognition of Financial Liabilities
Upon the conversion of ODI convertible loans and exchangeable notes, we recognized loss of RMB2.0 million and nil from derecognition of financial liabilities in 2023 and 2024, respectively, which represented the cumulative amount of the gain or loss previously recorded in other comprehensive loss resulted from changes in instrument-specific credit risk of the ODI convertible loans and the exchangeable notes.
Share of Loss of Equity Method Investments
Share of loss of equity method investments was RMB38 thousand (US$5 thousand) in 2023 due to our investment loss in certain other investees which investments occurred in March and September 2023. Share of gain of equity method investments was RMB38 thousand (US$5 thousand) in 2024 due to the company discontinued its investment and recovery of the invested capital.
Net Loss
As a result of the foregoing, our net loss decreased by 66.9% from RMB105.6 million in 2023 to RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million) in 2024.
99
Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2025
Revenues
Our revenues decreased by 17.9% from RMB80.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB66.4 million (US$9.3 million) in the same period in 2025.
Revenue from digital agricultural commerce services decreased by 16.8% from RMB76.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB63.7 million (US$8.9 million) in the same period in 2025, primarily due to a decline in revenue from membership services and a decline in revenue from value-added services. Membership revenue declined in the first half 2025 as we strategically prioritized our agricultural sourcing and trading business, reallocating resources and budgets to accelerate our retail network expansion in key production regions. This shift resulted in reduced investments in the digital agricultural commerce business, leading to a temporary decrease in related revenue. In addition, revenue from value-added services decreased, mainly attributable to our user experience enhancement initiatives, which included eliminating certain small-item fees.
Revenue from other digital agricultural solutions decreased by 36.6% from RMB4.3 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB2.7 million (US$0.4 thousand) in the same period in 2025.
Cost of Revenues
Our cost of revenues decreased by 39.0% from RMB21.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB13.1 million (US$1.8 million) in the same period in 2025. The decrease was mainly driven by the decrease in staff cost and outsourcing labor service fees in relation to sales functions.
Gross Profit and Gross Margin
As a result of the foregoing, our gross profit decreased from RMB59.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB53.4 million (US$7.4 million) in the same period in 2025. Our gross margin increased from 73.5% in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to 80.3% in the same period in 2025, which was primarily due to the decrease in our staff cost related to cost of revenues and decrease in our total revenues for the reasons discussed above.
Selling and Marketing Expenses
Our selling and marketing expenses decreased by 4.9% from RMB36.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB34.7 million (US$4.8 million) in the same period in 2025, primarily due to a decrease in advertising and promotion expenses and a decrease in staff cost related to selling and marketing personnel.
General and Administrative Expenses
Our general and administrative expenses decreased by 7.2% from RMB24.7 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB23.0 million (US$3.2 million) in the same period in 2025, primarily due to decrease in staff cost and rental fee.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses decreased by 5.0% from RMB15.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB14.6 million (US$2.0 million) in the same period in 2025, primarily due to the decrease in staff cost relating to research and development professionals in connection with the reduced research and development workforce.
Other income, net
Our other income increased from RMB0.15 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB4.2 million (US$0.6 million) in the same period in 2025, primarily due to the waiver of penalty charges by a creditor.
Net Loss
As a result of the foregoing, our net loss decreased by 14.3% from RMB17.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million) in the same period in 2025.
100
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:
| For the year ended December 31, | For the Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (17,956 | ) | (61,439 | ) | (8,467 | ) | (23,205 | ) | (8,641 | ) | (1,206 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (3,230 | ) | 149 | 21 | (167 | ) | (664 | ) | (93 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 18,545 | 60,368 | 8,319 | 22,562 | 8,126 | 1,134 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (215 | ) | (135 | ) | (14 | ) | (51 | ) | 65 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (2,856 | ) | (1,057 | ) | (141 | ) | (861 | ) | (1,114 | ) | (156 | ) | ||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 6,685 | 3,829 | 523 | 3,829 | 2,772 | 387 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3,829 | 2,772 | 382 | 2,968 | 1,658 | 231 | ||||||||||||||||||
To date, we have financed our operating and investing activities primarily through cash provided by historical equity and debt financing activities, including issuance of financial liabilities convertible into preferred shares. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, we had RMB3.8 million, RMB2.8 million (US$382.0 thousand) and RMB1.7 million (US$231 thousand) in cash and restricted cash, respectively. Our cash consists primarily of cash on hand and cash at bank. For a summary of our equity and debt financing activities in the past three years, see “Description of Share Capital — History of Securities Issuance.”
We experienced recurring operating losses. For the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, we had net cash used in operating activities of RMB18.0 million and RMB61.4 million (US$8.5 million), respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, we had net cash used in operating activities of RMB23.2 million and RMB8.6 million (US$1.2 million), respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, we had net current liabilities of RMB431.3 million and RMB432.2 million (US$59.6 million), respectively. As of June 30, 2025, we had net current liabilities of RMB445.8 million (US$62.2 million). We will require additional liquidity to continue our operations over the next 12 months. We may need additional cash resources in the future if we experience changes in business conditions or other developments. We may also need additional cash resources in the future if we identify and wish to pursue opportunities for investment, acquisition, capital expenditure or similar actions. We are evaluating strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations. These strategies may include, but are not limited to, obtaining equity financing, issuing debt or entering into other financing arrangements, obtaining agreements with the existing investors to extend the due dates for outstanding debt. In 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, we borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB28.3 million (US$3.9 million) and RMB21.4 million (US$3.0 million) from our founder, respectively. In addition, we plan to diversify revenue streams, such as operating our newly launched agricultural sourcing and trading business, and implement cost saving measures to grow revenues and decrease expenses. However, we may be unable to access further equity or debt financing when needed. As such, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional liquidity when needed or under acceptable terms, if at all. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — Our operating cash outflow, net current liabilities, and preferred shareholder redemption rights raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or if capital is not available to us, our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.”
As of June 30, 2025, 54.4% and 45.6% of our cash and restricted cash were held in and outside of mainland China, respectively, with 42.5% of our cash and restricted cash being held by the VIE. Although we consolidate the results of the VIE, we only have access to the assets or earnings of the VIE through our contractual arrangements with the VIE and its shareholders. See “Corporate History and Structure — Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs.” For restrictions and limitations on liquidity and capital resources as a result of our corporate structure, see “— Holding Company Structure.”
101
Our accounts receivable primarily represent receivable for other digital agricultural solutions. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, our accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses, was RMB139.0 thousand and RMB733.0 thousand (US$100 thousand), respectively. As of June 30, 2025, our accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses, was RMB541 thousand (US$76 thousand). The decrease in accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses was primarily due to the decrease revenue. As of the same dates, our amounts due from related parties was RMB11.3 million, RMB3.4 million (US$473 thousand) and RMB3.4 million (US$478 thousand), respectively. Our accounts receivable turnover days decreased from 48 days in 2023 to 18 days in 2024, mainly due to our more stringent collection effort from 2023 to 2024, and increased to 26 days for the six months ended June 30, 2025, mainly attributable to Chinese New Year holiday, during which the recovery of accounts receivable was slow. The aging of accounts receivable balances was considered when estimating the allowance of credit loss. Accounts receivable turnover days for a given period are equal to the sum of the average balances of accounts receivable at the beginning and the end of the period divided by revenue from other digital agricultural solutions during the period and multiplied by the number of days during the same period.
Our accounts payable primarily consists of accounts payable for cloud service. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, our accounts payable was RMB3.3 million, RMB4.4 million (US$607 thousand) and RMB6.0 million (US$834 thousand), respectively. Our accounts payable turnover days increased from 22 days in 2023 to 45 days in 2024 and further to 72 days for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to our establishment of long-term relationships with trusted suppliers. Accounts payable turnover days for a given period are equal to average accounts payable balances at the beginning and the end of the period divided by total cost of revenues during the period and multiplied by the number of days during the period.
In utilizing the proceeds we expect to receive from this offering, we may make additional capital contributions to our mainland China subsidiaries, establish new mainland China subsidiaries and make capital contributions to these new mainland China subsidiaries, make loans to our mainland China subsidiaries, or acquire offshore entities with operations in mainland China in offshore transactions. However, most of these uses are subject to mainland China regulations. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — Mainland China regulations of loans to and direct investment in domestic entities by offshore holding companies and governmental regulations of currency conversion may restrict or delay us from using the proceeds of this offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our subsidiaries in mainland China, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business” and “Use of Proceeds.”
All of our revenues have been, and we expect will likely to continue to be, denominated in Renminbi. Under existing mainland China foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval as long as certain routine procedural requirements are fulfilled. Therefore, our mainland China subsidiaries are allowed to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior SAFE approval by following certain routine procedural requirements. However, approval from or registration with competent government authorities is required where the Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of mainland China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The mainland China government may impose laws and regulations from time to time regarding access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If, in order to comply with the laws and regulations over foreign exchange, we are unable to obtain sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs.
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB18.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 and was primarily attributable to (i) net loss of RMB105.6 million, (ii) various non-cash items of RMB56.1 million, such as depreciation of property and equipment, allowance for credit losses and share-based compensation expense etc, (iii) RMB3.9 million increase in account receivables, (iv) RMB11.7 million increase in prepayments and other current assets, (v) RMB0.5 million decrease in accounts payable, (vi) RMB9.2 million decrease in contract liabilities, and (iv) RMB8.6 million decrease in accrued expenses and other current liabilities.
102
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB61.4 million (US$8.5 million) for the year ended December 31, 2024 and was primarily attributable to (i) net loss of RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million), (ii) various non-cash items of RMB1.9 million (US$255 thousand), such as depreciation of property and equipment, allowance for credit losses etc, (iii) RMB0.9 million (US$120 thousand) decrease in account receivables, (iv) RMB5.5 million (US$754 thousand) decrease in prepayments and other current assets, (v) RMB1.1 million (US$156 thousand) decrease in accounts payable, (vi) RMB12.0 million (US$1.7 million) increase in contract liabilities, and (iv) RMB11.0 million (US$1.5 million) increase in accrued expenses and other current liabilities.
Net cash used in operating activities was RMB8.6 million (US$1.2 million) for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and was primarily due to (i) net loss of RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million), (ii) adjustment of non-cash items of RMB715 thousand (US$101 thousand) which mainly consists of depreciation and amortization and allowance for credit losses, and (iii) a net change in operating assets and liabilities by RMB5.6 million (US$776 thousand), which was primarily attributable to prepayments and other current assets, contract liabilities, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and accounts payable.
Investing Activities
Our net cash used in investing activities was RMB3.2 million in 2023. This was attributable to cash paid for purchase of property and equipment of RMB2.1 million in relation to office supplies and devices, and cash paid for equity-method investments of RMB1.2 million.
Our net cash used in investing activities was RMB149 thousand (US$21 thousand) in 2024. This was attributable to cash paid for purchase of property and equipment of RMB351 thousand (US$48 thousand) in relation to office supplies and devices, and proceeds from disposal of investments of RMB500 thousand (US$69 thousand).
Our net cash used in investing activities was RMB664 thousand (US$93 thousand) for the six months ended June 30, 2025. This was attributable to cash paid for purchase of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
Our net cash provided by financing activities was RMB18.5 million in 2023. This was mainly attributable to (i) proceeds from shareholder loans of RMB14.2 million, and (ii) repayment for short-term borrowings of RMB2.0 million, (iii) loans repaid by a related party of RMB5.0 million, and (v) proceeds from Settlement of Series C Preferred Shares subscription receivable RMB7.7 million.
Our net cash provided by financing activities was RMB60.4 million (US$8.3 million) in 2024. This was mainly attributable to (i) proceeds from shareholder loans of RMB28.3 million (US$3.9 million), (ii) proceeds from short-term borrowings of RMB10.0 million (US$1.4 million), (iii) loans repaid by a related of RMB7.9 million (US$1.1 million), (iv) capital contribution from non-controlling interest of RMB30.0 million (US$4.1 million), (v) repayment for shareholder loans of RMB8.4 million (US$1.2 million), and (vi) amounts due to related parties of RMB8.5 million (US$1.2 million).
Our net cash provided by financing activities was RMB8.1 million (US$1.1 million) for the six months ended June 30, 2025. This was mainly attributable to proceeds from bank borrowings, proceeds from shareholder loans and amounts due to related parties, partially offset by repayment for bank borrowings and repayment for shareholder loans.
Material Cash Requirements
Our material cash requirements as of June 30, 2025 and any subsequent interim period primarily include our capital expenditures and contractual obligations. We intend to fund our material cash requirements with our cash balance and proceeds from this offering. We will continue to make cash commitments, including capital expenditures, to meet the expected growth of our business.
103
Capital Expenditures
Our capital expenditures were incurred primarily in connection with office facilities and equipment, furnishing of our buildings and purchase of property. Our capital expenditures were RMB2.1 million in 2023, RMB351 thousand (US$48 thousand) in 2024 and RMB664 thousand (US$93 thousand) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We will continue to make capital expenditures to meet the expected growth of our operations and expect cash generated from our financing activities will continue to meet our capital expenditure needs in the foreseeable future.
Contractual Obligations
The following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of June 30, 2025:
| Payment Due by June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | After | ||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (RMB in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 4,842 | 3,282 | 1,190 | 370 | — | |||||||||||||||
Except for those disclosed above, we did not have any significant capital or other commitments, long-term obligations, or guarantees as of June 30, 2025.
Critical Accounting Estimates
An accounting policy is considered critical if it requires an accounting estimate to be made based on assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time such estimate is made, and if different accounting estimates that reasonably could have been used, or changes in the accounting estimates that are reasonably likely to occur periodically, could materially impact the consolidated financial statements.
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with the U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the end of each fiscal period and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during each fiscal period. We continually evaluate these judgments and estimates based on our own historical experience, knowledge and assessment of current business and other conditions, our expectations regarding the future based on available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, which together form our basis for making judgments about matters that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, our actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require a higher degree of judgment than others in their application.
The selection of critical accounting policies, the judgments and other uncertainties affecting application of those policies and the sensitivity of reported results to changes in conditions and assumptions are factors that should be considered when reviewing our financial statements. We believe the following accounting policies involve the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
Fair value of our ordinary shares
We are a private company with no quoted market prices for our ordinary shares. We therefore make estimates of the fair value of our ordinary shares on various dates for the following purposes: determining the fair value of our ordinary shares at the date of the grant of a share-based compensation award as one of the inputs into determining the grant date fair value; and determining the fair value of financial liabilities at the issuance date, each period end and conversion date, determining the fair value of preferred shares at the issuance date.
104
In determining our equity value, we applied the discounted cash flow analysis based on our projected cash flows using our best estimate as of the valuation date. The determination of the fair value of our ordinary shares requires complex and subjective judgments to be made regarding our projected financial and operating results, our unique business risks, the liquidity of our shares and our operating history and prospects at the time of valuation.
The income approach involves applying appropriate weighted average costs of capital, or WACCs, to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. Our revenues and earnings growth rates, as well as major milestones that we have achieved, contributed to the increase in the fair value of our ordinary shares. The assumptions used in deriving the fair values are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include: no material changes in the existing political, legal and economic conditions in China; our ability to retain competent management, key personnel and staff to support our ongoing operations; and no material deviation in market conditions from economic forecasts. These assumptions are inherently uncertain.
The hybrid method, comprising of the probability-weighted expected return method and the option pricing method, was used to allocate equity value of our company to preferred and ordinary shares, considering the guidance prescribed by the AICPA Audit and Accounting Practice Aid. This method involves making estimates of the anticipated timing of a potential liquidity event, such as a sale of our company or an initial public offering and estimates of the volatility of our equity securities. The anticipated timing is based on the plans of our board of directors and management.
The major assumptions used in calculating the fair value of ordinary shares include:
| ● | WACCs: The WACCs were determined based on a consideration of the factors including risk-free rate, comparative industry risk, equity risk premium, company size and non-systematic risk factors. |
| ● | Comparable companies. In deriving the weighted average cost of capital used as the discount rates under the income approach, certain publicly traded companies were selected for reference as our guideline companies. The guideline companies were selected based on the following criteria: (i) they operate in the online agriculture industry and (ii) their shares are publicly traded in China. |
| ● | Discount for lack of marketability, or DLOM: DLOM was quantified by the Finnerty’s Average-Strike put options mode. Under this option-pricing method, which assumed that the put option is struck at the average price of the stock before the privately held shares can be sold, the cost of the put option was considered as a basis to determine the DLOM. |
Assumptions are updated at each valuation date if required.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. In addition, we have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholder’s equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or product development services with us.
Holding Company Structure
Yimutian is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations through our mainland China subsidiaries and the VIEs. As a result, Yimutian’s ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our mainland China subsidiaries. If our existing mainland China subsidiaries or any newly formed mainland China subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. In addition, our mainland China subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in mainland China. Under the laws of mainland China, each of our mainland China subsidiaries and the VIEs is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds until such reserve funds reach 50% of its registered capital. In addition, our mainland China subsidiaries may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on mainland China accounting standards to enterprise expansion funds and staff bonus and welfare funds at its discretion, and the VIEs may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on mainland China accounting standards to a discretionary surplus fund at its discretion. The statutory reserve funds and the discretionary funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Remittance of dividends by a wholly foreign-owned company out of mainland China is subject to examination by the banks designated by SAFE. Our mainland China subsidiaries have not paid dividends and will not be able to pay dividends until they generate accumulated profits and meets the requirements for statutory reserve funds.
105
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Foreign exchange risk
Most of our revenues and most of our expenses are denominated in Renminbi. Our exposure to foreign exchange risk primarily relates to cash and cash equivalent denominated in U.S. dollars as a result of net proceeds from this offering. We do not believe that we currently have any significant direct foreign exchange risk and have not used any derivative financial instruments to hedge our exposure to such risk. Although, in general, our exposure to foreign exchange risks should be limited, the value of your investment in the ADSs will be affected by the exchange rate between U.S. dollar and RMB because the value of our business is effectively denominated in RMB, while the ADSs representing our ordinary shares will be traded in U.S. dollars.
The conversion of Renminbi into other currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The Renminbi has fluctuated against other currencies, at times significantly and unpredictably. The value of Renminbi against other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. It is difficult to predict how market forces or government policies may impact the exchange rate between Renminbi and other currencies in the future.
To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for our operations, appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar would reduce the RMB amount we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs, servicing our outstanding debt, or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the RMB would reduce the U.S. dollar amounts available to us.
We estimate that we will receive net proceeds of approximately US$8.45 million from this offering, after deducting placement agent’s fees and the estimated offering expenses payable by us, based on the assumed offering price of US$1.796 per ADS. Assuming that we convert the full amount of the net proceeds from this offering into Renminbi, a 10% appreciation of U.S. dollars against Renminbi, from the exchange rate of RMB7.1636 for US$1.00 as of June 30, 2025, to a rate of RMB7.8800 to US$1.00, would result in an increase of RMB6.05 million in our net proceeds from this offering. Conversely, a 10% depreciation of U.S. dollars against Renminbi, from the exchange rate of RMB7.1636 for US$1.00 as of June 30, 2025, to a rate of RMB6.4472 to US$1.00 would result in a decrease of RMB6.05 million in our net proceeds from this offering.
Interest rate risk
Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash invested in interest-bearing bank deposits with original maturities of three months or less. We have not used any derivative financial instruments to manage our interest risk exposure. Interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. We have not been exposed, nor do we anticipate being exposed, to material risks due to changes in interest rates. However, our future interest income may be lower than expected due to changes in market interest rates.
After completion of this offering, we may invest the net proceeds that we receive from this offering in interest-earning instruments. Investments in both fixed-rate and floating rate interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed-rate securities may have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates, while floating-rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest rates fall.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
For information on recently issued accounting pronouncements, refer to Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
106
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Prior to our initial public offering in August 2025, we have been a private company with limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources to address our internal controls and procedures. As of the date of this prospectus, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. As defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
The material weakness that has been identified related to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to properly address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and related disclosures. Neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm undertook a comprehensive assessment of our internal control for purpose of identifying and reporting material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. Had we performed a formal assessment of our internal control over financial reporting or had our independent registered public accounting firm performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, additional deficiencies may have been identified.
We have taken, and are taking, certain actions to remediate the material weakness related to our lack of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting experience. We engaged a consultant with U.S. GAAP knowledge and experience to supplement our current internal accounting personnel and assist us in the preparation of our financial statements to ensure that our financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We also engaged an internal control consulting firm in 2024 to review, test and improve our internal accounting controls and internal control over financial reporting. We have adopted and are implementing policies, procedures and practices recommended in the report of the consultant and have arranged training of internal control for our employees and management on disclosure controls and procedures. We continue to make efforts to implementing our existing and newly adopted procedures to improve our disclosure controls and internal controls over financing reporting.
However, we cannot assure you that all these measures will be sufficient to remediate our material weakness in time, or at all. Moreover, the process of designing and implementing an effective financial reporting system is a continual effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a financial reporting system that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligation. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations and prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.”
As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenues for fiscal year of 2024, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting.
107
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information and financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to this summary, we urge you to read the entire prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in our ADSs discussed under “Risk Factors,” before deciding whether to invest in our ADSs. The information presented in this section has been derived from an industry report commissioned by us and prepared by Frost & Sullivan, an independent research firm, dated May 30, 2025 to provide information regarding our industry and our market position in China and globally. We refer to this report as the “F&S Report.”
Market Opportunities for the Sales of Agricultural Products in China
China, with its billion-scale population, presents vast opportunities for the sales of agricultural products. The country’s agricultural production operates on an enormous scale, with a total output of 2.1 billion tons in 2024. The value of circulated primary agricultural products amounted to a staggering RMB5.5 trillion in the same year. With its vast territory, China’s agricultural production and consumption areas are widely dispersed. To facilitate the circulation of agricultural products from farmland to consumers’ dining tables across its geographic landscape, China relies heavily on over 1,000 scaled agricultural wholesale markets, characterized by an annual transaction value exceeding RMB100 million in 2024, and around 2.8 million agricultural cooperatives in 2024 and approximately 40 million small to medium-sized business buyers by October 2023.
The chart below illustrates the scale and growth of primary agricultural product circulation in China:

Source: National Development and Reform Commission, Frost & Sullivan
The circulation of agricultural products in China faces several main challenges:
Asymmetry of market information. As digitalization of agricultural product supply chain in China is still at a low level, information asymmetry between the supply and demand ends of agricultural products is relatively common. This information asymmetry makes it difficult to efficiently and timely transmit downstream demand information to the supply side and vice versa, leading to mismatches between supply and demand and resulting in excess supply and unfulfilled demand. Agricultural products’ perishability and vulnerability to uncontrollable natural factors such as weather further exacerbate this issue, as supply of agricultural products could be unstable.
108
High cost due to multiple layers of circulation. The spatial separation of agricultural production and consumption areas in China has brought great challenges to the circulation of agricultural products. The need to go through multi-tier wholesalers, distributors and retailers before reaching consumers’ tables increases the cost of circulation. This dispersion leads to increased logistics expenditure, impacting the profitability of the supply side and increasing purchase costs for consumers. The chart below illustrates the typical circulation process for agricultural products in China:

Source: Frost & Sullivan
Diversified unmet needs across the long agricultural value chain. Agricultural value chain consists of various participants including agricultural production bases, agricultural cooperatives, wholesalers, agricultural product processers and downstream retailers, generating diversified demand for services to lower costs and improve profitability. Such services include plantation management, agricultural product branding and marketing, instant and accurate update of market information, among others.
The agricultural production and circulation in China face the following major trends and opportunities:
Favorable policies. Mainland China government has issued a series of favorable top-level policies to further promote the modernization of agriculture and the construction of supply chain of agricultural product, aiming to increase agricultural production efficiency, product quality and circulation efficiency.
Increasing penetration rate of internet and digital payment in rural areas. Facilitated by the expansion of mobile networks, improved public infrastructure and government initiatives to promote digital inclusion, the scale and penetration rate of internet usage in rural areas of China have improved significantly. By the end of 2024, the total number of mobile internet user in rural areas of China was approximately 314 million, up from 309 million in 2020. The growing user scale of mobile internet has also led to the popularity of digital payments in rural areas. The user scale of digital payment in rural areas of China is anticipated to reach 290 million in 2024.
Emergence of Agricultural B2B Platforms in China
Favorable policies and the advancement of new technologies such as mobile internet, e-commerce, and digital payments have been boosting the agriculture industry in China, promoting the emergence and development of agricultural B2B platforms in recent years.
Agricultural B2B platforms have become a crucial driving force for improving the circulation and transaction efficiency of agricultural products by providing an efficient online marketplace which directly connects agricultural product suppliers and business buyers such as wholesalers and restaurants. Such digital platforms can substantially increase transaction efficiency and lower the costs associated with supply chain by shortening product circulation chains, reduce intermediary costs and enhancing transparency of market information such as pricing and inventory. Agricultural B2B platforms also enable suppliers to expand their network coverage and customer base, and offer business buyers a much more diversified categories of agricultural products with real-time market information presentation. To further facilitate the process of agricultural product transaction and order fulfilment, agricultural B2B platforms also provide a set of value-added solutions based on the diversified demand, such as marketing, logistics monitoring and supply chain financing, among others, from various stakeholders.
Driven by the expanding scale of rural internet users, improvement of digital infrastructure and growing demand for fresh agricultural product amidst consumption upgrade, the transaction volume of agricultural B2B platforms has achieved substantial growth during the past several years. The total gross merchandise value (GMV) of agricultural B2B platforms in China amounted to RMB132.7 billion in 2024, representing a CAGR of 15.0% compared to the level in 2020. Going forward, driven by the increasing standardization of agricultural products, higher popularity of direct sourcing models and continued improvements of agricultural product circulation infrastructure such as the proliferation of cold-chain logistics facilities, the growth momentum of agricultural B2B platforms will remain strong. The total GMV of agricultural B2B platforms in China is expected to reach RMB284.2 billion in 2029, representing a CAGR of 17.5% from the expected level in 2024.
109
The chart below illustrates the total market size of agricultural B2B platforms in China by GMV:

Source: Frost & Sullivan
The development of agricultural B2B platforms in China is expected to be driven by the following opportunities:
Application of cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and AI. Blockchain technology will help to ensure the authenticity, traceability and security of agricultural products, and to establish a trust mechanism, and promote transaction and information transparency on platform. AI will further improve efficiency of agricultural B2B e-commerce platform. AI generated content, for example, will act as the highly efficient, accurate and trust-worthy virtual customer service to better serve millions of diversified requests generated per day in relation to information of supply and demand, pricing, transaction and logistics, among others.
Expanded coverage along the agricultural value chain and SKUs to better satisfy merchants’ needs. Expanding merchant base and changing consumption habit will generate more diversified demand for product offering on agricultural B2B e-commerce platform. For example, booming market demand for food production in China has put forward much higher requirements for supply chain efficiency, while agricultural B2B e-commerce platforms provide efficient solutions to streamline the food production supply chain, which in turn make food production one of the most important categories on such platforms in the future.
Growing popularity of live e-commerce. Agricultural product live e-commerce combines instant purchasing of a featured product and audience participation through mobile application’s merchant interface. Through the live streaming format, business buyers can see real-time displays and introduction of agricultural products, which increases their trust and desire to purchase.
110
Continual improvements of agricultural production bases. Improving agricultural production bases, road infrastructure, warehouses and cold-chain facilities is essential for enhancing the standardization and commercialization of primary agricultural products. These upgrades facilitate easier and cost-effective transportation, reduce post-harvest losses, promote product standardization, provide access to larger markets, increase economic viability, create a competitive advantage in global markets and improve supply chain efficiency, ultimately benefiting both producers and consumers while strengthening the agriculture sector’s contribution to the economy.
Core Services Provided by Agricultural B2B Platforms — Digital Agricultural Commerce and Diversified Solutions
An agricultural B2B platform typically provides services covering a comprehensive suite of digital solutions and services designed to facilitate the agricultural commerce ecosystem. They encompass digital agricultural commerce services, connecting sellers and buyers in the agriculture industry, as well as various value-added solutions such as modular product posting, merchant profile creation and transaction matching, among others. Additionally, agricultural B2B platforms offer agricultural product sales-assistance services, providing access to first-hand information for a diverse group of merchants. Such platforms also provide other digital agricultural solutions focused on supporting agricultural production bases. These solutions include consulting, brand promotion and digital agricultural training programs. They leverage proprietary digital agricultural systems and offer information, matching and brand promotion services with real-time market quotation analysis interfaces.
Along with the expanding transaction scale of agricultural B2B platforms, the total market size of agricultural B2B digital services in China reached RMB1,629.6 million in 2024, representing a CAGR of 54.5% from the level in 2020. Going forward, as agricultural B2B platforms actively develop more diversified and efficient digital tools and solutions, such as supply chain management systems, data analytics and marketing automation, they can help businesses further optimize the platforms’ operations, reduce costs, and improve their competitiveness. Creating higher value for users will result in higher user retention rates and increased willingness to pay for premium services. As a result, the total market size of agricultural B2B platform digital services is projected to reach RMB6,727.9 million in 2029, representing a CAGR of 36.7% from 2024 to 2029.
The chart below sets forth the market size of agricultural B2B platform digital service in China from 2020 to 2029:

Source: Frost & Sullivan
Note:
| (1) | Including digital agricultural commerce services and other digital agricultural solutions |
111
Key Success Factors
According to Frost & Sullivan, we are the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China, in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024.
Building a successful and large agricultural B2B platform in China is challenging due to the highly decentralized and diversified nature of the agriculture industry in China. Achieving and maintaining such status demand substantial long-term investment, the accumulation of operational expertise, ongoing technological refinement and the accumulation of latest trends in the industry over time. Key success factors of an agricultural B2B platform include:
Scale of economy and network effects. For agricultural B2B platforms, the growth of merchant base is self-reinforcing due to the network effect. The larger the network, the higher the values that a platform can create in terms of efficiency and optionality. It therefore forms a competitive moat.
Industry and operational know-how. Industry and operational know-how is important for identifying high-value merchants on the platforms and keeping them engaged, and is also critical for providing the most precise market information including pricing, supply and demand to both sellers and buyers, and thus can further improve service quality and merchant experience.
Application of cutting-edge technologies. Cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain, advanced algorithm and AI lead to higher transaction-matching efficiency and better understanding of various merchants’ needs.
Diversified and highly collaborative comprehensive service offerings. Platforms that can offer a comprehensive suite of products can enhance merchant stickiness. For example, an agricultural product seller would prefer a platform that can cover their product selling, branding, marketing, and logistics monitoring needs.
Word-of-mouth effect and merchant mindshare. By offering high-quality services to merchants and addressing their pain points, a platform can enhance its brand recognition and mindshare among merchants. It translates into wallet share gain on existing merchants and word-of-mouth referral for new merchant acquisition with minimal selling and marketing spending.
112
Overview
Our Mission
Our mission is to make every acre of farmland more valuable via technology and industry know-how.
Who We Are
We are the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024, according to the F&S Report. We believe technology plays a critical role in agriculture, contributing to increased productivity of the industry. Over a decade, we have been dedicated to digitalizing China’s agricultural product supply chain infrastructure to streamline the agricultural product transaction process, making it efficient, transparent, secure, and convenient. Riding on the wave of agri-tech upgrade and leveraging our profound industry experience and accumulated market insights, we provide a comprehensive set of digital solutions to facilitate agricultural product transactions, ranging from searching, matching, to transaction facilitation and settlement. Additionally, leveraging our industry experience and market insights, we have ventured into the realm of smart farming and agricultural sourcing and trading, further broadening our commercialization channels and animating our other business lines.
We pride ourselves as the go-to platform for merchants by leveraging our innovative technology and industry know-how. Technological capabilities run in our genes ever since we commenced our operations. Our proprietary agricultural algorithm, being accurate and efficient to sort out matching problems amongst buyers, sellers and massive SKUs, processes terabytes of information daily. Leveraging such insights, we are able to constantly improve accuracy in transaction matching and facilitate our decision-making in conducting our new business venture including agricultural trading and sourcing and smart farming. We continue to pioneer innovation in the industry through expanding into broader areas of AI-powered applications to enhance merchants’ experience and streamline operations. For example, we utilize natural language processing technologies adapted from open-source models to enhance the efficiency of collecting supply information from sellers, which elevates user experience on our platform. We are also developing an AI-powered customer service system, which leverages the capabilities of third-party large language model. This model is instrumental in promptly acquiring insights into merchant demand through chat interactions, thereby enhancing our efficiency in transaction matching. Our insightful, accurate and up-to-date market quotation database, being the other building block of our success formula, is backed by our dedicated R&D team. About 63% of our R&D personnel were senior engineers with over 5 years of work experience as of June 30, 2025. Our large number of daily active merchants, acting with diverse characteristics and online behaviors, provide daily feedback and response in real time, which allows us to continually enrich the quotation database, extend the depth and breadth of our knowledge graph, amass the collective intelligence, and harness the power of technology.
We have achieved at-scale commercialization and have a track record of proven success. Our platform had over 40 million merchants as of June 30, 2025. In 2024, our platform facilitated approximately 147 million searches, 583 million calls and instant messages, and over 187 million potential transactions. In the six months ended June 30, 2025, our platform facilitated approximately 53 million searches, 313 million calls and instant messages, and over 118 million potential transactions. As of June 30, 2025, the merchants presented approximately 21 million SKUs on our platform. Building upon our experience in transaction matching since our inception, we connected over 770,000 sellers and over 6 million buyers in 2024 in the agricultural product supply chain with precise, dynamic and up-to-date information related to agricultural product transactions. We connected over 430,000 sellers and approximately 3 million buyers in the six months ended June 30, 2025. We further elevate merchant experiences with a full spectrum of services in advertising and client contact privilege by providing the merchants with a suite of online tools. As of June 30, 2025, our geographic footprint covered over 340 cities and 2,800 counties, representing over 65% of the primary and secondary agricultural wholesale markets in mainland China. We further entered into the agricultural sourcing and trading business in 2024, broadening procurement channels and sales channels for regional buyers and local agricultural producers and processors, respectively, and facilitating sales with reliable, real-time market information and consistent quality and timely deliveries, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain and leading to increased repeat purchases. As of the date of this prospectus, we have established 12 offline stores in mainland China to trade agricultural products at cultivation and production sites with sellers and buyers.
113
The success of our business is underpinned by the following main business lines:

Note:
| (1) | According to the F&S Report. |
| ● | Digital Agricultural Commerce Services. Our digital agricultural commerce services are mainly offered via Yimutian App, complemented by sales-assistance services offered via Douniu App. Launched in 2015, Yimutian App is a versatile, merchant-friendly B2B e-commerce platform designated for sellers from agricultural production bases or factories and buyers scattered in the country. With distinct functions, Yimutian App is the front line of our online traffic attraction to facilitate modular product posting, portray merchant profiles and distribute information to complete the transaction matching. To complement the agricultural e-commerce business and address the downstream need of agricultural product transaction on the wholesale level, we offer agricultural product sales-assistance services which connect sellers with wholesale stallholders via Douniu App. It complements Yimutian App with first-hand market information from the offline transactions and refines our omni-channel in reaching the great majority of fragmented merchants groups. We mainly monetize our digital agricultural commerce services through membership services, value-added services and transaction services. |
| ● | Agricultural Sourcing and Trading Services. In 2024, we launched a new business venture — agricultural sourcing and trading — to penetrate deeper in the supply chain under the brand name “Wolaicai,” which phonetically resembles “I purchase for you” in Chinese. Through the agricultural sourcing and training business, we position ourselves as brokers of agricultural products and directly make the deal and procure agricultural products from cultivation and production sites for buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain. Our value proposition for this business line is to provide consistently high quality pre-sale and post-sale services for buyers of agricultural products. We primarily monetize this business by completing transactions with buyers and sellers through our sales representatives at offline stores. |
114
| ● | Smart Farming. Drawing on knowledge and resources we accumulated from years of providing digital agricultural commerce services, we launched our smart farming business in 2023 through collaboration with local business partners to selectively cultivate produce based on market demand. We strategically select produce that are cultivated in limited regions during a short window of the year but with strong economic potential, and strategically plant these produce in production region and during cultivation season that complement its original production region and cultivation season. After successful trial planting of a selected produce, we commence large-scale production applying innovative cultivation technologies and subsequently promote and sell these products to agricultural buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities, wholesalers and merchants online and offline through our digital agricultural commerce services. As our agricultural sourcing and trading services continue to scale, new business opportunities from the demand side on Yimutian App or from wholesale markets are expected to further propel growth of our smart farming business. We believe that our innovative cultivation strategy based on our industry insights and propelled by our newly launched agricultural sourcing and trading services can effectively diversify the production areas and timing of a specific produce and enable us to stagger production and market availability, filling the market gap left by the decline of specific produce varieties in their original production regions after their production season ends, ultimately achieving a continual supply of agricultural products throughout the year. We mainly monetize our smart farming business through sales of the agricultural products. |
| ● | Other Digital Agricultural Solutions. Agricultural production bases are vital to our business, which incentivizes us to further penetrate into localized service suites with other digital agricultural solutions. We started helping scalable agricultural production bases focusing on individual agricultural products in 2019 through consulting, brand promotion and digital agricultural training programs. Leveraging our proprietary digital agricultural system, we mainly monetize through providing information and offering brand promotion services with interface of real-time market quotation analysis. |
Our business lines are deeply interconnected and together solidify our leadership position in the agricultural B2B industry. Our digital agricultural commerce services represent where we start our business and are designed to serve sellers of agricultural products, including farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives, food processing manufacturers and merchants, and business buyers, such as restaurants and grocery stores, who trade agricultural products directly from the respective agricultural production bases. To serve sellers and buyers on a wholesale level, we also offer agricultural product sales-assistance services which connect sellers with wholesale stallholders to complement our digital agricultural commerce services. Our platform therefore seamlessly combines online and offline scenarios for transactions of agricultural products and is able to reach all types of participants in the supply chain.
Drawing on our extensive experience in the industry and the valuable market insights we have accumulated into agricultural commerce, along with the vast amount of data we have gathered on industry participants, user behavior, and transaction matching, we have expanded our offerings to include other digital agricultural solutions. These solutions cater to merchants seeking in-depth market information and brand promotion services. Our proprietary digital agricultural solution platform, which is purposefully built to analyze current market dynamics, presents accurate price predictions, generates detailed reports on pricing and circulation of agricultural products from farmland to various marketplaces, showcasing our data analytics and overall technology capabilities. By conducting in-depth analyses of price trends, nationwide circulation of agricultural products, and merchant behavior, we are well-positioned to enhance our services and deliver better customized recommendations to merchants on our platform, which will in turn improve merchant loyalty and enable us to gain deeper insights into the circulation of agricultural products, creating a flywheel effect.
As we have accumulated valuable knowledge, information and industry know-how on agricultural product categories, production region, market information, upstream and downstream sales cycle, and supply and procurement trends, as well as fostered deep relationships with various upstream and downstream participants in the agricultural product supply chain through years of operations of our digital agricultural commerce services via Yimutian App, we launched smart farming business in 2023 through collaboration with local business partners to selectively cultivate produce bases on market demand, in order to diversify our monetization channels and capture new growth opportunities. As the business was in the trial-and-error stage, revenue generated from smart farming was immaterial in 2023. Our involvement in smart farming has provided us with valuable insights into the upstream agricultural product supply chain. These insights have been instrumental in identifying potential monetization channels that we plan to explore and develop in the future.
115
In addition, we recognize that online e-commerce platforms face inherent limitations in fully encompassing the entire agricultural product supply chain, as wholesale-level transactions frequently occur offline. The offline agricultural product market is characterized by a dynamic environment, with fluctuating market conditions and a complex transaction process that includes receipt, inspection, sorting, packing, and logistics. Furthermore, the market is often challenged by non-transparent pricing, lack of product standardization, variable supplier fulfillment capabilities and a general lack of post-sale services. These factors have contributed to a growing market demand for standardized transaction services that offer transparent pricing and reliable and quality pre-sale and post-sale support. In response to these challenges, and by leveraging our deep insights into the agricultural product supply chain as well as our extensive network of buyers and sellers, we entered the agricultural sourcing and trading business in 2024, broadening procurement channels and sales channels for regional buyers and local agricultural producers and processors, respectively, and facilitating sales with reliable, real-time market information and consistent quality and timely deliveries, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain and leading to increased repeat purchases. This reliability is crucial for maintaining a strong buyer base on the Yimutian App. Our smart farming business could also leverage the success of our agricultural sourcing and trading business to further integrate the supply chain. By ensuring quality and other specifications of products at production sites, we can offer consistently high-quality products to buyers. This integration reduces supply chain disruptions and enhances the overall efficiency of our business.
Our comprehensive services have positioned us as a platform that encompasses the full spectrum of agricultural supply chains, delivering significant values to both sellers and buyers. With our suite of offerings, a typical business flow begins with the strategic selection of produce that currently have single production region and single cultivation season but with strong economic potential, and strategically planting these produce in production region and during cultivation season that complement its original production region and cultivation season. After successful large-scale production of the produce through our smart farming business or by other agricultural producers, we may connect with and sell the produce through our agricultural sourcing and trading business to buyers with regional or large-scale procurement capacities who indicate interests to procure products online via our Apps or offline at wholesale markets. Meanwhile, our digital agricultural commerce services and other digital agricultural solutions can be further iterated and enhanced through our collection of first-hand account of transaction data and behaviors from our smart farming and agricultural trading and sourcing business.

Through our dedication in the past decade, we have achieved widespread market acceptance evidenced by our high merchant stickiness and top-line growth. We typically attract and accumulate paying merchants through value-added services, such as advertising service, offered on our platform. As some merchants achieve higher sales of products through utilizing such value-added services on our platform, they tend to subscribe for membership of our flagship product which provides a suite of online tools to further help merchants boost their sales, such as hosting premium storefronts on our platform. The paying merchants of our flagship product, who mainly receive our services on an annual basis, on average spent approximately RMB5,243 (US$723) in 2024. Such paying merchants on average spent approximately RMB5,248 in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB5,896 (US$823) in the six months ended June 30, 2025. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations — Our ability to improve and expand service offerings” for details. We recorded total revenues of RMB187.5 million in 2023 and RMB161.3 million (US$22.2 million) in 2024. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, our total revenues reached RMB80.9 million and RMB66.4 million (US$9.3 million), respectively. Industry tailwind in digitalization of infrastructure, such as the rapid deployment of 5G communication networks and growing penetration of digital payment systems in rural areas of China as well as the adoption of advanced digital technologies in the agricultural sector, facilitates the traceability of agricultural products and enhances the distribution efficiency of agricultural products, thereby laying the foundation for the operation and growth of our agricultural B2B platform. As we are still in the early stage of monetization, given our broad merchant base, we are poised for growth across multiple new monetization channels and through value-added services throughout the supply chain of agricultural products. We incurred net losses of RMB105.6 million and RMB34.9 million (US$4.8 million) in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, we recorded net losses of RMB17.4 million and RMB14.9 million (US$2.1 million), respectively.
116
Market Opportunities
Feeding over 1.4 billion population scattered in 9.6 million square kilometers has never been easy. Information asymmetry and low cost efficiency due to the multi-layer and vertical structure of agriculture products circulation have long been the transaction paradigm in mainland China. Agricultural B2B e-commerce platforms are born to address these pain points by connecting industry stakeholders and offering seamless experience via omni-channels, providing one-stop solutions from searching, matching and transacting, to transportation facilitation and settlement. In recent years, this industry has grown quickly driven by rapid technological developments. According to the F&S Report, the overall size of China’s agricultural B2B e-commerce platform reached approximately RMB132.7 billion in 2024, and is expected to grow to RMB284.2 billion in 2029, representing a CAGR of 17.5% from 2025 to 2029. On top of that, agricultural B2B platform digital service market is also experiencing stellar growth due to increasing popularity of centralized scale production and advancement of technologies. It reached a total market size of RMB1,629.6 million in 2024 with a 5-year CAGR of 36.7% from 2025 to 2029, according to the F&S Report. We believe that our overall leading position in the industry, in particular, our strengths in technological capabilities and market insights, make us well-positioned to benefit from the significant growth opportunities.
Our Strengths
We believe our success is primarily attributable to the following key competitive strengths:
Agricultural B2B platform leader
We are the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China, in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024, according to the F&S Report. Our platform had over 40 million merchants as of June 30, 2025. In 2024, our platform facilitated approximately 147 million searches, 583 million calls and instant messages, and over 187 million potential transactions. In the six months ended June 30, 2025, our platform facilitated approximately 53 million searches, 313 million calls and instant messages, and over 118 million potential transactions. As of June 30, 2025, the merchants presented approximately 21 million SKUs on our platform. As of the same date, our geographic footprints covered over 340 cities and 2,800 counties, representing over 65% of the primary and secondary agricultural wholesale markets in mainland China. Leveraging the network coverage, we bridge demand and supply for those merchants scattered across vast geography and provide them with a full spectrum of services from transaction matching to proceeds settlement. This led to our accumulating 3 million newly registered merchants on our platform throughout 2024. The paying merchants of our flagship product, who mainly receive our services on an annual basis, on average spent RMB5,243 (US$723) in 2024. Such paying merchants on average spent approximately RMB5,248 in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and RMB5,896 (US$823) in the six months ended June 30, 2025.
Over the 14 years since our founding, we have garnered widespread recognition and brand awareness in the agricultural B2B industry, as evidenced by our strong brand loyalty and merchant stickiness. In 2024 and in the six months ended June 30, 2025, over 44% of new merchants on our platform were attracted organically by word-of-mouth. This has not only validated our position in the market but also significantly optimized our operational efficiencies. Our strategic focus on organic growth has yielded substantial cost savings. In 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, our average merchant acquisition cost was RMB8.15 and RMB7.27, respectively, enabling us to achieve economies of scale.
117
Pioneer in China’s agricultural product supply chain
We have been in the forefront of innovation of agricultural commerce business, continually expanding and evolving our offerings. Initially, we reshaped the transaction process by moving it from offline, manual operations to online omni-channels. This allowed us to serve various transaction scenarios effectively. Over time, we have extended our services beyond merely connecting buyers and sellers. We now offer comprehensive services to participants throughout the supply chain of agricultural products, expanding our focus from the midstream to cover both upstream process including planting and downstream process such as wholesale.
Before the introduction of our Yimutian App and digital agricultural commerce services, traditional agricultural B2B transaction paradigm suffered from inefficiencies stemming from two main issues: information asymmetry and low cost efficiency. The multi-layered and vertical structure of agricultural transactions and information flow limited access to real-time demand and supply. Addressing these challenges, we adopted a systematic approach to streamline the transaction process and improve overall efficiency.
In response to the industry pain points, we initially focused on transaction matching, transforming it from an offline, trial-and-error process to a fast and efficient online omni-channel experience. Through such transition, we have significantly reduced the time required for transactions, while still maintaining the valuable firsthand information we gather offline. Industry tailwind in 2018 further fueled the digitalization of agricultural product transactions, prompting us to expand our services, such as various value-added advertising and contact privilege services via a suite of online tools. This further enhances merchants’ experience as we are not only fulfilling their needs but also stimulating potential demands that merchants themselves might not be aware of. Building upon the momentum of the agri-tech industry and leveraging our expertise and resources, we have further expanded our service offerings and tapped into the smart farming and agricultural sourcing and trading businesses through collaboration with local business partners and recruiting sales representatives around cultivation and production sites to capture new business opportunities. This comprehensive approach allows us to cater to the entire agricultural product supply chain, providing a wide variety of services to all stakeholders. We remain unwavering in our quest for innovation and continue to seek new growth opportunities in collaboration with our valued stakeholders.
Superior and versatile technology capabilities
Technology has been the cornerstone of our business since our inception. Our proprietary agricultural algorithm processes terabytes of information daily and is accurate and efficient to sort out matching problems amongst buyers, sellers and a vast range of SKUs, according to the F&S Report. Our robust data processing enables us to excel in traffic attraction and merchant engagement. We utilize Content Recommendation Engines (CRE) to tailor visual and textual content based on a merchant’s profile, compiled using comprehensive Software Development Kit tools. In addition, we deploy voice call robots that utilize technologies including Automatic Speech Recognition, Neural Text To Speech (Neural TTS) and Natural Language Understanding. The integration of various frontier technologies allows our sales robots to instantly grasp merchants’ needs and provide them with optimal solutions. The efficacy of our sales robots is evidenced by their 14 million outbound calls in 2024 and approximately 3 million outbound calls in the six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively.
Our technology infrastructure is purposely built to be modular, allowing for seamless upgrades and maintenance. We further stabilize our operations through multi-cloud server architectures and automate local deployment processes. We are also investing in advanced AI capabilities to further enrich our suite of offerings, with plans for features such as digital human interfaces.
We place great emphasis on our research and development team, the leanest but most quality one of our industry, according to the F&S Report. The team is led by industry veterans with years of experience working with internet giants and who have developed profound insights in technology adoption in the agricultural B2B industry. Approximately 63% of our R&D employees are senior engineers with over 5 years of work experience as of June 30, 2025.
118
Comprehensive knowledge graph and deep industry know-how
We have been constructing our dynamic quotation database since day one. The database encompasses a wide array of quotation details, including place of production, annual launch date and price change history of different agricultural products. Our diverse and extensive merchant base, which has expanded from only brokers to farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives and food processing manufacturers, has also significantly contributed to our database. The rich data we have accumulated feeds into our intricate knowledge graph. This graph not only connects sellers and buyers but also powers our localized, tailored product offerings. It serves as the backbone of our service, enabling us to present optimal options to our merchants instantly, at the touch of a button. We believe our knowledge graph and industry insights also provide a solid foundation for our future initiatives.
Visionary management team
We have assembled a management team of technology veterans with industry leading know-how on the agriculture industry and agricultural product transactions. Mr. Jinhong Deng, our founder and Chief Executive Officer, is a pioneer in the “internet plus agriculture” industry with over 15 years of experience. In 2009, Mr. Deng led the largest rural informationization project in China, which aimed to increase the availability of rural information on the internet. As a result, over 300,000 rural areas and a significant number of agricultural products from these areas became searchable and accessible through the internet, and farmers began to learn about and engage in online transactions for agricultural products. Through this endeavor, Mr. Deng recognized the immense development potential with the rural market in China and his early initiatives laid the foundation for our current agricultural B2B platform, which was founded based on his deep understanding of the industry and commitment to driving digital transformation in rural areas.
Our management team has demonstrated strong execution capabilities to develop and implement business strategies that have led to our current success. Over the past decade, our business has transformed from a platform that offered information and matching services to a platform that encompasses the entire supply chain of the agriculture industry and provides services through both online and offline channels. With our management team’s relentless pursuit in making every acre of land more valuable, we continue to build up our technology capabilities, develop rural agricultural infrastructure and propel the digitalization of the agriculture industry.
Strategies
To further solidify our market leadership, we intend to pursue the following strategies.
Reinforce our market leadership position in the agricultural B2B industry
As we chart our path forward, we plan to reinforce our market leadership position by improving and expanding our services online and offline and attracting more and loyal merchants.
We plan to continually upgrade and optimize our services, such as refining our comprehensive value-added services, launching data-driven robot customer service, and providing merchants with more diversified online and offline marketing tools. By continually updating and iterating our services, we aim to achieve more accurate recommendation and matching functions for sellers and buyers, bring merchants a better and more efficient transacting experience, and therefore improve the retention rate.
We intend to expand our reach both online and offline. This involves growing our Douniu App business through establishing connections with more stalls at wholesale markets and expansion of the SKUs available on the Douniu App to include frozen foods and other food products. We are also looking to attract more sellers of agricultural products at the agricultural production bases to our platform and broaden our newly launched agricultural sourcing and trading business and our e-commerce services. For example, we plan to provide category operation, merchant operation, and buyer operation services, and set up performance-based fulfillment mechanisms for small and medium-sized businesses that can provide standardized online transacting and fulfillment services, such as restaurants, supermarkets, factories, and agricultural commerce companies.
119
To attract more merchants to our platform, we plan to strengthen our brand awareness through a combination of online and offline marketing channels, such as increasing online advertising, providing offline services for production and sales sites, conducting more offline training and conferences. We plan to convert non-paying merchants into paying merchants that subscribe for our membership services, and purchase value-added services on Yimutian App or sales-assistance services on Douniu App through online and offline marketing and showcasing the efficacy of using such services. We also expect to introduce new features and services through identifying merchants’ unmet needs to retain existing paying merchants and attract new paying merchants. We plan to leverage upselling and cross-selling techniques, such as promoting value-added services or Douniu App membership services to members of the Yimutian App, to maximize revenue from our existing merchant base.
Further expand our innovative businesses
We plan to increase investment in innovative businesses, diversify our revenue streams and improve our monetization capabilities. We focus on key sectors such as agricultural sourcing and trading and smart farming to not only increase our revenue diversity but also to solidify merchant loyalty to our platform, enhancing our influence throughout the supply chain of the agricultural B2B industry.
For growing agricultural sourcing and trading services under the brand name of “Wolaicai”, we are developing a comprehensive market expansion strategy through continuous offline field research and online data and information analysis. As part of this strategy, we plan to initially establish offline stores in selected county areas to capture the market share of local agricultural supply, thereby forming a first mover advantage. Building on this foundation, we expect to further expand the number of stores or convert local merchants to join our franchise network, with the goal of establishing market dominance. More specifically, as a first step, we plan to focus on several key areas to enhance market presence and operational efficiency. First, we aim to expand our team of sales representatives, increasing the number of well-trained people who can manage procurement at cultivation and production sites. This expansion is crucial for scaling our operations and meeting the growing demand from buyers. To support this, we plan to invest in robust recruitment and training programs to ensure new hires are well-equipped to handle the complexities of agricultural sourcing. Second, we plan to leverage our extensive data from the Yimutian App to identify emerging market trends and buyer preferences, allowing for more targeted and efficient sourcing. By understanding the specific needs of buyers, we can optimize the procurement process and offer competitive pricing under our agricultural sourcing and trading business. Additionally, we are focusing on building strong relationships with production sites, securing long-term contracts that guarantee a stable supply of high-quality products. This stability is essential for maintaining buyer trust and ensuring consistent fulfillment of orders. Lastly, we are exploring technological advancements, such as digital invoicing and traceable payment systems, to streamline operations and enhance transparency.
We believe Wolaicai will play a crucial role in our overall business growth by leveraging its extensive network of sales representatives and robust procurement capabilities to ensure steady demand for our smart farming products. The data and market insights from Wolaicai will inform our smart farming strategies, allowing us to prioritize on high-demand SKUs and optimize production processes. We plan to expand smart farming to cover more SKUs, refine farming practices through technological integration, and diversify the business model from direct operation to a mix of direct operation and franchising. This synergy between Wolaicai and smart farming is expected to create a powerful growth engine, ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality products, meeting market demand efficiently, and driving sustainable revenue growth.
Continue to invest in infrastructure development and technology innovation
To sustain and broaden our leadership in the agricultural B2B industry, investing in digital infrastructure and technological innovation is central to our strategy. Our focus extends from enhancing user experiences to advancing our proprietary algorithms and data models, all tailored to the specific demands of this sector.
We aim to develop an agile, secure, and scalable digital infrastructure that empowers merchants at every stage of the agricultural product supply chain. Our objective is to refine tech-driven online tools that provide merchants intelligent and accurate matching services along with enhanced sales and marketing functionalities. This will allow for a seamless, secure and efficient transaction experience, cementing our reputation as the go-to platform for high-quality agricultural products.
We plan to further enhance our data analysis and application capabilities, improve the knowledge graph for the agricultural products industry, and optimize our data models bespoke to this industry. We aim to create more applications based on big data analysis, cloud computing, and other advanced technologies to facilitation the efficient circulation of agricultural products. In line with this, we expect to continue to upgrade our existing big data analysis platform to better support the digitization of the entire agricultural product supply chain in mainland China, from planting and distribution to sales.
120
To propel our innovation, we plan to strengthen our research and development capabilities by top-tier talent in software engineering and data science, among other cutting-edge technologies. These investments will not only aid in optimizing current operations but will also pave the way for future innovations, securing our foothold as a market leader in the agricultural B2B industry.
Selectively pursue strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions
We plan to selectively pursue strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions to explore synergetic effects, aiming to foster synergies and further advance our operations. This targeted approach will not only broaden our portfolio of services but also enhance our capabilities in management. Ultimately, we expect to enrich our business landscape to reinforce our leading position in mainland China’s agricultural B2B industry. As of the date of this prospectus, we had not identified any target for investment or acquisition.
Our Business Model
Our journey in the agricultural B2B industry began with a platform for information and matching services via Yimutian App. The evolution of the agriculture industry propelled by government policies, the permeability of online services and the changing composition and behavior of the participants in the agriculture industry provided us with numerous opportunities. Driven by our mission to make every acre of farmland more valuable and harnessing the rising opportunities in the agriculture industry, we have upgraded our business model and successfully built the largest agricultural B2B platform in mainland China in terms of monthly active merchants in 2024, according to the F&S Report.
In facilitating transactions of agricultural products, we have the following main lines of business: (i) digital agricultural commerce services for efficient circulation of agricultural products, which are mainly offered via the Yimutian App, a versatile, merchant-friendly B2B e-commerce platform, complemented with offline, sales-assistance services via Douniu App, a platform matching offline transactions of agricultural products between sellers and wholesale buyers, (ii) agricultural sourcing and trading services that focus on reliable transaction services with sellers at cultivation and production sites and buyers with unmet or underserved demand, (iii) smart farming business, where we selectively cultivate produce based on our industry insights and (iv) other digital agricultural solutions, which primarily entail consulting, brand promotion and digital agricultural training programs. Our platform had over 40 million merchants as of June 30, 2025. In 2024, our platform facilitated approximately 147 million searches, 583 million calls and instant messages, and over 187 million potential transactions. In the six months ended June 30, 2025, our platform facilitated approximately 53 million searches, 313 million calls and instant messages, and over 118 million potential transactions. As of June 30, 2025, the merchants presented approximately 21 million SKUs on our platform. As of the same date, our geographic footprints covered over 340 cities and 2,800 counties, representing over 65% of the primary and secondary agricultural wholesale markets in mainland China. As of the date of this prospectus, we have established 12 offline stores in mainland China to trade agricultural products at cultivation and production sites with sellers and buyers.
Value We Bring to Merchants
Our agricultural B2B platform serves various participants in the agricultural product supply chain comprising both sellers and buyers of agricultural products. The seller side primarily includes farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives, food processing manufacturers and brokers, while the buyer side mainly includes business buyers such as wholesale buyers, restaurants and grocery stores. We act as a bridge that connects sellers and buyers in the agricultural product supply chain by providing them with a full spectrum of services, from presentation of productions and marketing information, product standardization, marketing, researching and matching of agricultural supply and demand, to coordinating transportation of products and settling sales proceeds, in order to resolve information asymmetry, facilitate agricultural product transactions and maximize transaction efficiency.
With our purpose-built technology solutions and extensive industry insights, we are poised to enhance efficiency in the circulation of agricultural products. We strive to achieve a virtuous cycle through offering quality services to industry participants throughout the agricultural product supply chain and further honing our expertise in the agricultural B2B industry leveraging our data insights, thereby providing more personalized and satisfactory services to merchants and solidifying our market leading position.
121
Value to sellers of agricultural products
We deliver benefits to sellers of agricultural products, including farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives, food processing manufacturers and brokers of agricultural products, in the following ways:
| ● | Nationwide agricultural product circulation network. Our platform provides sellers of agricultural products with a broad and diverse agricultural product circulation network on a nationwide basis and connects them with numerous buyers in various locations. |
| ● | Transparent and real-time information. Real-time information on supply, demand and pricing makes agricultural product transactions transparent and helps farmers maximize their economic interests. The insightful knowledge graph empowers sellers to timely identify the most suitable markets with the highest demand and best prices of agricultural products, especially with respect to crops that are harvested only during a particular season of the year. Therefore, sellers can complete transactions promptly and at competitive prices, reducing the risk of losses in situations where the agricultural products begin to perish due to prolonged selling window and potentially increasing sellers’ financial returns. |
| ● | Valuable sales and marketing services. We offer sales and marketing services via a suite of online tools, among others, which enable sellers to effectively promote their products targeting buyers with such demand via online chats, among other channels, saving a substantial amount of time and resources during the agricultural product transaction process. |
| ● | Secure and reliable transaction process. Our platform offers a secure and reliable payment settlement process to ensure sellers are paid promptly after the sale of their products. |
Value to buyers of agricultural products and stallholders
We collaborate with and support stallholders at wholesale markets to address the needs of business buyers. We deliver benefits to business buyers and stallholders in the following ways:
| ● | Optimal and stable buying options. Capitalizing on our industry insights, our platform presents stallholders and business buyers price quotation and other market information on numerous agricultural products, allowing them to compare prices and purchase the exact products that they need. Moreover, business buyers, including restaurants and grocery stores, can timely secure alternative supply channels should they suffer from temporary or permanent supply shortage. |
| ● | Product standardization guidelines. With our profound insights into local wholesale markets, we have established guidelines for classification of agricultural products, which we adopt to guide sellers during the cultivation stage, so that the agricultural products they sell will meet the standards prescribed by local wholesale markets. As such, stallholders and business buyers can easily procure agricultural products that meet their specifications. |
| ● | Disintermediation and transparency. Our platform effectively reduces vertical layers of intermediaries throughout the industry chain by connecting sellers and buyers of agricultural products via the platform, and in turn reduces the costs in relation to the circulation of agricultural products, such as commission fees traditionally paid to intermediaries and communication costs spent to physically visit different wholesale markets to identify the best prices. |
| ● | Payment security. Our platform not only provides convenience to buyers as they are not required to physically examine the agricultural products on sale, but also ensures security of payments after-sale by releasing the payment only upon buyers’ confirmation of receipt and satisfaction of the products they ordered. |
122
Digital Agricultural Commerce Services
Our digital agricultural commerce services are mainly offered via Yimutian App, complemented by Douniu App. Yimutian App is a versatile, merchant-friendly e-commerce B2B platform designated to connect and match sellers and business buyers to conveniently trade agricultural products. To sellers, Yimutian App provides them with a platform to advertise their products to millions of potential buyers through social commerce and interface displaying detailed product descriptions and a secure payment system for them to receive proceeds from sales. To business buyers, Yimutian App offers them a communication channel to express their needs for products and the relevant specifications, and a sustainable procurement channel that helps them access agricultural products of high quality at affordable prices. Equipped with market insights on agricultural product supply and demand accumulated over a decade, Yimutian App has become a digital foundational tool to our company, building upon which we have further expanded our business throughout the agricultural product supply chain. To complement the agricultural e-commerce business and address the need of agricultural product transaction on the wholesale level, we offer agricultural product sales-assistance services via Douniu App. Douniu App focuses on facilitating offline transactions and circulation of agricultural products that are typically perishable and are sold on a per-truck basis from their agricultural production bases to wholesale markets. Through Douniu App, sellers of agricultural products are able to conveniently find stalls at wholesale markets to sell their products. On the other hand, stallholders, who receive first-hand information of buyers’ demand and serve as the intermediary channel for wholesale-level distribution, can promptly publicize unfulfilled market demand for certain types of agricultural products on Douniu App. As of June 30, 2025, we had facilitated efficient circulation of agricultural products on the wholesale level with a broad geographic reach covering 70 cities and more than 11,000 stalls in mainland China. In addition, sellers and buyers can also carry out entirely online transactions on our platform for certain types of agricultural products.
In particular, our digital agricultural commerce services mainly benefit sellers of agricultural products and business buyers in the following ways:

Information presentation. Our platform presents to sellers of agricultural products a wide array of market information and broader sales channels. To address information asymmetry in the agricultural product circulation process, we draw on our analytics capabilities and our on-site staff’s effort to collect information on the circulation of agricultural products from their respective cultivation sites to different marketplaces, and on the prices of agricultural products at stalls of different regional wholesale markets. We present sellers a panoramic view via our Apps on the circulation of the types of agricultural products that they intend to sell, so that they are well-informed to make important business decisions on where to sell, among others, which largely determine the return of their hard work in the past several months.
Direct purchase channel. Yimutian App is distinct from a traditional e-commerce platform, through which buyers are rarely provided the opportunity to express their preferences before placing an order. In addition to enabling sellers to efficiently sell agricultural products, Yimutian App adopts a direct purchase channel, empowering business buyers to post their demand and specifications for a particular agricultural product so that interested sellers could directly reach out to such buyers and deliver goods that meet their specific needs.
123
Targeted sales and marketing services. From the seller side, sellers can establish their online presence, and promote and sell products directly to interested buyers online. We offer sellers multiple marketing options, including membership programs and value-added services for brand and product promotion, for which we charge membership fees and value-added services fees, at different price points in order to meet their various marketing needs and budgets. With our large buyer base and data insights into product review and rating, we help sellers who offer agricultural products of exceptional quality build up their online presence and thereby gain online traffic. From the buyer side, we have built advanced algorithms into the Apps that we offer to optimize product selection for business buyers. Leveraging our profound insights into buyers’ preferences, which we accumulated in the past 14 years of operation, we train our algorithms to be capable of making accurate personalized recommendations to business buyers, which serve as an effective targeted marketing tool for us to attract and retain business buyers. We also collaborate with stallholders at wholesale markets allowing them to use our Apps and broaden their communication channels to sellers of agricultural products.
Sales-assistance services. Subject to the need of sellers, we provide sales-assistance services to sellers who wish to save time and efforts in traveling long distance for the sale of agricultural products at wholesale markets by connecting them with wholesale stallholders and charge them transaction-based service fees.
Product standardization guidelines. The acceptance criteria for a particular type of agricultural product varies at wholesale markets of different regions in terms of size, shape, packaging and others. For example, stallholders in Beijing Xinfadi wholesale market might require paper packaging for agricultural products, while stallholders at wholesale markets in Shanghai typically prefer plastic packaging. Such difference is primarily due to local preferences of business buyers. We collect and present information on grading and standardization of agricultural products to sellers of agricultural products to save their cost for manually collecting market information and reduce the risks of their products being rejected by local markets. Our offline team regularly visits stalls at different wholesale markets, records and reports the specific requirements for agricultural products from business buyers in different regions of mainland China. Capitalizing on our industry insights accumulated from both online and offline operations, we present refined information to sellers of agricultural products either via an interactive user interface of our Apps or by our product specialists in person.
Transportation information. Sellers of agricultural products can receive dispatch and pickup services through our nationwide truck drivers’ network, specifically, by connecting a large number of truck drivers who publish information about the transportation services they offer on our platform with sellers in need. Traditionally, it takes time for sellers of agricultural products to establish long-term relationship with reliable truck drivers to transport their products to wholesale markets. The parties on both sides of the transaction are often unsophisticated in setting up the terms of service and end up suffering from losses when the drivers fail to deliver perishable products before market closes regardless of contribution of fault. Sellers can save the cost to find quality truck drivers through the logistics services provided by third parties available on our platform. Sellers can be rest assured that their products are promptly delivered to wholesale markets. Additionally, truck drivers that engage with our platform are benefited from receiving prompt payment, as delivery fees are typically paid around 48 hours upon delivery, as opposed to payment upon completion of sale under the conventional transaction model, which usually takes approximately a week.
Transaction security. A major challenge in e-commerce transactions is that the quality of products may not meet the buyers’ expectations upon delivery. The challenge is more prominent for agricultural products because they are typically perishable and product returns make them more likely to become unsaleable, and they are often sold in large quantities via our platform. To address such challenges, our platform is designed to allow business buyers on our platform to make specific requirements about the quality, quantity and other criteria of the products they need to align the buyers’ and sellers’ expectations in advance to enable more successful transactions. To enhance the overall transaction security of buyers who transact online through our platform, buyers’ payments will not be released until they confirm satisfactory receipt of the products purchased, and we also provide prompt after-sales customer service support in the event they receive products with material defects. In addition, we encourage sellers on our platform to make a deposit that may be withdrawn to compensate buyers in cases of buyer dissatisfaction and complaints. Additionally, Douniu App helps sellers of agricultural products secure their revenue within a shorter time frame upon satisfaction of their performance. To ensure transaction security, the payment process requires stallholders to upload their electronic accounting entries or pictures of accounting records after they complete a transaction with their customers. Once a transaction is completed and recorded by stallholders, the sales proceeds will be disbursed to sellers after deducting transaction-based service fees and other relevant fees in the sales process, such as labor cost and logistics service fee. We deploy on-the-ground staff to inspect the transaction processes to maintain the integrity of the payment settlement mechanism.
124
Revenue from our digital agricultural commerce services is mainly derived from (i) membership services, (ii) value-added services, and (iii) transaction services. In 2023 and 2024, revenue from digital agricultural commerce services was RMB170.9 million and RMB152.6 million (US$21.0 million), respectively, representing 91.1% and 94.6%, respectively, of our total revenue for the corresponding year. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, revenue from digital agricultural commerce services was RMB76.5 million and RMB63.7 million (US$8.9 million), respectively, representing 94.7% and 95.9%, respectively, of our total revenue for the corresponding period.
Agricultural Sourcing and Trading Services
In recent years, we recognize that online e-commerce platforms face inherent limitations in fully encompassing the entire agricultural product supply chain, as wholesale-level transactions frequently occur offline. The offline agricultural product market is characterized by a dynamic environment, with fluctuating market conditions and a complex transaction process that includes receipt, inspection, sorting, packing, and logistics. Furthermore, the market is often challenged by non-transparent pricing, lack of product standardization, variable supplier fulfillment capabilities, and a general lack of post-sale services. These factors have contributed to a growing market demand for standardized transaction services that offer transparent pricing and reliable and quality pre-sale and post-sale support.
In 2024, we launched a new business venture — agricultural sourcing and trading — under the brand name “Wolaicai” in response to these challenges and to penetrate deeper in the agricultural supply chain. The market for agricultural sourcing and trading in China is vast and holds significant potential. Its market size reached RMB2.3 trillion in 2024 and is expected to grow further, reaching RMB3.0 trillion in 2028. Through the agricultural sourcing and trading business, we leverage our market insights accumulated from the Apps, as well as our extensive network of buyers and sellers, and directly make the deal and complete the transaction between local agricultural producers and processors from cultivation and production sites and buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities in both online and offline environment, achieving greater transaction efficiency in the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain. By establishing stores around select cultivation and production sites, we deploy three to four sales representatives that procure fresh harvests from local farmers and cooperatives and sell those products within a short time to business buyers who express interests in such products with specified standardization requirement. In addition, we also sell agricultural inputs such as fertilizers to sellers for their convenience and as a way to expand our revenue sources.
The new business venture provides local agricultural producers and processors with real-time market information on product standardization and pricing, mitigating risks arising from information asymmetry between individual brokers and the producers and processors. To buyers, the agricultural sourcing and trading business shortens the business process for buyers with regional or bulk procurement capacities, reducing their costs in relation to site visits and the risks agricultural product losses due to extended storage.
Additionally, our robust network of sales representatives that function as local and regional brokers plays a crucial role in this business line. These brokers are responsible for managing procurement at production sites, ensuring that the products meet the required standards and are delivered on time. Their expertise and local knowledge enable us to source high-quality products consistently, further enhancing the reliability of our services.
The integration of our agricultural sourcing and trading services with our existing offerings, such as the Yimutian App, allows us to leverage vast amounts of data on buyer behavior and market trends. This data-driven approach enables us to identify emerging market opportunities and tailor our sourcing strategies accordingly. By understanding the specific needs of our buyers, we can optimize our procurement processes and offer competitive pricing, thereby attracting more merchants to our platform. To ensure the quality of our personnel and sustainability of this business line, we have implemented a sales representative evaluation mechanism, retaining only the sales representatives with stellar performance in the longer term. We believe that a stable and high quality workforce would ultimately contribute to a high profit margin for this business line.
125
The diagram below illustrates our agricultural sourcing and trading services and our core capabilities:

Smart Farming
Riding on years of experience in serving buyers and sellers to facilitate transactions of agricultural products, we have accumulated valuable knowledge, information and industry know-how on agricultural product categories, production regions, market dynamics, upstream and downstream sales cycle, and supply and procurement trends. We have also fostered deep relationships with various upstream and downstream participants in the agricultural product supply chain. Drawing on such knowledge and resources, we commenced smart farming business in 2023 through collaboration with local business partners to selectively cultivate produce in order to capture new business opportunities and monetize on our actionable industry insights and deep connections with key participants along the agriculture supply chain. As the business was in the trial-and-error stage, revenue generated from smart farming was immaterial in 2023. Our involvement in smart farming has provided us with valuable insights into the upstream agricultural product supply chain, which have been instrumental in identifying potential monetization channels that we plan to explore and develop in the future.
Our smart farming business is closely integrated with our agricultural sourcing and trading services as well as our digital agricultural commerce services, creating significant synergies that enhance the overall efficiency and sustainability of our operations. Leads and orders from our Apps and sales representatives from agricultural sourcing and trading business ensure a steady demand for the products cultivated through our smart farming initiatives. This information helps us identify high-demand SKUs and optimize our production processes to meet market needs efficiently.
As we are availed of each of the key steps along the supply chain, from product selection and planting to marketing, distribution, and direct sales through our smart farming business, our digital agricultural commerce services can be further refined and enhanced by collecting first-hand accounts of transaction data and behaviors and analyzing evolving merchant needs. This synergy among our business lines creates a powerful growth engine, ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality products, meeting market demand efficiently, and driving sustainable revenue growth.
Other Digital Agricultural Solutions
We pride ourselves for the insights and industry know-hows that we accumulated through our exemplary twelve years of operation. Such insights not only facilitate our optimization of digital agricultural commerce business, but also enable us to pursue other business opportunities, ranging from consulting and brand promotion to digital agriculture training programs. In 2018, we developed and launched our proprietary digital agricultural solution platform purposefully built to analyze the current market dynamics, which has subsequently become the dominant digital agricultural solution in the agriculture industry in terms of transaction volume analyzed/SKU of agriculture products analyzed as of December 31, 2024. This powerful platform presents real-time analyses and dynamic price related information throughout the agricultural product circulation process via a dynamic interface. In particular, market information available thereon includes (i) the trend of supply and demand at different local wholesale markets, (ii) the geographic location of purchase channels, (iii) the types and characteristics of the purchase channels, (iv) the supply and distribution information of production regions, (v) the competitive landscape of production regions, and (vi) the changes in competitive landscape of production regions. With our broad geographic coverage and sustainable seller and buyer network, the digital agricultural solution platform continues to accumulate broad and in-depth information on location of transaction, time of transaction, associated merchants and products, and prices and specifications of agricultural products, among others.
126
Consulting. The broad and in-depth analyses from the platform have helped us streamline and enhance the operations of our digital agricultural commerce business. As such, we are empowered to match buyers more accurately with sellers of agricultural products meeting buyers’ specifications and enable sellers to increase the market recognition of their brands and harness better opportunities in selling their products to downstream buyers on better price terms. Our technology capabilities and industry know-how have also addressed the policy objectives in revitalizing rural regions of mainland China and developing the agriculture industry through digitalization and have been recognized by local governments in mainland China. With the mission to propel the digitalization of the agriculture industry, we have provided Ministry of Commerce of the PRC with pricing trend and supply and demand information on agricultural products drawing on our distinguished capability in comprehensively analyzing market information.
Brand promotion. With our profound insights into buyers’ preferences and the application of our proprietary knowledge graphs in respect of the circulation of agricultural products, we help local governments in mainland China to build and promote their local agricultural product brands through offline conferences, online advertising and promotion. As such government-sponsored brands attain an increasing level of market recognition, local governments have more pricing power over their locally grown products, thereby generating higher profits and more returns for local farmers and other sellers of agricultural products.
Digital agriculture training programs. With the aim to support local governments in developing the agriculture industry, we pilot a series of digital agriculture training programs under Project Lighthouse, which are training programs offered to farmers with scaled business, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives and brokers of agricultural products to educate them on how to efficiently broaden their sales channels by selling their products through online platform such as ours. The main objectives of Project Lighthouse are to promote rural economic development and foster the digitalization of the agriculture industry from the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain by educating millennial farmers in different agricultural production bases how to better utilize the internet for business purpose. Since we launched Project Lighthouse in 2020, we have hosted over 100 training programs across mainland China, and the footprints of Project Lighthouse have covered various rural regions of Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, among others. Building upon the accolades that we earned from the recipients of the training programs, we not only spread practical know-how on the usage of digital platforms to help sellers of the agricultural products in achieving financial gains, but also effectively broaden our merchant acquisition channels and improve merchant acquisition efficiency.
Revenue from other digital agricultural solutions is mainly derived from technology services to local governments. In 2023 and 2024, revenue from other digital agricultural solutions was RMB17.6 million and RMB8.7 million (US$1.2 million), respectively, representing 9.4% and 5.4%, respectively, of our total revenue for the corresponding year. In the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, revenue from other digital agricultural solutions was RMB4.3 million and RMB2.7 million (US$381.0 thousand), respectively, representing 5.3% and 4.1% respectively, of our total revenue for the corresponding period.
Pricing Strategies
We employ different pricing strategies leveraging our industry insights and depending on the features of services offered.
At the outset, we mainly consider our operating expenses, market condition and characteristics of the agricultural B2B industry when making pricing decisions. On Douniu App, for example, we charge sellers of agricultural products relatively higher fees than those charged to stallholders at wholesale markets, because sellers of agricultural products typically heavily rely on our services only during harvest seasons, while stallholders are in need of our services all year round. Additionally, depending on how our merchant base receives our services, we routinely adjust pricing for profit maximization.
127
Generally, we offer sellers memberships of digital agricultural commerce services and sales and marketing value-added services at various fixed price tiers leveraging our in-depth analyses of merchants’ and buyers’ profiles and predictions of their potential transactions volumes. In our agricultural sourcing and trading business, we determine the price of products we procure and the price of products we sell after considering factors including market price, demand, quality of products, and a reasonable profit margin, among other factors. For value-added services offered through online tools that are developed and tailored to meet different demands from merchants, we typically price them based on the features offered. For smart farming business, we monetize mainly through the sales of the agricultural products, the price of which are typically subject to market conditions.
Case Studies
The Sale of Apples Through Our Agricultural E-Commerce Services
In the city of Shangqiu, Henan, China, almost every household has their own apple orchards. The apple farmers in this region produce large, crisp, and delicious apples, but they face the problem of not being able to find a proper sales channel to sell their apples at a fair price. Liu Ying, a young entrepreneur from Shangqiu, witnessed this issue firsthand as her family struggled to sell their high-quality apples at a decent price.
In 2017, Liu Ying began using Yimutian App to sell her family’s apples. She started with zero customers and gradually grew her presence as a broker of locally grown apples on the platform. As a result, she was able to expand her sales coverage to over 10,000 mu of local apple orchards. Liu Ying became one of the first merchants to open her own store on Yimutian App when we introduced the platform’s membership service, which service helped her further increase her sales and exposure on the platform.
As of April 2021, Liu Ying’s cooperative covered over 10,000 mu of local apple orchards, employed 50 full-time members, and hired over 500 workers during the busy season for tasks such as packing and sorting apples. Her annual apple sales reached over 15 million kilograms. In addition to apples, she has expanded her product offerings to include other agricultural products from neighboring regions. The success of her business has not only brought her personal achievement but also helped other apple farmers in the region find a reliable channel to sell their products at fair prices. With the help of our platform, Liu Ying aims to continue her growth and explore new opportunities in the agricultural industry.
The Sale of Pineapples Through Our Integrated Services
In 2018, a massive volume of pineapples was grown and harvested from Xuwen, Guangdong. However, the fruitful harvest season did not generate many profits to local farmers. Due to the large supply and quality control issues, pineapples from Xuwen, Guangdong were undersold at RMB0.4 per kilogram during the most challenging time. Empathizing with local farmers, agricultural product bases, agricultural production cooperatives and brokers, we determined to devote our efforts to assisting the sellers and local governments in propelling the sales of pineapples harvested from Xuwen, Guangdong.
Beginning in 2019, we initiated our promotional strategies in three main workstreams. First, we established local reception centers in Xuwen and drew on our specialization in operating internet platform and know-how in sales and marketing to attract business buyers all around mainland China to visit local cultivation and packaging sites of pineapples. We have also deployed sales and marketing staff on-site, training local farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives and brokers to utilize online platforms such as our Douniu App and Yimutian App to market their products. Leveraging our big data analytics capabilities and accumulated data insights reflecting real-time information on the pricing, supply and demand of agricultural products, we generated an index for the sale of pineapples from Xuwen based on our in-depth analyses of the behaviors of sellers and buyers of pineapples as well as market conditions for the sale of pineapples nationwide.
Our dedication to promoting pineapples from Xuwen has proven to be highly successful. In March 2020, business buyers ordered a total of approximately 3,000 tons of pineapples from sellers of pineapples from Xuwen via Yimutian App with an aggregate transaction volume of over RMB9.7 million, representing a weighted average price of approximately RMB3.2 per kilogram, which was around eight times the lowest price in 2018. Through the deployment of our digital agricultural solution platform in information analytics capabilities, Yimutian App in broadening sales channels and Douniu App in promoting distribution on the wholesale level, we successfully promoted pineapples from Xuwen nationwide and turned it into a well-known brand in mainland China.
128
Technology
Technology Infrastructure
Technology infrastructure underpins our quality and merchant-friendly services and features. We have purposefully designed our superior technology infrastructure to be versatile for upgrades and ongoing maintenance. As of June 30, 2025, we had constructed over 330 modules which are standardized and versatile for configurations and combinations in various business scenarios. Capitalizing on our proprietary cross-platform front-end engine, we are capable of developing programs that are highly compatible across various online platforms. The engine is equipped to process and analyze programming codes and quickly launch our mini programs tailored for different major online platforms, while ensuring that such programs can offer merchants a smooth experience. Our efficient development process is manifested by a relatively short application update cycle, which is typically between one to two weeks. We have further streamlined our operations by adopting multi-cloud servers to stabilize connectivity and automate the local deployment process.
Deep Learning
We leverage deep learning to deliver an optimized experience for merchants using our platform. In 2019, we formed a specialized algorithms team, which has achieved significant progress in intelligent customized recommendation, among other key breakthroughs that improve our operational efficiency. We have developed knowledge graphs that help us better analyze the relationships among agricultural product categories, agricultural production bases, wholesale markets, buyers and sellers of agricultural products. The knowledge graphs have helped us more precisely match buyers and sellers of agricultural products, select the optimal transportation routes for agricultural products, become better informed on popular products and consumption trend every day, and provide more reliable and practical recommendations to sellers of agricultural products and guide them to attain financial gains.
Drawing on our deep understanding of sellers and buyers on our platform, our intelligent customized recommendation is now equipped to quickly and accurately identify the products that merchants intend to sell or purchase. In addition, we use our proprietary deep learning model and other industry-leading algorithmic models to interpret texts, graphics and videos of agricultural products and therefore enhance the efficiency and precision of customized recommendations when a merchant conducts a search. We developed two engines in traffic attraction and merchant engagement in a multi-media context, namely, (i) content recommendation engines and (ii) voice call robots. Content recommendation engines distribute pictures and texts based on merchant profiles, which are portrayed via our full-rounded software development kit tools with transaction preference and historical records. We further expand into voice call robots with automatic speech recognition, neural text to speech and natural language understanding technologies. These allows our sales robots instantly grab merchants’ needs and respond with the best solutions. The functionality of our sales robots has been validated by their 14 million outbound calls in 2024 and approximately 1.6 million outbound calls in the six months ended June 30, 2025, respectively. Additionally, we are in the process of enhancing our capabilities in AI to integrate it with our offering stacks, such as multimedia content generation in product promotion, etc.
Data Analytics
Our data analytics capabilities underpinning our digital agricultural commerce services have enabled easy access to transparent market information for both sellers and buyers and facilitated transaction matching between them with efficiency, riding on our real-time analyses and accurate prediction on the pricing trend and supply and demand of various produce and agricultural by-products. Leveraging our profound industry insights, we also develop and deploy our proprietary digital agricultural solution platform to provide accurate price predictions, generate detailed reports on pricing and circulation of agricultural products from farmland to different marketplaces. Drawing on our analysis of activities conducted through our platform, coupled with external data collected from public sources, the digital agricultural solution platform is equipped to present:
| ● | key agricultural production bases for major agricultural products and their supply capabilities, including the type of the respective product; |
| ● | the flow of major agricultural products between key agricultural production bases and key wholesale markets, and demand for a particular product among different wholesale markets; |
129
| ● | the trend of supply and demand for major agricultural products with comparison to the same period of last year; |
| ● | a broad range of price-related information in connection with major agricultural products supplied by different agricultural production bases and sold to different wholesale markets, with comparison to the highest and lowest prices in the current and previous years; |
| ● | business profiles of top sellers; and |
| ● | geographic concentration of buyers. |
For more information on the services we provide through the deployment of our digital agricultural solution, please see “— Other Digital Agricultural Solutions.”
Information Security and Privacy
We are committed to protecting personal information and privacy of all users of our online platform, including sellers and buyers of agricultural products, stallholders at wholesale markets, truck drivers and other third parties. We collect personal information and other data from our users and use such data during our operations only with their prior consent. We have established and implemented policies across our platform on data collection, processing and usage to safeguard the data we collect, and we regularly review these polices and their implementation.
We follow strict procedures in collecting, transmitting, storing and using user data pursuant to our data security and privacy policies. Before we collect any user data, we must notify users that we are collecting their data, explain why the data is being collected and how it will be used, and obtain the users’ consent to collect the relevant data. We provide our users a copy of our privacy policy to inform them of the scope and purpose of the data we collect. Once collected, user data is transmitted and stored using encrypted and desensitized methods. We grant classified access to confidential personal data only to employees with relevant authorizations with strictly defined and layered access to our data and systems.
We maintain a comprehensive data security program to protect the confidentiality and integrity of our data across all aspects of data collection and processing. We utilize a variety of technologies to protect our servers from fire, physical shock, theft and other forms of physical harm. On the back end, our servers, databases and information technology networks utilize firewalls, anti-DDoS, intrusion prevention systems, real-time server monitoring and other network cybersecurity technologies. We also utilize a wide range of protective technologies at the application level, including security access code systems, web application firewalls and simulated hacking tests. We back up user and historical data on a regular basis using “hot” backup systems to minimize the risk of data loss or leakage. We also conduct frequent reviews of our backup and data recovery systems, including through regular disaster recovery testing, to ensure that our systems are operating properly.
In the course of our operations, we have from time to time been subject to regulatory scrutiny regarding our compliance of data privacy and protection rules. We are committed to cooperating with the regulatory authorities to identify and rectify any issues. For more information about the data privacy and security risks that we face, see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — We may be subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection. Actual or alleged failure to comply with cybersecurity, data privacy and data protection laws and regulations could damage our reputation, deter current and potential users from using our services and subject us to significant legal, financial and operational consequences.”
Research and Development
We believe research and development is the engine propelling every stage of our business development. As of June 30, 2025, we had 46 employees focusing on research and development. The R&D team is led by technology veterans with abundant work experience in the agricultural and technology industries and is tasked to enhance technology infrastructure, conduct quality testing, develop value-added services, conduct front-end research and development such as designing smartphone applications, websites and mini programs, manage customer relationships and develop marketplace technologies. About 63% of our R&D staff had more than 5 years of work experience as of June 30, 2025. Our R&D priority is to enhance user experience, user stickiness and transaction volume by developing advanced algorithms in knowledge graphs and AI technology.
130
Sales and Marketing
We market our platform both online and offline. We employ a variety of marketing activities to promote our brands and services. Our online marketing activities mainly consist of displaying paid marketing and promotional materials on social media platforms and search engines. Our offline marketing activities include promotions via traditional media, such as outdoor advertisements, public relations activities, as well as sponsored events to increase our visibility and promote our brand. Project Lighthouse, under which we partner with local governments to offer training programs to farmers, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives and brokers, has helped local governments develop their local economy and earned accolades from mainstream media. For more information on our collaboration with local governments through Project Lighthouse, please see “— Being a Socially Responsible Corporate Citizen — Project Lighthouse.” We also locally deploy offline marketing personnel mainly in Zhengzhou and Wuhan, who are responsible for the marketing activities specific to each type of services offered by us, aiming at converting local sellers and buyers of agricultural products into our platform users through free educational programs.
We believe that our one-stop platform, with a wide variety of services and products offered thereon and positive merchant experience, makes us a reputable brand and is our best and most effective marketing tools. In 2023, 2024 and the six months ended June 30, 2025, we acquired over 44% of new merchants on our platform through word-of-mouth marketing, thanks to our reputable and trusted brand. Despite the acquisition cost of such merchants is close to nil, such merchants contribute great value to our business. They often interact with our platform over a long-term and spend more time on our platform than merchants acquired via other means.
Seasonality
Historically, user activities on our platform were relatively less frequent during the Chinese New Year holiday in the first quarter of each year and the summer months mainly due to the impact of natural disasters such as flood in cultivation sites and key logistics nexuses for the circulation of agricultural products. In addition, there is typically a decline of fruit procurement in July and around the Chinese New Year, while the procurement amounts during spring and fall are generally higher than other periods of a year.
Competition
Although there is no single competitor that can provide the broad range of services like us, we face competition in each of our business lines, and there may be new entrants emerging, in each of our business lines, and these market players compete to attract, engage and retain sellers and buyers. Some of these competitors are backed by internet giants in mainland China. Key competitive factors among internet platforms for agricultural B2B e-commerce services are scale and breadth of services provided, pricing, technology and data, and execution capabilities. Key competitive factors among internet platforms for agricultural wholesale services are scale and breadth of services provided, pricing, technology and data, and execution capabilities. For additional details regarding the competitive landscape of the industries in which we operate, see the section headed “Industry” in this prospectus.
Each of our business lines is subject to rapid market change and the potential development of new business models and the entry of new and well-funded competitors. Other companies may also enter into business combinations or alliances that strengthen their competitive positions. Some of our current competitors have, and future competitors may have, greater financial, technical or marketing resources, longer operating histories, greater brand recognition or larger consumer bases than we do. Such development may further intensify the competition of the agricultural B2B industry in mainland China.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property rights are fundamental to our business, and we devote significant time and resources to their development and protection. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and domain name protection in mainland China, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. In general, our employees must enter into a standard employment contract which includes a clause acknowledging that all inventions, trade secrets, developments and other processes generated by them on our behalf are our properties, and assigning to us any ownership rights that they may claim in those works. Despite our precautions, however, third parties may obtain and use intellectual property that we own or license without our consent. As of the date of this prospectus, we had not found any material breaches of our intellectual property rights. However, unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties and the expenses incurred in protecting our intellectual property rights from such unauthorized use may adversely affect our business and results of operations. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.”
131
As of June 30, 2025, our significant subsidiaries owned 250 registered trademarks in various categories and registered with the China Trademark Office and had 17 patents registered with the State Intellectual Property Office of China in mainland China. In addition, our significant subsidiaries had 83 software copyrights and 8 other copyrights registered with the State Copyright Bureau of China, and owned 33 domain names as of June 30, 2025.
Employees
We had a total of 789, 657 and 592 employees as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively. All of our employees are based in mainland China. The following table sets forth the numbers of our employees categorized by function as of June 30, 2025.
| Function | Number of Employees | Percentage | ||||||
| Selling and marketing | 436 | 74 | % | |||||
| Research and development | 46 | 8 | % | |||||
| General and administration | 52 | 9 | % | |||||
| Customer service and operation | 58 | 10 | % | |||||
| Total | 592 | 100 | % | |||||
Our success depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel. As part of our recruiting and retention strategy, we offer employees competitive salaries, performance-based cash bonuses and certain other incentives.
We primarily recruit our employees through recruitment agencies and online channels, including our corporate website and social network accounts. We have adopted a training program, pursuant to which employees regularly receive trainings from management, technology, regulatory and other internal speakers or external consultants.
As required under the regulations of mainland China, we participate in housing fund and various employee social security plans that are organized by applicable local municipal and provincial governments, including housing, pension, medical, maternity, work-related injury and unemployment benefit plans, under which we make contributions at specified percentages of the salaries of our employees. We also purchase commercial health and accidental insurance for our employees. Bonuses are generally discretionary and based in part on employee performance and in part on the overall performance of our business. We have granted and plan to continue to grant share-based incentive awards to our employees in the future to incentivize their contributions to our growth and development.
As of the date of this prospectus, we have not experienced any labor strikes or other material labor disputes that have affected our operations. We believe that we have a good relationship with our employees.
Being a Socially Responsible Corporate Citizen
We believe a critical component of our success has been our corporate culture, which focuses on development in the long run and not be blinded by immediate interests. Our achievements and initiatives in the area of corporate social responsibility include the following:
Project Lighthouse
With the aim to support local governments in developing the agricultural sector, we have been offering training programs under Project Lighthouse to farmers with scaled business, agricultural production bases, agricultural production cooperatives and brokers to educate them on how to efficiently broaden their sales channels by selling their products through online platform such as ours. The main objectives of Project Lighthouse are to promote rural economic development and foster the digitalization of the agriculture industry from the upstream of the agricultural product supply chain by educating millennial farmers in different agricultural production bases how to better utilize the internet for business purpose. Since we launch Project Lighthouse in 2020, we have hosted over 100 training programs across mainland China, and the footprints of Project Lighthouse have covered various rural regions of Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, among others. Building upon the accolades that we earned from the recipients of the training programs, we not only spread practical know-how on the usage of digital platforms to help sellers of the agricultural products in achieving financial gains, but also effectively broaden our merchant acquisition channels and improve merchant acquisition efficiency.
132
Poverty Alleviation Through E-Commerce
Since 2017, we have integrated a special poverty alleviation channel located on the front page of the interactive display of Yimutian App. The special channel is designed to showcase the agricultural products and their respective suppliers who are from impoverished counties of mainland China. Drawing on our broad merchant base and high daily merchant traffic, the poverty alleviation channel is able to capture tens of thousands of visits every day. In addition, we have collaborated with local governments of impoverished counties and co-host Poverty Alleviation Day to expand the market exposure and transaction opportunities of agricultural products originated from impoverished counties since 2017.
Properties and Facilities
Our corporate headquarters is located in Beijing, with an aggregate gross floor area of approximately 2,054.0 square meters as of June 30, 2025. We have also leased offices in other cities in mainland China. As of June 30, 2025, we leased properties in mainland China with an aggregate gross floor area of approximately 4,653.2 square meters, primarily for office and business purposes. The terms of these leases are typically for one to three years, subject to renewal. We believe that our existing facilities are sufficient for our current needs, and we may need to obtain, usually by lease, adequate facilities to accommodate any future expansion plans as we further scale up our business operation.
Insurance
We maintain social welfare insurance for our employees in accordance with the laws and regulations of mainland China in all material aspects. We believe that our insurance coverage is in line with the industry practice and is adequate to cover our liabilities for our employees.
Legal Proceedings
We may from time to time be subject to various legal or administrative claims and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. We are currently not a party to any material legal or administrative proceedings.
Litigation or any other legal or administrative proceeding, regardless of the outcome, is likely to result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, including our management’s time and attention. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Industry — We, and our directors and officer, may be involved in legal and/or regulatory proceedings that are expensive and time consuming and, if resolved adversely, that may materially adversely affect us.”
133
This section sets forth a summary of the most significant laws and regulations in mainland China relevant to our business and operations in mainland China and the key provisions of such laws and regulations.
Regulations Relating to Foreign Investment
On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress of the PRC, or the NPC, promulgated the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, or the Foreign Investment Law or the FIL, taking effect on January 1, 2020, and replaced the Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprises Law, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures Law, and the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures Enterprise Law. The Foreign Investment Law defines foreign investment as any investment activity directly or indirectly carried out in the PRC by one or more foreign natural persons, enterprises or other organizations, or the foreign investor(s), and specifically stipulates four forms of investment activities as foreign investments, namely, (i) establishment of a foreign-invested enterprise in the PRC by a foreign investor, either individually or collectively with any other investor; (ii) obtaining shares, equities, property shares or any other similar rights or interests of an enterprise in the PRC by a foreign investor; (iii) investment in any new project in the PRC by a foreign investor, either individually or collectively with any other investor; and (iv) investment in any other means stipulated under laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council. However, the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly refer to the contractual arrangements under the “variable interest equity” structure as a form of foreign investment. The Foreign Investment Law stipulates that foreign investment includes “foreign investors invest in the PRC through any other means under laws, administrative regulations, or provisions prescribed by the State Council.” It is possible that future laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council may specify contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, and hence it is uncertain as to whether our contractual arrangements will be recognized as foreign investment. The Foreign Investment Law further provides that the organizational form, organizational structure and their activities of foreign-invested enterprises shall be governed by the provisions of the PRC Company Law, the PRC Partnership Enterprise Law and other relevant laws.
The Foreign Investment Law stipulates that China implements a management system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list to foreign investment and the government generally will not expropriate foreign investment, except under special circumstances, in which case it will provide fair and reasonable compensation to foreign investors. Foreign investors are barred from investing in prohibited industries on the negative list and must comply with the specified requirements when investing in restricted industries on that list. When a license is required to enter a certain industry, a foreign investor must apply for one, and the government must treat the application the same as one by a domestic enterprise, except where laws or regulations provide otherwise. In addition, foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises are required to file information reports and foreign investment in certain sensitive industrial sectors shall be subject to the national security review. In addition, the Implementation Rules of the Foreign Investment Law of the PRC, taking effect on January 1, 2020, clarifies that the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation rules also apply to investments by foreign-invested enterprises in China.
On December 26, 2019, the Supreme People’s Court of China promulgated the Interpretations on Certain Issues Regarding the Application of Foreign Investment Law, taking effect on January 1, 2020, pursuant to which “investment contracts” are defined as the agreements formed as a result of direct or indirect investments in China by foreign investors, namely, foreign individuals, foreign enterprises or other foreign organizations, including contracts for establishment of foreign investment enterprises, share transfer contracts, equity transfer contracts, contracts for transfer of property or other similar interests, contracts for newly-built projects and etc. Any claim to invalidate an investment contract will be supported by courts if such investment contract is decided to be entered into for purposes of making foreign investments in the “prohibited industries” under the negative list or for purposes of investing in the “restricted industries” without satisfaction of conditions set out in the negative list. However, the foregoing judicial interpretation does not explicitly construe the contractual arrangements under the “variable interest equity” structure as “investment contracts” for the purpose of the Foreign Investment Law.
134
Regulations Relating to Value-added Telecommunication Services
Licenses for Value-added Telecommunications Services
The Telecommunications Regulations of the PRC, or the Telecommunications Regulations, provides a regulatory framework for telecommunications services providers in the PRC, which was promulgated by the State Council on September 25, 2000 and last amended on February 6, 2016, taking effect as of the date of its promulgation. The Telecommunications Regulations classify telecommunications services into two categories, namely basic telecommunications services and value-add telecommunications services. According to the Catalog of Telecommunications Businesses attached to the Telecommunications Regulations on September 25, 2000 and last amended by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT, on June 6, 2019, information services provided via public communication network or Internet, and online data processing and transaction processing fall within value-added telecommunications services. The Telecommunications Regulations require value-added telecommunications services providers to obtain an operating license from the MIIT or its provincial-level counterparts prior to the commencement of their operations.
The Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, or the Internet Information Measures, was promulgated by the State Council on September 25, 2000 and last amended on December 6, 2024, taking effect on January 20, 2025. According to the Internet Information Measures, internet information services refer to services that provide internet information to online users, and are categorized as either commercial or non-commercial internet information services. Commercial internet information services operators, which provide information through Internet to online users with charge of payment, shall obtain a license for value-added telecommunications services, or the VATS License, covering the business scope of internet information service from the government agency, namely Internet Content Provider License, or the ICP License, prior to engaging in any commercial internet information services business within China. In addition, if the internet information services involve provision of news, publication, education, medicine, health, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and other services that statutorily require approvals from other additional government authorities, such approvals must be obtained before applying the ICP License. Furthermore, the Internet Information Measures and other measures also forbid Internet activities that constitute the dissemination of any content that propagates obscenity, pornography, gambling and violence, incites the commission of crimes or infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of third parties. If an internet information service provider detects information transmitted on their system that falls within the specifically forbidden scope, such provider must terminate such transmission, delete such information immediately, keep records and report to the responsible government authorities. Breach of any of these operational requirements by an information service provider will result in the revocation of its ICP license and, in serious cases, the shutting down of its website. For clearance, according to the Administrative Provisions on Mobile Internet Application Information Services, which was promulgated by the CAC on June 28, 2016, recently amended on June 14, 2022, taking effect on August 1, 2022, the provision of information services via mobile apps is subject to the laws and regulations of mainland China governing internet information services.
The Administrative Measures for Telecommunications Business Operating Permit, or the Telecom Permit Measures, was promulgated by the MIIT on March 5, 2009 and amended on July 3, 2017. The Telecom Permit Measures categorize telecom operating licenses into two types for operators in the PRC, namely, licenses for basic telecommunications services and the VATS License. The operation scope of the license shall specify in detail the permitted activities that the licensed enterprise can engage in, and the approved telecommunication services operator shall conduct its business within the operation scope listed in its VATS License. In addition, a telecom service operator that has obtained a permit for telecom service operation shall participate in annual inspection which is conducted by the MIIT or its provincial level counterparts. The holder of a VATS License is required to obtain approval from the original permit-issuing authority for any change of its shareholders. Moreover, the new version of the Telecom Permit Measures issued by the MIIT on July 3, 2017 removed the previous requirement of requiring any enterprise holding the license for operation of trans-regional value-added telecommunications business to go through the record-filing formalities.
To comply with the laws and regulations, Yimutian Xinnong has obtained a value-added telecommunications business license for its electronic data interchange business, or EDI License, which will remain effective until March 18, 2026, and a value-added telecommunications business license for internet information services, or ICP License, which will remain effective until March 25, 2025. Beijing Douniu has obtained an ICP License which will remain effective until April 25, 2029.
135
Restrictions on Foreign Investment in Value-added Telecommunications Services
According to the latest Special Administrative Measures for the Entry of Investment (Negative List), or the Negative List, promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, and the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, taking effect on November 1, 2024, the provision of value-added telecommunications services falls in the restricted industries and the percentage of foreign ownership cannot exceed 50% (except for e-commerce, domestic multi-party communication, store-and-forward and call center).
The Regulations for the Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises (2022 revision), or the FITE Regulations, was promulgated by the State Council on December 11, 2001 and was last amended on March 29, 2022. According to the newly amended FITE Regulations, although it remains unchanged that foreign investors shall not acquire more than 50% of the equity interest of such foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise (except as otherwise provided by the State), the prerequisite of stringent performance and operational experience for foreign investor(s) of such foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise engaging in value-added telecommunication services is removed and no longer required. The foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises that meet these requirements must obtain approvals from the MIIT or its authorized local branches, before launching the value-added telecommunications business in the PRC.
On June 19, 2015, the MIIT issued the Circular on Loosening the Restrictions on Shareholding by Foreign Investors in Online Data Processing and Transaction Processing Business (Operational E-commerce), or the Circular No. 196. Circular No. 196 allows a foreign investor to hold 100% of the equity interest in a PRC entity that provides online data processing and transaction processing services, or the operational e-commerce. In respect of the application for a permit for any foreign-invested enterprise engaging in operational e-commerce, the requirements for the proportion of foreign equity are governed by the Circular No.196 while other requirements and approval procedures are subject to the FITE Regulations.
On April 8, 2024, the MIIT issued the Announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Launching the Pilot Program of Expanding the Opening-up in Value-added Telecommunications Services, pursuant to which, in certain approved pilot areas, the restrictions on foreign shareholding percentages for the following value-added telecommunications services shall be lifted: internet data centers, content distribution networks, internet access services, online data processing and transaction processing, information services, including information releasing platforms and information delivery services (excluding Internet news information, online publishing, online audio-visual services, and Internet-based cultural businesses), and information protection and processing services. The approved pilot areas currently include the Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding Opening-up in the Services Sector in Beijing, the Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone for Leading Socialist Modernization, the Hainan Free Trade Port, and the Pilot Demonstration Area of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Shenzhen.
To comply with the above foreign investment restrictions, we rely on contractual arrangements with the VIEs to operate our business in China. However, there remain substantial uncertainties with respect to the interpretation and application of existing or future PRC laws and regulations on foreign investment. See “Risks Factors — Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure”. If our current ownership structure is found to be in violation of current or future PRC laws, rules or regulations regarding the legality of foreign investment in value-added telecommunications services and other types of businesses in which foreign investment is restricted or prohibited, we could be subject to severe penalties.
Regulations Relating to Food Business
Our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs engaging in food wholesale and retail business are subject to laws and regulations relating to the food safety and food operation.
Food Safety in General
On February 28, 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC, or the SCNPC promulgated the Food Safety Law of the PRC, or the Food Safety Law, which took effect on June 1, 2009 and was most recently amended on September 12, 2025 and taking effect on December 1, 2025. On July 20, 2009, the State Council promulgated the Implementation Regulations of the Food Safety Law of the PRC, or the Implementation Regulations, which took effect on July 20, 2009 and was respectively amended on February 6, 2016 and October 11, 2019, taking effect on December 1, 2019. The Food Safety Law and the Implementation Regulations have set up a system of the supervision, monitoring and appraisal on food safety risks, compulsory adoption of food safety standards in the PRC.
136
Online Food Safety
Under Article 62 of the Food Safety Law, the provider of a third-party online food trading platform shall register the legal names of food traders admitted to the platform and define their food safety management responsibilities; and check the permits of those that are required to obtain food operation permits. Where the provider of a third-party online food trading platform discovers that any food trader admitted to the platform violates the Food Safety Law, it shall stop the violation in a timely manner and immediately file a report with the food safety supervision and administration department of the local people’s government at the county level; and if it discovers any serious illegal act, it shall immediately stop providing online trading platform services.
The Measures on the Punishments and Disciplinary Actions for Online Food Safety, or the Online Food Safety Measures, was promulgated by the SFDA on July 13, 2016 and last amended on March 18, 2025, taking effect on May 1, 2025, which aims to investigate and punish illegal acts related to online food safety, and to strengthen the supervision and administration of online food safety. SAMR and the local counterparts of SAMR at or above the county level are the responsible authorities for the supervision and guidance of the investigation and punishment on illegal conducts concerning online food safety. According to the Online Food Safety Measures, the provider of a third-party online food trading platform or a food producer or trader engaging in trade through the websites it built shall, within thirty (30) working days after obtaining approval of the competent department of communications, undergo the recordation formalities with the competent market regulatory authority of the place where it is located, and obtain the recordation number. Where the provider of a third-party online food trading platform or a food producer or trader engaging in trade through the websites it built, fails to fulfill the corresponding obligation of recordation, the local market regulatory authority at or above the county level shall order it to take corrective action and impose on it a fine of not more than RMB10,000.
To comply with the laws and regulations, Yimutian Xinnong has completed the filing as required for a provider of third-party online food trading platform. Beijing Douniu has completed the filing as required for a provider of third-party online food trading platform.
Regulations Relating to Agricultural Product Quality and Consumer Protection
We are subject to the Agricultural Product Quality Law and the Consumer Protection Law as an online platform operator of agricultural product and other commodities.
Agricultural Product Quality Law
Pursuant to the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Law of the PRC, or the Agricultural Product Quality Law, which was promulgated by the SCNPC on September 2, 2022, taking effect on January 1, 2023, the agricultural products sold shall meet the quality and safety standards of agricultural products, and antistaling agents, preservatives, additives and packaging materials used in the process of packaging, preservation, storage and transportation of agricultural products shall be in conformity with the mandatory standards set by the State and other provisions on the quality and safety of agricultural products. Producers and distributors of agricultural products that sell agricultural products through online platforms shall strictly perform their quality and safety responsibilities in accordance with the Agricultural Product Quality Law and other laws and regulations, to ensure that the agricultural products they sell conform to quality and safety standards. Online platform operators shall strengthen the management of agricultural product producers and distributors in accordance with law.
137
Consumer Protection Law
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, or the Consumer Protection Law, was promulgated by the SCNPC on October 31, 1993 and subsequently amended on August 27, 2009, October 25, 2013, taking effect as of March 15, 2014. The Consumer Protection Law sets out the obligations of business operators and the rights and interests of the consumers in China. Under the Consumer Protection Law, business operators must guarantee that the commodities they sell satisfy the requirements for personal or property safety, provide consumers with authentic information about the commodities, and guarantee the quality, function, usage and period of validity of the commodities. Failure to comply with the Consumer Protection Law may subject the business operators to civil liabilities such as refunding purchase prices, replacement of commodities, repairing, ceasing damages, compensation, and restoring reputation, and even subject the business operators or the responsible individuals to criminal penalties when personal damages are involved or if the circumstances are severe. The Consumer Protection Law further strengthens the protection of consumers and imposes more stringent requirements and obligations on business operators, especially on the business operators through the internet. The consumers, whose interests are infringed while purchasing goods or receiving services via an online trading platform, have the right to claim damages from vendors of the goods or service providers. Where the operator of the online trading platform cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact of the vendor or the service provider, the consumer shall have the right to claim damages directly from the operator of the online trading platform. If the operator of an online trading platform clearly knows or should have known that a vendor or a service provider uses its platform to commit acts that have infringed the legitimate rights of consumers, such as sell defective products to the consumers, but fails to take necessary measures, such operator shall take joint and severable liabilities with the vendor or the service provider.
The Regulations on the Implementation of Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, or the Implementation Regulations of Consumer Protection Law, was promulgated by the SCNPC on March 15, 2024, taking effect as of July 1, 2024. The Implementation Regulations of Consumer Protection Law has refined the obligations of e-commerce operators, including ensuring the personal and property safety of consumers, prohibiting false advertising, clear pricing, the use of standard terms, fulfilling quality warranty responsibilities, and protecting consumer personal information. In addition, the regulations related to online sales have also been perfected and detailed, such as explicitly stipulating that operators are not allowed to use technical means to force or indirectly force consumers to purchase goods or accept services, and are not allowed to set different prices or charging standards for the same goods or services without the consumer’s knowledge.
Regulations Relating to Advertisement
The Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Advertising Law, which was promulgated by the SCNPC on October 27, 1994 and was last amended on April 29, 2021, taking effect effective on the same day, requires advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors to ensure that the content of the advertisements they produce or distribute are true and in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, where a special government censorship is required for certain industrial categories (e.g., medical treatment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agricultural pesticides, veterinary medicines and healthcare food) of advertisements before publishing, the advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors are obligated to confirm that such censorship has been duly exercised and that the governmental clearance has been obtained. No entity or individual may distribute advertisements to the residence, vehicle and etc. of a person or distribute advertisements to such person by electronic means without his/her consent or request.
On February 25, the State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR, promulgated the Measures on Internet Advertisement, or the Internet Advertisement Measures, taking effect on May 1, 2023. The Internet Advertisement Measures regulate any advertisement published on the Internet, including but not limited to, through websites, webpage and apps, in the form of word, picture, audio and video and provide more detailed guidelines to the advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors. In addition, the Internet Advertisement Measures explicitly require that the Advertising Law and the provisions of the Internet Advertisement Measures apply to the internet information service providers. Aiming to provide more user protection and responsibilities on advertisers, advertising operators, advertising distributors and internet platforms in China, the Internet Advertisement Measures cover various forms of online advertisements, including pop-up advertisements, open-screen advertisements, livestreaming advertisement, “soft text advertisements”, internet advertisements containing links, auction ranked advertisements, algorithm-recommended advertisements, internet live broadcast advertisements, and covert advertisements. Internet platform operators are required to take measures to prevent and stop illegal advertisements, including recording and storing the real identity information of users who publish advertisements for at least three (3) years, monitoring and investigating the content of advertisements, and employing measures to stop illegal advertisements. Such platform operators must also establish effective complaint and reporting mechanisms, cooperate with market regulatory authorities in investigating illegal conduct, and use measures such as warnings, suspending or terminating services for users who publish illegal advertisements.
138
On August 22, 2024, the SAMR issued the Internet Advertising Recognizability Law Enforcement Guide, formulated based on the Advertising Law and the Internet Advertisement Measures and other relevant laws and regulations, and aiming at regulating the recognizability of internet advertising and providing reference for market supervision authorities across various regions. The guide is designed to help consumers distinguish between internet advertising and non-advertising information, thereby protecting their legal rights and interests. This guide is formulated based on the Advertising Law and the Internet Advertisement Measures and other relevant laws and regulations, providing a reference for the work of market supervision departments.
Regulations Relating to Online Trading and E-commerce
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Trading
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions, or the Online Transaction Measures, was promulgated by SAMR on March 15, 2021, taking effect from May 1, 2021, and was amended on March 18, 2025, taking effect on May 1, 2025. The Online Transaction Measures, aiming to strengthen consumer rights protection and personal information protection, impose new obligations on the e-commerce platform operators, such as verifying and registering the identity of trading parties on the platform either that are required to registered with SAMR or that are exempted from such registration, regularly reporting of prescribed information of trading parties on the platform to the relevant branch of SAMR and establishing a system of inspection and monitoring of information on the goods sold or services provided on the platform.
The E-commerce Law
On August 31, 2018, the SCNPC promulgated the E-commerce Law of the PRC, or the E-commerce Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2019. The E-commerce Law imposes a series of requirements on e-commerce operators including e-commerce platform operators, merchants operating on the platform and the individuals and entities carrying out business online. According to the E-commerce Law, e-commerce operators who provide search results based on consumers’ characteristics such as hobbies and consumption habits shall also provide consumers with options that are not targeted at their personal characteristics at the same time, respect and fairly protect the legitimate interests of the consumers. The E-commerce Law requires the e-commerce platform operators to: (i) require business operators that apply to sell commodities or provide services on its platform to submit truthful information, including the identity, address, contact and administrative license, verify and register such information, establish registration archives, and have them verified and updated regularly; (ii) submit information on the identification of operators on its platform to the market regulatory authorities, warn operators that have not registered themselves as market subjects about handling such registration; (iii) pursuant to laws and administrative regulations concerning the administration of tax collection, submit to the tax authorities information on the identification of operators on its platform and other information relating to tax payment; (iv) record and save information released on its platform about commodities and services and deals concluded, and keep them for no less than three (3) years from the date on which deals are completed; (v) always make public information about the platform’s service agreement and transaction rules or the link to such information, in a prominent position on the platform’s homepage, and ensure that business operators and consumers are able to read and download such agreement and rules in full conveniently; (vi) distinguish its own business with noticeable labels from that of other operators on its platform if an e-commerce platform has its own business on its platform, and shall not mislead consumers; (vii) create and improve its credit rating system, formulate public credit rating rules, and provide avenues to consumers to make comments on commodities sold or services provided on its platform, and shall not delete any comment made by consumers on any commodity sold or service provided on its platform; and (viii) establish rules on the protection of intellectual property rights and strengthen its cooperation with intellectual property right owners, so as to protect intellectual property rights in accordance with law.
According to the E-commerce Law, e-commerce platform operators are required to assume joint liabilities with the merchants and may be subject to warnings and fines up to RMB2,000,000 where (i) they fail to take necessary actions when they know or should have known that the products or services provided by the merchants on the platform do not meet personal and property security requirements, or otherwise infringe upon consumers’ legitimate rights; or (ii) they fail to take necessary actions, such as deleting and blocking information, disconnecting, terminating transactions and services, when they know or should have known that the merchants on the platform infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. With respect to products or services affecting consumers’ health and safety, e-commerce platform operators will be held liable if they neglect to examine the qualifications of merchants or fail to safeguard the interests of consumers, and may be subject to warnings and fines up to RMB2,000,000.
139
Regulations Relating to Anti-Unfair Competition
On August 23, 2019, the SCNPC promulgated the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the PRC, or the Anti-Unfair Law, which came into effect on the same day. It was amended on June 27, 2025 and took effect on October 15, 2025. On May 6, 2024, the SAMR promulgated the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition in the Internet Sector, or the Internet Anti-Unfair Competition Provisions, which came into effect on September 1, 2024, aiming to prevent and stop the acts of unfair competition in the internet sector. The Internet Anti-Unfair Competition Provisions, (i) comprehensively list acts of unfair competition online, clarify the criteria for identification, including new manifestations of traditional unfair competition in the online environment such as imitation and confusion, false advertising, and new types of unfair competition facilitated by technological means (such as reverse brushing, illegal data acquisition, discriminatory treatment, etc.), and establish catch-all provisions to provide a regulatory basis for potential new issues and behaviors; (ii) enhance the responsibilities of platform operators, who are required to strengthen the regulation of competitive behaviors within the platform, and if the platform operators discover that operators within the platform engage in unfair competitive practices, sell goods or provide services illegally, or infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, they must take timely measures, preserve relevant records, and report to the market supervision authorities at the county level or above where the platform operator is located; otherwise, the platform will face certain administrative penalties; (iii) raise the compliance requirements for platforms, for example, platform operators are not allowed to use service agreements, transaction rules, or other means by the operators within the platform to impose unreasonable restrictions or attach unreasonable conditions on the transactions, transaction prices, and dealings with other operators within the platform, and platform operators should fairly and reasonably determine the service charges in the service agreements and transaction rules.
Regulations Relating to Mobile Internet Applications
On June 28, 2016, the CAC promulgated the Administrative Provisions on Mobile Internet Application Information Services, or the Mobile Application Administrative Provisions, which took effect on August 1, 2016 and was amended on June 14, 2022, taking effect on August 1, 2022. The Mobile Application Administrative Provisions raise certain requirements on the Mobile Internet Application (APP) information service providers. The CAC and its local counterparts are delegated the power to supervise and administer nationwide and local APP information respectively. The APP information service providers shall satisfy relevant qualifications required by laws and regulations, establish a sound information content review and management mechanism and fulfill their obligations in various aspects relating to real-name system, protection of users’ information, examination and management of information content, including but not limited to: (i) conducting real identity information authentication based on mobile phone numbers, identity document numbers or unified social credit codes for users who apply for registration when they provide users with services such as information release and instant messaging; (ii) processing personal information under the principle of legality, legitimacy, necessity and good faith, disclosing processing rules, regulating personal information processing activities and taking necessary measures to ensure personal information security; (iii) establishing a sound information content review and management mechanism, establishing and improving management measures for user registration, account management, information review, routine inspections and emergency response; (iv) refraining from inducing users to download APPs by means of false advertisement, bundled downloads, machine or manual click farming and comment control, or using illegal and harmful information; (v) complying with the mandatory requirements of relevant national standards, promptly taking remedial measures and notifying users and reporting to the competent authorities when discovering that an APP has risks such as security defects and vulnerabilities; and (vi) formulating and disclosing management rules, and signing service agreements with registered users to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties.
On December 16, 2016, the MIIT promulgated the Interim Measures on the Administration of Pre-Installation and Distribution of Applications for Mobile Smart Terminals, or the Mobile Application Interim Measures, which took effect on July 1, 2017. The Mobile Application Interim Measures requires, among others, that the internet information service providers shall display the information of the mobile smart terminal application software provided and ensure that other than the basic functional software, the mobile smart terminal application software, as well as its ancillary resource files, configuration files and user data can be uninstalled by users on a convenient basis.
140
On July 21, 2023, the MIIT promulgated the Circular of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Launching the Record-filing of Mobile Internet Applications, or the Mobile Application Filing Circular, which took effect on the same day. The Mobile Application Filing Circular requires that the mobile application sponsors who engage in the internet-based information services within the territory of the PRC shall carry out record-filing procedures in accordance with the Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law of the PRC, the Internet Information Measures and other provisions, and shall not engage in the mobile application internet-based information services if they fail to comply with the record-filing requirements.
Regulations Relating to Cybersecurity, Information Security Protection
On December 28, 2000, the SCNPC enacted the Decisions on the Maintenance of Internet Security, which was last amended on January 8, 2011, taking effect on the same day, may subject violators to criminal punishment in the PRC where the following behaviors constitute crimes: (i) behaviors impacting internet security such as gaining improper access to a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) behaviors that may cause harm to national security and social instability such as disseminating politically disruptive information and leaking state secrets; (iii) behaviors disrupting the nation’s order of socialist market economy or order of social administration such as spreading false commercial information and infringing others’ intellectual property rights and (iv) behaviors impairing the personal, property and other legitimate rights of individuals, legal persons and other organizations such as using the internet to insult others or fabricate facts to defame others or using the internet to commit theft, fraud or extortion. Where the behaviors do not constitute crimes, the violators shall be subject to administrative sanctions imposed by the competent public security authority and other relevant government authorities and shall bear civil liabilities toward those whose legitimate rights and interest are infringed upon. The Ministry of Public Security, or MPS, has promulgated measures that prohibit use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an information service provider violates these measures, the MPS and the local security bureaus may revoke its operating licenses and shut down its websites.
On June 22, 2007, the MPS, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, the State Cryptography Administration and the Information Office of the State Council jointly issued the Administrative Regulations for the Classified Protection of Information Security, which became effective on the same day. Entities operating and using information systems shall determine the security protection grade of the information system and carry out the graded protection work in accordance with relevant guidelines. Entities operating and using information systems of grade two or above shall file their security protection grade with the MPS or its bureaus at or above the municipal level with subordinate districts within the specified date.
On November 7, 2016, the SCNPC promulgated the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or the Cyber Security Law, taking effect on June 1, 2017, which was amended on December 28, 2025 and will take effect on January 1, 2026, pursuant to which, network operators shall comply with laws and regulations and fulfill their obligations to safeguard security of the network when conducting business and providing services. Those who provide services through networks shall take technical measures and other necessary measures pursuant to laws, regulations and compulsory national requirements to safeguard the safe and stable operation of the networks, respond to network security incidents effectively, prevent illegal and criminal activities, and maintain the integrity, confidentiality and usability of network data, and the network operators shall not collect the personal information irrelevant to the services they provide or collect or use the personal information in violation of the provisions of laws or agreements between both parties, and network operators of key information infrastructure shall store within the territory of the PRC all the personal information and important data collected and produced within the territory of the PRC. In the event of any unauthorized disclosure, damage or loss of collected personal information, network operators must take immediate remedial measures, notify the affected users and report the incidents to the authorities in a timely manner.
On September 15, 2018, the MPS promulgated the Provisions on Internet Security Supervision and Inspection by Public Security Agencies, taking effect on November 1, 2018, pursuant to which, the public security authorities are authorized to carry out internet security supervision and inspection of the internet service providers in the following aspects, including: (i) whether the service providers have completed the recordation formalities for online entities, and filed the basic information (including the changes thereof) of the accessing entities and users; (ii) whether they have established and implemented the cybersecurity management system and protocols, and appointed the persons responsible for cybersecurity; (iii) whether the technical measures for recording and retaining users’ registration information and weblog data are in place in accordance with law; (iv) whether they have taken technical measures to prevent computer viruses, network attacks and network intrusion; (v) whether they have adopted preventive measures to tackle the information that is prohibited to be issued or transmitted by laws and administrative regulations in the public information services; (vi) whether they provide technical support and assistance as required by law to public security authorities to safeguard national security and prevent and investigate on terrorist activities and criminal activities; and (vii) whether they have fulfilled the obligations of the grade-based cybersecurity protection and other obligations prescribed by laws and administrative regulations. In particular, the public security authorities shall also carry out supervision and inspection on whether an internet service provider has taken required measures to manage information published by users, adopted proper measures to handle the published or transmitted information that is prohibited to be published or transmitted, and kept the records.
141
On December 15, 2019, the CAC promulgated the Provisions on Ecological Governance of Network Information Content, or the CAC Order No.5, taking effect on March 1, 2020, to provide guidance for the management of network information content. According to CAC Order No.5, each network information content service platform is required, among others (a) not to disseminate the information prohibited by laws and regulations; (b) to strengthen the examination and inspection of the advertising space set on the platform and the advertising content displayed on the platform; (c) to promulgate management rules and platform conventions, improve user agreements, clarify the rights and obligations of users, and perform management duties required by law and contracts; (d) establish convenient channels for filing complaints and reports; and (e) to prepare annual work report regarding its ecological governance of network information content.
On June 10, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect on September 1, 2021. The PRC Data Security Law provides that the state shall establish a data security review system, under which data processing activities that affect or may affect national security shall be reviewed for national security purposes. A decision on security review made in accordance with law shall be final and binding upon the concerned parties.
The Regulations on Network Data Security Management was promulgated by the State Council on September 24, 2024, taking effect on January 1, 2025, pursuant to which the network data processors that handle personal information of more than 10 million people must comply with the provisions for processors of important data, who are required to fulfill cybersecurity protection responsibilities, including the development and implementation of network data security management systems, operational procedures, and emergency response plans for network data security incidents; regularly organizing activities such as network data security risk monitoring, risk assessment, emergency drills, and publicity and training education to promptly address network data security risks and incidents. In the event of mergers, divisions, dissolutions, bankruptcies, or other circumstances that may affect the security of important data, processors of important data must take measures to ensure the security of network data and report to the authorities of provincial level or above on the data disposal plan, the name and contact information of the recipient.
On December 28, 2021, the CAC, together with certain other mainland China government authorities, promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which replaced the previous version and took effect from February 15, 2022. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, network platform operators who possess personal information of over 1,000,000 individual users shall be subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. The competent government authorities may also initiate a cybersecurity review against the operators if the authorities believe that the network product or service or data processing activities of such operators affect or may affect national security. If the Cybersecurity Review Office deems it necessary to conduct a cybersecurity review, it shall complete a preliminary review within thirty (30) business days (or forty-five (45) business days for complicated cases) from the issuance of a written notice to the operator. Upon the completion of a preliminary review, the Cybersecurity Review Office shall reach a review conclusion suggestion and send the review conclusion suggestion to the members for the cybersecurity review system and relevant authorities for their comments. These authorities shall issue a written reply within fifteen (15) business days from the receipt of the review conclusion suggestion. If the Cybersecurity Review Office and these authorities reach a consensus, then the Cybersecurity Review Office shall inform the operator in writing, otherwise, the case will go through a special review procedure. The special review procedure shall be completed within ninety (90) business days, or longer for complicated cases. The Cybersecurity Review Measures provides that the violators shall be subject to legal consequences in accordance with the Cyber Security Law and the PRC Data Security Law.
142
On December 31, 2021, the CAC, MIIT, MPS and SAMR promulgated the Administrative Provisions on Algorithms Recommendation in Internet-based Information Services, or the Algorithms Recommendation Administrative Provisions, which took effect on March 1, 2022. Pursuant to the Algorithms Recommendation Administrative Provisions, internet-based information service providers who apply algorithm-based recommendation technologies in such service within the territory of the PRC shall comply with the requirements regarding information services and user rights and interests protection. Algorithm-based recommendation service providers with public opinion attributes or social mobilization capabilities shall fill in certain information through the internet-based information service algorithm record-filing system, perform the record-filing procedures and conduct security assessment in accordance with relevant provisions.
On July 7, 2022, the CAC promulgated the Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers, which came into effect on September 1, 2022. The Security Assessment Measures for Outbound Data Transfers provides four circumstances, under any of which data processors shall, through the local cyberspace administration at the provincial level, apply to the national cyberspace administration for security assessment of cross-border data transfer. These circumstances include: (i) where a data processor transfers important data to overseas recipients; (ii) where a critical information infrastructure operator, or a data processor processing the personal information of more than 1,000,000 individuals, who, in either case, transfers personal information to overseas recipients; (iii) where a data processor who has transferred the personal information of more than 100,000 individuals, or the sensitive personal information of more than 10,000 individuals to overseas recipients, since January 1 of the preceding year cumulatively; or (iv) other circumstances under which security assessment of data cross-border transfer is required as prescribed by the national cyberspace administration. Since there might be newly issued explanations or implementation rules, we will continually monitor our compliance status in accordance with the latest changes in applicable regulatory requirements.
On March 22, 2024, the CAC promulgated the Regulations on Promoting and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flow, which specifies the standards for the declaration of critical data export security assessments and stipulated circumstances exempted from declaring data export security assessments. For instance, data collected in international trade and cross-border transportation activities that does not contain personal information or critical data are exempted. Additionally, free trade pilot zones are allowed to establish negative lists, and data exports not included the negative list are exempted from the declaration of data export security assessments.
As a network platform operator who possess personal information of more than one million users for purposes of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, we have applied for and completed a cybersecurity review with respect to our proposed overseas listing pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures.
Regulations Relating to Privacy and Data Protection
On December 29, 2011, the MIIT issued the Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, taking effect on March 15, 2012, pursuant to which, internet information service provider may not collect any user personal information or provide such information to third parties without the consent of such user, unless it is otherwise provided by laws or administrative regulations. An internet information service provider shall expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose for the collection and processing of such users’ personal information and may only collect such information necessary for the provision of its services. On December 28, 2012, the SCNPC promulgated the Decision on Strengthening Network Information Protection, which provides that electronic information that can identity citizens’ personal privacy and involves citizens’ personal privacy is protected, and no person or organization shall steal, illegally obtain, sell or illegally provide to others any personal information of citizens.
On July 16, 2013, the MIIT issued the Provisions on Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunication and Internet Users, taking effect on September 1, 2013, pursuant to which “personal information” is defined as information that identifies a citizen, the time or location for his/her use of telecommunication and internet services or involves privacy of any citizen such as his/her birth date, ID card number, and address. Any collection and use of user personal information must be subject to the consent of the user, abide by the principles of legality, rationality and necessity and be within the specified purposes, methods and scopes. An internet information service provider must also keep information collected strictly confidential, and is further prohibited from divulging, tampering or destroying of any such information, or selling or providing such information to other parties. Any violation of the above decision or order may subject the internet information service provider to order to rectify, warnings, fines or even criminal liabilities.
143
According to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law of the PRC issued by the SCNPC on August 29, 2015, taking effect on November 1, 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, will be subject to criminal liability for causing (a) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (b) any leakage of the users’ information that leads to serious consequences; (c) any serious loss of evidence for criminal activities; or (d) any other severe situations. In addition, any individual or entity that (a) sells or provides personal information to others unlawfully, or (b) steals or illegally obtains any personal information, will be subject to criminal liability in severe situations. Pursuant to the Notice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the MPS on Legally Punishing Criminal Activities Infringing upon the Personal Information of Citizens, issued on April 23, 2013 and taking effect on the same day, and the Interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Infringement of Citizen’s Personal Information, issued on May 8, 2017 and taking effect as of June 1, 2017, the following activities may constitute the crime of infringing upon a citizen’s personal information: (i) providing a citizen’s personal information to specified persons or releasing a citizen’s personal information online or through other methods in violation of relevant national provisions; (ii) providing legitimately collected information relating to a citizen to others without such citizen’s consent (unless the information is processed, not traceable to a specific person and not recoverable); (iii) collecting a citizen’s personal information in violation of applicable rules and regulations when performing a duty or providing services; or (iv) collecting a citizen’s personal information by purchasing, accepting or exchanging such information in violation of applicable rules and regulations.
On January 23, 2019, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the MIIT, the MPS, and SAMR jointly issued the Announcement of Launching Special Rectifications against Illegal Collection and Use of Personal Information by Apps to implement special rectifications against mobile apps that collect and use personal information in violation of applicable laws and regulations, including among others, collecting personal information irrelevant to their services, or forcing users to give authorization in a disguised manner. On November 28, 2019, the CAC, the MIIT, the MPS and SAMR promulgated the Identification Method of Illegal Collection and Use of Personal Information Through App, which provides guidance for the regulatory authorities to identify the illegal collection and use of personal information through mobile apps, and for the app operators to conduct self-examination and self-correction and for other participants to voluntarily monitor compliance thereof.
On May 28, 2020, the NPC approved the Civil Code of the PRC, or the Civil Code, which has come into effect on 1 January 2021. Pursuant to the Civil Code, the personal information of a natural person shall be protected by law. Any organization or individual that need to obtain personal information of others shall obtain such information legally and ensure the security of such information, and shall not illegally collect, use, process or transmit personal information of others, or illegally purchase, sell, provide or make public personal information of others.
On August 20, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the Law of Personal Information Protection of PRC, or the Personal Information Protection Law, which integrates the scattered rules with respect to personal information rights and privacy protection and became effective on November 1, 2021. Pursuant to the Personal Information Protection Law, personal information, refers to information related to identified or identifiable natural persons and is recorded by electronic or other means but excluding the anonymized information. Personal information processing includes, but is not limited to, the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, and deletion of personal information. Personal information shall be processed under the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, necessity and good faith, and shall not be processed in a way that is misleading, fraudulent or coercive. Personal information handlers shall bear responsibility for their personal information handling activities, and adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the security of the personal information they handle. Otherwise, the personal information handlers will be ordered to correct or suspend or terminate the provision of services, confiscation of illegal income, fines or other penalties.
144
Regulations Relating to Outbound Investment
To regulate outbound investments, the MOFCOM promulgated the Administrative Measures on Outbound Investments (2009 Edition) on March 16, 2009, taking effect as of May 1, 2009, which was repealed by the Administrative Measures on Outbound Investments (2014 Edition), or the MOFCOM Outbound Investments Measures, promulgated by MOFCOM on September 6, 2014, taking effect as of October 6, 2014, under which the MOFCOM’s approval delegation was modified by the Decision of the State Council to Cancel a Group of Administrative Licensing Items and Other Items (2018) on July 28, 2018. According to the MOFCOM Outbound Investments Measures, outbound investments of enterprises involving sensitive countries and regions or sensitive industries shall be subject to examination and approval by the MOFCOM or its local counterparts at provincial level and other outbound investments of enterprises shall be subject to filing with the same authorities. The MOFCOM and its provincial local counterparts shall conduct filing and approval administration through the “outbound investment administration system”, and issue the Certificate of Outbound Investment by Enterprises for enterprises which have obtained such filing or approval.
On December 26, 2017, the NDRC, promulgated the Administrative Measures on the Outbound Investments of Enterprises, or the NDRC Outbound Investment Measures, which became effective from March 1, 2018. Pursuant to the NDRC Enterprise Outbound Investment Measures, outbound investment refers to the investment activities conducted by an enterprise located within the territory of the PRC either directly or via an overseas enterprise under its control. Such control of an overseas enterprise can be obtained through investing assets and equities, providing financing or a guarantee, or any other means, to obtain overseas ownership, control rights, business management rights and other related rights and interests. To make outbound investment, investors shall go through the formalities to have a proposed overseas investment project approved or filed for record, report relevant information, and cooperate in supervision and inspection. Projects subject to approval administration are sensitive projects in one of the sensitive industries listed in the Outbound Investment Sensitive Industry Catalogue (2018 Edition), which was promulgated by the NDRC on January 31, 2018 and came into effect on March 1, 2018, to be carried out by investors either directly or through overseas enterprises under their control and the approval authority is the NDRC. Projects subject to record-filing administration are non-sensitive projects to be carried out directly by investors and the record-filing authorities are the NDRC and its provincial local counterparts. In addition, where natural persons within the territory of China make investments abroad through overseas enterprises under their control or through enterprises located in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan region, the Enterprise Outbound Investment Measures shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Regulations Relating to Tax
Enterprise Income Tax
On March 16, 2007, the SCNPC promulgated the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, which was amended on February 24, 2017 and December 29, 2018 respectively. On December 6, 2007, the State Council promulgated the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the PRC on Enterprise Income Tax, which came into effect on January 1, 2008 and was last amended on December 6, 2024, or collectively, the EIT Law. Pursuant to the EIT Law, taxpayers consist of resident enterprises and non-resident enterprises. Resident enterprises are defined as enterprises that are established in the PRC in accordance with laws of mainland China, or that are established in accordance with the laws of foreign countries but whose actual or de facto control is administered from within the PRC territory. Non-resident enterprises are defined as enterprises that are set up in accordance with the laws of foreign countries and whose actual administration is conducted outside the PRC territory, but have established institutions or premises in the PRC, or have no such established institutions or premises but have income generated from inside the PRC territory. Under the EIT Law, a uniform enterprise income tax rate of 25% is applicable. However, if non-resident enterprises have not formed permanent establishments or premises in the PRC, or if they have formed permanent establishment institutions or premises in the PRC but there is no actual relationship between the income derived in the PRC territory and the established institutions or premises set up by them, the enterprise income tax is, in that case, set at the rate of 10% for their income sourced from inside the PRC territory.
145
Pursuant to the EIT Law, the EIT tax rate of a high and new technology enterprise is 15%. Pursuant to the Administrative Measures for the Recognition of High and New Technology Enterprises, promulgated on April 14, 2008 and last amended on January 29, 2016, the certificate of a high and new technology enterprise is valid for three (3) years and may be renewed after the inspection of the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, and other authorities.
The Notice of the SAT Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or the SAT Circular 82, which was promulgated by the SAT on April 22, 2009 and last amended on December 29, 2017, sets out the standards and procedures for determining whether or not the “de facto management body” of an enterprise registered outside of the PRC territory and controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups is located within the PRC territory. Pursuant to the SAT Circular 82, offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China, and shall be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its global income only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function have their presence mainly in mainland China; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in mainland China; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in mainland China; and (iv) not less than half of the enterprise’s directors or senior management with voting rights habitually reside in mainland China. Further to SAT Circular 82, in June 2018 the SAT amended the Measures for the Administration of Income Tax for Chinese-Funded Holding Resident Enterprises Registered Abroad (for Trial Implementation), or the SAT Bulletin 45, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 provides for procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters. Pursuant to the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, promulgated by the SAT on August 21, 2006, taking effect on the same day, and other applicable laws of mainland China, if a Hong Kong resident enterprise is identified by the competent PRC tax authorities as having satisfied the conditions and provisions of the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement and other applicable laws, the applicable withholding tax rate for dividends received by a Hong Kong resident enterprise from a PRC resident enterprise may be reduced from 10% to 5% if such Hong Kong resident directly holds at least 25% of the equity interest of the PRC resident enterprise. Pursuant to the Notice on Certain Issues with Respect to the Enforcement of Dividend Provisions in Tax Treaties promulgated on February 20, 2009 by the SAT, a Hong Kong resident enterprise must meet the following conditions, among others, in order to apply the reduced withholding tax rate: (i) its corporate form must be a company; (ii) it must directly own the required percentage of equity interests and voting rights in the PRC resident enterprise; and (iii) it must have directly owned such required percentage in the PRC resident enterprise throughout the twelve (12) months prior to receiving the dividends.
The Public Notice Regarding Certain Enterprise Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises, or the SAT Bulletin 7, promulgated by the SAT on February 3, 2015 and partially repealed by the Public Notice on Issues Relating to Withholding at Source of Income Tax of Non-resident Enterprises promulgated by the SAT on October 17, 2017 and the Decision of the SAT on Promulgation of the Catalog of Invalid or Repealed Departmental Rules and Regulatory Documents of Tax Authorities promulgated by the SAT on December 29, 2017, extends its tax jurisdiction to transactions involving the transfer of taxable assets through offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. Pursuant to SAT Bulletin 7, where a non-resident enterprise indirectly transfers properties such as equity in PRC resident enterprises without any justifiable business purposes and aiming to avoid the payment of enterprise income tax, such indirect transfer must be deemed and reclassified as a direct transfer of equity in PRC resident enterprise. To assess whether an indirect transfer of PRC taxable properties has reasonable commercial purposes, all arrangements related to the indirect transfer must be considered comprehensively and factors set forth in SAT Bulletin 7 must be comprehensively analyzed in light of the actual circumstances. In addition, SAT Bulletin 7 has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market.
On October 17, 2017, the SAT promulgated the Public Notice on Issues Relating to Withholding at Source of Income Tax of Non-resident Enterprises, or the SAT Bulletin 37, which became effective on December 1, 2017 and was amended on June 15, 2018. SAT Bulletin 37 requires that with regard to equity investment earnings such as dividends and bonuses, interest, rental income, use of franchise income, property transfer income, and other kinds of taxable income earned by non-resident enterprises from sources in the PRC, source-based withholding shall be implemented; as such, the withholding obligors are the entities or individuals that have the direct obligation to make payment of relevant funds to the non-resident enterprises according to law or relevant contracts. Where the withholding obligor fails to withhold taxes according to law or is unable to carry out its withholding obligation, the non-resident enterprise shall declare the enterprise income tax to the competent taxation authority in the locality where the tax was accrued.
146
Value-added Tax
Pursuant to the Regulations of the PRC on Value-added Tax, or the VAT Regulations, which was promulgated by SCNPC on December 25, 2024, and will come into effect on January 1, 2026, and the Implementing Rules of the Provisional Regulations of the PRC on Value-added Tax, which was promulgated by the Ministry of Financing of the PRC, or the MOF on December 25, 1993 and amended in December 15, 2008 and October 28, 2011 respectively, tax payers engaging in sale of goods, provision of processing services, repairs and replacement services, sales of services, intangible assets or real property, or importation of goods within the territory of the PRC shall pay value-added tax, or the VAT. The currently applicable tax rates of VAT vary a lot from 0% through 13% for different kinds of goods sold or service provided and different business models and transaction types, subject to adjustments that may be made by the SAT from time to time.
Regulations Relating to Intellectual Property
Copyright
The Copyright Law of the PRC promulgated by the SCNPC on September 7, 1990 and last revised on November 11, 2020 taking effect as of June 1, 2021, or the Copyright Law, and the Implementing Regulations of the Copyright Law of the PRC promulgated by the State Council on May 30, 1991 and last amended on January 30, 2013 taking effect as of March 1, 2013, are the principal laws and regulations governing copyright related matters. The Copyright Law provides that Chinese citizens, legal persons or unincorporated organizations shall, whether published or not, be entitled to copyright of their works. The Copyright Law extends copyright protection to writings, oral works, photographic works, audio-visual works, and software products. Authors and other copyright owners may register their works with the registration agency recognized by the competent national copyright authority. Under the Copyright Law, the term of protection for copyrighted software of a legal person or institution is fifty (50) years since such software is first published in China. In addition, there is a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center. To address the problem of copyright infringement related to the content posted or transmitted over the internet, the National Copyright Administration, or the NCAC, and the MIIT jointly promulgated the Measures for Administrative Protection of Copyright Related to Internet on April 29, 2005, which became effective on May 30, 2005.
On May 18, 2006, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Protection of Information Network Transmission Right or the Transmission Right Regulations, which took effect on July 1, 2006 and was amended on January 30, 2013 taking effect as of March 1, 2013. According to the Transmission Right Regulations, an internet information service provider may be held liable under various situations, including if it knows or should reasonably have known a copyright infringement through the internet and fails to take measures to remove or block or disconnect links to the content, or, although not aware of the infringement, the internet information service provider fails to take such measures upon receipt of the copyright holder’s notice of infringement. The internet information service provider may be exempted from indemnification liabilities under certain circumstances.
According to Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Certain Issues Related to the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases Involving Disputes over Infringement of Information Network Transmission Rights, which took effect on January 1, 2013 and was amended on December 29, 2020 taking effect from January 1, 2021, web players or web service providers who, without authorization, provide via information network works, performances or audio-video products for which others have the right of information network transmission shall be deemed to have infringed upon the information network transmission right, unless otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations. Furthermore, where an internet service provider knows or should have known that network users are infringing on the right of information transmission through network services, and fails to take necessary measures such as deleting, shielding, disconnecting links, or providing technical support, such behavior/omission shall constitute an act of assisting infringement.
147
Software Registration
On December 20, 2001, the State Council promulgated the Computer Software Protection Regulations, or the Computer Software Protection Regulations, which came into effect on October 1, 1991 and was last amended on January 30, 2013 taking effect as of March 1, 2013. The Computer Software Protection Regulations are formulated for protecting the rights and interests of computer software copyright owners, encouraging the development and application of computer software and promoting the development of software industry. In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations, the NCAC promulgated the Computer Software Copyright Registration Measures on February 20, 2002, as amended on May 19, 2004, which regulates registrations of software copyright, exclusive licensing contracts for software copyright and transfer contracts. The NCAC shall be the competent authority for the nationwide administration of software copyright registration and the Copyright Protection Center of China, or the CPCC, is designated as the software registration authority. The CPCC shall grant registration certificates to the computer software copyright applicants.
Trademarks
Pursuant to the Trademark Law of the PRC, or the PRC Trademark Law, which was promulgated by the SCNPC on August 23, 1982 and last amended on April 23, 2019, and the Implementation Regulation of the PRC Trademark Law, which was adopted by the State Council on August 3, 2002 and last amended on April 29, 2014, registered trademarks include commodity trademarks, service trademarks, collective trademarks and certification trademarks.
The Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration (or CNIPA) is in charge of trademark registrations nationwide and grants a protection term of ten (10) years to registered trademarks which may be renewed for consecutive ten-year periods upon request by the trademark owner. The PRC Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. Where a trademark for which a registration has been made is identical or similar to another trademark which has already been registered or been subject to a preliminary examination and approval for use on the same kind of or similar commodities or services, the application for registration of such trademark may be rejected. Any person applying for the registration of a trademark may not prejudice the existing right first obtained by others, nor may any person register in advance a trademark that has already been used by another party and has already gained a “sufficient degree of reputation” through such party’s use. An application for registration of a malicious trademark not for use will be rejected and those who apply for trademark registration maliciously will be given administrative penalties of warnings or fines according to the circumstances; those who file trademark lawsuits maliciously will be punished by the people’s court according to law.
Domain Names
The Administrative Measures on Internet Domain Names, or the Domain Name Measures, was promulgated by the MIIT on August 24, 2017 and became effective as of November 1, 2017. According to the Domain Name Measures, applicants who apply for domain name root servers and setup of operating entities of domain name root servers or registration and management entities of domain names within the territory of China, shall obtain authorization for this purpose from the MIIT or the local communications administration bureaus at the provisional level. The registration of domain names is generally on a “first-apply-first-registration” basis and a domain name applicant will become the domain name holder upon the completion of the application procedure. On November 27, 2017, the MIIT promulgated the Circular of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Regulating the Use of Domain Names for Internet Information Services, which became effective on January 1, 2018, pursuant to which, where the internet information service provider is an entity, it shall use a domain name that is registered and owned by itself or the person in charge of it or its senior executive in accordance with laws and regulations, while offering internet information services.
Patent
The Patent Law of the PRC promulgated by the SCNPC on March 12, 1984 and last amended on October 17, 2020, being effective as of June 1, 2021, and the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law of the PRC promulgated by the State Council on December 21, 1992 and last amended on December 11, 2023, taking effect as of December 11, 2023, are the principal laws and regulations governing patent related matters. The Patent Office of CNIPA is in charge of the administration of patent-related work nationwide, including accepting and examining patent applications in a uniform way and granting patent rights in accordance with law. An invention or utility model for which a patent right is to be granted shall meet three conditions, namely novelty, inventiveness and practical applicability. Patents cannot be granted for scientific discoveries, rules and methods for intellectual activities, methods used to diagnose or treat diseases, animal and plant breeds, substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation, or designs that are used principally to identify the pattern, color or a combination thereof, of plane presswork. Except under certain specific circumstances provided by law, any third-party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner before using the patent, otherwise the use will constitute an infringement of the rights of the patent holder.
148
Trade Secrets
According to the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, or Anti-Unfair Competition Law, promulgated by the SCNPC on September 2, 1993, as amended on November 4, 2017, April 23, 2019 and June 27, 2025, respectively, and taking effect on October 15, 2025, the term “trade secrets” refers to technical and business information that is unknown to the public, has utility, may create business interests or profits for its legitimate right holders, and is maintained as a secret by its legitimate right holders. Under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, business operators are prohibited from infringing others’ trade secrets by: (i) acquiring trade secrets from the legitimate right holders by theft, bribery, fraud, coercion, electronic intrusion or any other illicit means; (ii) disclosing, using or permitting others to use trade secrets of the legitimate right holders acquired by any means specified in item (i) above; (iii) disclosing, using or permitting others to use trade secrets in their possession, in violation of their confidentiality obligations or any requirements of the legitimate right holders to keep such trade secrets confidential; or (iv) abetting, tempting or aiding a person into acquiring, disclosing, using, or permitting others to use the trade secrets, in violation of his/her confidentiality obligations or any requirements of the legitimate right holders to keep such trade secrets confidential. Pursuant to the Civil Code, no matter whether a contract is lawfully formed or not, the parties may not disclose or improperly use the trade secrets or other confidential information they have come to know in the course of concluding such contract, and if a party divulges or improperly uses such trade secret or information, thereby causing losses to the other party(ies), such party shall be liable for compensating the other party(ies).
Regulations Relating to Anti-monopoly
On August 30, August 2007, the SCNPC promulgated the Anti-Monopoly Law of the PRC, or the Anti-Monopoly Law, which was last amended on June 24, 2022, taking effect as of August 1, 2022, which prohibits monopolistic conduct such as entering into monopoly agreements, abuse of dominant market position and concentration of undertakings that have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition.
Pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law, competing business operators may not enter into monopoly agreements that eliminate or restrict competition, such as by boycotting transactions, fixing or changing the price of commodities, limiting the output of commodities, or fixing the price of commodities for resale to third parties, among other actions, unless the agreement will satisfy the exemptions under the Anti-monopoly Law, such as improving technologies, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of small and medium-sized undertakings, or safeguarding legitimate interests in cross-border trade and economic cooperation with foreign counterparts. Sanctions for violations include an order to cease the activities, and confiscation of illegal gains and fines (ranging from 1% to 10% of sales revenues from the preceding year, or a fine of not more than RMB5 million if there was no sales for the preceding year; or a fine of not more than RMB3 million if the monopoly agreement reached has not been performed.
Business operators are forbidden to use data, algorithms, technologies, capital advantages and platform rules to engage in monopolistic acts prohibited by the Anti-Monopoly Law, and in particular, business operators with a dominant market position are forbidden to use data, algorithms, technologies and platform rules to abuse their dominant market position as specified in the Anti-Monopoly Law such as selling commodities at unfairly high prices or buying commodities at unfairly low prices, selling products at prices below cost without any justifiable cause, and refusing to trade with a trading party without any justifiable cause.
On February 7, 2021, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council promulgated the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Internet Platform Economy Sector, or the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines, aiming to provide guidelines for supervising and prohibiting monopolistic conduct in connection with the internet platform business operations and further elaborate on the factors for recognizing such monopolistic conduct in the internet platform industry. Pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines, the methods of an internet platform collecting or using the privacy information of internet users may also be one of the factors to be considered for analyzing and recognizing monopolistic conducts in the internet platform industry. For example, whether the business operator compulsorily collects unnecessary user information may be considered to analyze whether there is a bundled sale or additional unreasonable trading condition, which is one of the behaviors constituting abuse of dominant market position. In addition, factors including, among others, providing differentiated transaction prices or other transaction conditions for consumers with different payment ability based on consumption references and usage habits analyzed using big data and algorithms is also one of the behaviors constituting abuse of dominant market position. Furthermore, whether the business operators are required to “choose one” among the internet platform and its competitive platforms maybe considered to analyze whether such internet platform operator with dominant market position abuses its dominant market position and excludes or restricts market competition. However, as the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines were only issued recently, their interpretation and implementation in practice may continue to evolve.
149
On March 10, 2023, SAMR issued the Provisions on the Prohibitions of Monopoly Agreements, taking effect on April 15, 2023, which superseded the previously-issued interim provisions promulgated in 2019 and clarified certain practical issues, e.g., how to define the scope of commodity markets related to the platform economy.
On March 10, 2023, SAMR issued the Provisions on the Prohibitions of Acts of Abuse of Dominant Market Positions, taking effect on April 15, 2023, which superseded the previously-issued interim provisions promulgated in 2019 and clarified certain practical issues, e.g., how to determine whether a platform economy operator has gained a dominant market position.
On April 25, 2024, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council promulgated the Anti-Monopoly Compliance Guidelines of Business Operators to guide and support the business operators in establishing and improving anti-monopoly compliance management systems.
Regulations Relating to Employment and Social Welfare
Employment
Pursuant to the PRC Labor Law, effective as of January 1, 1995 and last amended on December 29, 2018 and the PRC Labor Contract Law, effective as of January 1, 2008 and amended on December 28, 2012, a written labor contract shall be executed by an employer and an employee when the employment relationship is established, and an employer is under an obligation to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten (10) consecutive years. Furthermore, if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. All employers must pay remuneration to their employees equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. All employers are required to establish a system for labor safety and sanitation, strictly abide by state rules and standards and provide employees with appropriate workplace safety training. In addition, the mainland China government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the PRC Labor Contract Law. Amongst other things, new annual leave requirements mandate that annual leave ranging from five (5) to fifteen (15) days is available to nearly all employees and further require that the employer compensate an employee for any annual leave days the employee is unable to take in the amount of three times his daily salary, subject to certain exceptions. Moreover, all PRC enterprises are generally required to implement a standard working time system of eight (8) hours a day and forty(40) hours a week, and if the implementation of such standard working time system is not appropriate due to the nature of the job or the characteristics of business operation, the enterprise may implement a flexible working time system or comprehensive working time system after obtaining approvals from the labor administration authorities.
Labor Dispatch
Pursuant to the PRC Labor Contract Law, the dispatched contract workers shall be entitled to equal pay for equal work as a fulltime employee of an employer, and they shall only be engaged to perform temporary, ancillary or substitute job positions. A temporary job position refers to a position with a term of less than six months; an ancillary job position refers to a non-main business position that serves main business positions; and a substitute job position refers to a position where the employee who cannot work for a given period of time due to full-time study, vocation or other reasons may be substituted by another worker. An employer shall strictly control the number of dispatched contract workers, and such number shall not exceed certain percentage of total number of workers specified by the labor administrative department of the State Council.
150
According to the Interim Provisions on Labor Dispatch promulgated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on January 24, 2014 and effective as of March 1, 2014, the number of dispatched contract workers hired by an employer shall not exceed 10% of the total number of its workers (including both directly hired employees and dispatched contract workers).
Social Insurance and Housing Provident Fund
The PRC Social Insurance Law, which was promulgated on October 28, 2010 and amended on December 29, 2018, has established social insurance systems of basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance, and has elaborated in detail the legal obligations and liabilities of employers who do not comply with relevant laws and regulations on social insurance.
According to the Interim Regulations on the Collection and Payment of Social Insurance Premiums, the Regulations on Work Injury Insurance, the Regulations on Unemployment Insurance and the Trial Measures on Employee Maternity Insurance of Enterprises, enterprises in the PRC shall provide benefit plans for their employees, which include basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance. An enterprise must provide social insurance by going through social insurance registration with local social insurance authorities or agencies and shall pay or withhold relevant social insurance premiums for or on behalf of employees. On July 20, 2018, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Plan for Reforming the State and Local Tax Collection and Administration Systems, which stipulated the power to collect social insurance premiums is solely delegated to the SAT and its local counterparts. According to the Administrative Measures on Housing Provident Fund, which was promulgated on April 3, 1999 by the State Council and last amended on March 24, 2019, housing provident fund paid and deposited both by employees themselves and their unit employers shall be owned by the employees. Employers shall undertake the registration of payment and deposit of the housing provident fund at the competent housing provident fund management center and upon the examination by such management center, employers shall complete procedures for opening an account at the commissioned bank for the deposit of employees’ housing provident funds. Enterprises are also required to pay and deposit housing provident fund contributions in full amount and in a timely manner.
Regulations Relating to Foreign Exchange
According to the Regulation of the PRC on Foreign Exchange Administration, or the Foreign Exchange Regulations, issued by the State Council on January 29, 1996 and last amended on August 5, 2008 and the Administrative Regulations of Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sale and Payment of Foreign Exchange, or the Foreign Exchange Settlement & Sale & Payment Regulations, promulgated by the People’s Bank of the PRC on June 20, 1996, generally, (i) the foreign exchange income and expenditure and foreign exchange business operations of Chinese institutions and individuals and (ii) the foreign exchange income and expenditure and foreign exchange business operations conducted within the PRC territory by overseas institutions and individuals, shall be subject to foreign exchange administration by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. Renminbi is freely convertible for payments of current account items such as trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions and there is no substantial control on dividend payments to abroad (upon the authenticity verification and completion of tax payment), but is not freely convertible for capital expenditure items such as direct investment, loans or investments in securities outside of the PRC unless the approval from SAFE or its local counterparts is obtained in advance.
151
On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which became effective on June 1, 2015 and was last amended on March 23, 2023. According to SAFE Circular 19, the foreign exchange capital of foreign-invested enterprises (or FIEs) shall follow the principle of “discretionary foreign exchange settlement”, i.e., the foreign exchange capital in the capital account of an FIE, after its amount being confirmed by the local SAFE (or after its amount being recorded by the handling banks) can be settled at such banks based on the actual operational needs of the FIE. The proportion (upper limit) of “discretionary foreign exchange settlement” of an FIE is temporarily set at 100% of the amount of foreign exchange capital of such FIE. The Renminbi converted from the foreign exchange capital will be kept in a designated account and if an FIE needs to make further payment from such account, it still needs to provide supporting documents and proceed with the review process with the banks. Furthermore, SAFE Circular 19 stipulates that the use of capital by FIEs shall follow the principles of authenticity and self use within the business scope of enterprises. Furthermore, the foreign exchange capital of an FIE and the Renminbi fund obtained by such FIE from foreign exchange settlement shall not be used for any of the following purposes: (i) directly or indirectly used for payments beyond the business scope of the enterprises or payments as prohibited by relevant laws and regulations; (ii) directly or indirectly used for investment in securities unless otherwise provided by the laws and regulations; (iii) directly or indirectly used for issuance of Renminbi entrusted loans except for those permitted by the business scope of such FIE, repayment of interenterprise loans (including advances by third parties) or repayment of bank loans that have been transferred to a third party; or (iv) directly or indirectly used for expenses related to the purchase of real estate that is not for self use (except for the foreign-invested real estate enterprises).
The Circular on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, was promulgated by SAFE on June 9, 2016. Pursuant to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in the PRC are also allowed to convert their foreign debts from foreign currency to Renminbi on a discretionary basis. SAFE Circular 16 provides a unified standard for the conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including but not limited to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) on a discretionary basis which applies to all enterprises registered in the PRC. SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope or prohibited by PRC Laws, while such converted Renminbi shall not be provided as loans to its non-associated enterprises. On January 26, 2017, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Improving the Check of Authenticity and Compliance to Further Promote Foreign Exchange Control which specifies several capital control measures with respect to the outbound remittance of profit from domestic entities to offshore entities, including (i) under the principle of genuine transaction, banks shall check board resolutions regarding profit distribution, the original version of tax filing records and audited financial statements; and (ii) domestic entities shall make up for losses incurred in previous years before remitting abroad any profit. Moreover, pursuant to the circular, domestic entities shall make detailed explanations of the sources and utilization scheme of their invested funds, and provide board resolutions, contracts and other supporting materials proving the authenticity when undergoing the registration and remittance procedures in connection with an outbound investment.
On October 23, 2019, SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Promoting the Facilitation of Cross-Border Trade and Investment, or SAFE Circular 28, which, among other things, allows FIEs that do not have “equity investment” in their approved business scope to use their capital obtained from foreign exchange settlement to make domestic equity investments as long as such investments are real and in compliance with the foreign investment-related laws and regulations. On April 10, 2020, SAFE promulgated the Circular of SAFE on Optimizing Foreign Exchange Administration to Support the Development of Foreign-related Business pursuant to which the facilitation of payments using offshore incomes under the capital accounts (including capital contribution, foreign debts, proceeds from overseas listings and etc.) by qualified domestic enterprises shall be promoted nationwide.
On December 4, 2023, the SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Deepening Reform and Promoting the Facilitation of Cross-border Trade and Investment, or the SAFE Circular 2023[28]. The SAFE Circular 2023 [28] includes technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the pilot scope of cross-border financing facilitation, further supporting the scientific and technological innovation of SMEs. High-tech, “specialized, refined, and innovative”, and technology-based SMEs in specific jurisdictions such as Beijing that meet the conditions can independently borrow foreign debts within a limit of up to US$10 million or equivalent, while those in other regions that meet the conditions can independently borrow foreign debts within a limit of up to US$5 million or equivalent. In addition, the SAFE Circular 2023[28] also stipulates measures to facilitate foreign direct investment enterprises in their payment for equity transfers under domestic reinvestment and use of proceeds raised from overseas listings.
152
Registration of Overseas Investment by the Domestic Residents
On July 4, 2014, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investments and Financing and Roundtrip Investments through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular No. 37, which, for the purpose of simplifying the approval process, loosening the regulation and promoting the cross-border investments, replaced the Circular of the Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration on Domestic Residents’ Financing and Round-trip Investments through Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles issued by SAFE on October 21, 2005, or the Circular No. 75. Pursuant to SAFE Circular No. 37, SAFE and its branches regulate the establishment of special purpose vehicles, or the SPV, by domestic residents. “Domestic residents” include domestic institutions and domestic individual residents, which include, Chinese citizens holding the ID cards of Chinese domestic residents, military ID certificates or ID certificates for armed police force, and overseas individuals that do not hold any domestic legitimate ID certificates but have habitual residences within the territory of the PRC due to relationships of economic interests. Prior to contributing domestic and overseas legitimate assets or interests to a SPV, a domestic resident shall apply to the competent SAFE for foreign exchange registration of overseas investment. In the event that the basic information of the registered overseas SPV is changed, such as the domestic individual resident shareholder, name, operating period, etc., or if there is a capital increase, capital reduction, equity transfer or swap, merge, spin-off or other substantial changes, the modification registration of foreign exchange for overseas investment shall be completed with the competent SAFE. Where a non-listed SPV uses its own equity interests or options to grant equity incentives to the directors, supervisors and senior management of a domestic enterprise under its direct or indirect control, as well as other employees in employment or labor relationships with the aforesaid company, relevant domestic individual residents may, before exercising their rights, apply to the competent SAFE for foreign exchange registration of the SPV. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular No. 37 may result in penalties under the Foreign Exchange Regulations. In the meantime, SAFE has promulgated the Operating Guideline for the Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration over Round-trip Investments with respect to the procedures for SAFE registration under SAFE Circular No. 37, which took effect on July 4, 2014 as an attachment to SAFE Circular No. 37.
On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Simplifying and Improving the Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Direct Investment, effective as of June 1, 2015 and amended on December 30, 2019, which cancels the administrative approvals of foreign exchange registration of inbound direct investment and outbound direct investment. In addition, the circular simplifies the foreign exchange registration procedures and investors can register with banks to have the registration of foreign exchange under the condition of inbound direct investment and outbound direct investment.
On July 13, 2009, SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Promulgating the Administrative Provisions on Foreign Exchange of the Outbound Direct Investments of Domestic Institutions. Pursuant to the circular, domestic institutions may make outbound direct investment with their own foreign exchange funds, domestic foreign exchange loans meeting relevant requirements, foreign exchange purchased with Renminbi funds, tangible assets, intangible assets and other sources of foreign exchange assets approved by the foreign exchange authorities. Domestic institutions may retain the profits made from outbound direct investment outside China for their outbound direct investment. In addition, a domestic institution shall, after obtaining the approval of its outbound direct investment from the competent government authorities, handle the foreign exchange registration formalities for its overseas direct investment at the local foreign exchange authority.
Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans
SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, or the Stock Option Rules, on February 15, 2012, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under the Stock Option Rules and other rules and regulations, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one (1) year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent (including a PRC subsidiary of such overseas-listed company) and complete certain other procedures. The domestic qualified agent is required to amend SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the domestic qualified or other material changes. In addition, an overseas-entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests.
153
Regulations Relating to M&A Rules
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the SAT, SAMR, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, and SAFE jointly issued the Rules on Merger & Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules require in some instances that the parties to any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor will take control of a PRC domestic enterprise shall report the same to the MOFCOM, where any of the following situations exists: (i) the transaction involves an important industry in China, (ii) the transaction may affect national economic security, or (iii) the PRC domestic enterprise has a well-known trademark or historical Chinese trade name in China. The M&A Rules, among other things, also require that (i) the PRC entities or individuals obtain the MOFCOM approval before they establish or control an SPV overseas, provided that they intend to use the SPV to acquire their equity interests in a PRC company for a consideration paid by means of share swap (i.e., paid through newly issued shares of the SPV or existing shares of the SPV then held by such PRC entities or individuals), and list their equity interests in the PRC company overseas indirectly by listing the SPV in an overseas market, and (ii) such SPV obtain the MOFCOM’s approval before it acquires the equity interests held by such PRC entities or PRC individual in the PRC company by means of share swap; and (iii) the SPV obtain CSRC approval before it lists overseas.
Moreover, pursuant to the M&A Rules, the Anti-Monopoly Law and the Provisions on the Examination of Concentration of Undertakings issued by SAMR on March 10, 2023, effective as of April 15, 2023, the participants to a change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor will acquire control of a PRC domestic enterprise or a foreign company with substantial PRC operations, if certain thresholds stipulated by the State Council are triggered.
Pursuant to the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on the Establishment of the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors and the Security Review Rules, or the Security Review Notice, issued by the General Office of the State Council on February 3, 2011, taking effect on March 4, 2011, mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns, and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns, are subject to strict review by the mainland China government authorities. Pursuant to the Provisions on the National Security Review of Foreign Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises or the National Security Review Provisions, issued by the MOFCOM effective on September 1, 2011, when reviewing the acquisition of a domestic enterprise by a foreign enterprise, the MOFCOM will determine whether such a transaction should be subject to national security review by considering both of its “the substance and actual influence”, and foreign investors may not avoid the national security review through methods such as a nominee structure, trust arrangements, multilayer investments, exercising control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions. On December 19, 2020, the NDRC and the MOFCOM issued the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment, which provides that if a foreign investor’s merger or acquisition of a domestic enterprise falls within the scope of security review specified in the Security Review Notice, the foreign investor shall file an application with the NDRC for security review.
154
Regulations Relating to Overseas Offering and Listing
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, and relevant five guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, (1) domestic companies that seek to offer or list securities overseas, both directly and indirectly, shall fulfill the filing procedure and report relevant information to the CSRC; (2) if the issuer meets both of the following criteria, the overseas offering and listing shall be determined as an indirect overseas offering and listing by a domestic company (i) 50% or more of any 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 fiscal year is accounted for by domestic companies; and (ii) the main parts of the issuer’s business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main place(s) of business are located in mainland China, or the majority of senior management staff in charge of its business operations and management are Chinese citizens or have their usual place(s) of residence located in mainland China. Where an issuer submits an application for initial public offering to competent overseas regulators, such issuer must file with the CSRC within three business days after such application is submitted. The Overseas Listing Trial Measures also require subsequent reports to be filed with the CSRC upon occurrence of certain material events, such as change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer(s) who have completed overseas offerings and listings.
According to the Overseas Listing Trial Measures, the domestic companies engaging in overseas offering and listing activities shall strictly comply with applicable laws and regulations of mainland China. If a domestic company fails to complete the filing procedures or there are any false records, misleading statements or material omissions in its filing documents, such domestic company may be subject to administrative penalties, such as order to rectify, warnings, fines, and its controlling shareholders, actual controllers, the persons directly in charge and other directly liable persons may also be subject to administrative penalties, such as warnings and fines.
On February 24, 2023, the CSRC and other three PRC regulatory agencies published the Provisions on Strengthening the Confidentiality and Archives Management Related to Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Companies, or the Confidentiality and Archives Management Provisions, effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Confidentiality and Archives Management Provisions, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets shall establish confidentiality and archives system. The “domestic companies” under the Confidentiality and Archives Management Provisions refer to domestic companies directly listed on a foreign stock exchange and the domestic operating entities of an offshore company being indirectly listed on a foreign stock exchange. The PRC domestic companies shall obtain approval from the competent authorities who are delegated the power to grant such approval and file with the confidential administration department at the same level when providing or publicly disclosing documents and materials related to state secrets (where it is uncertain as to whether any document or material constitutes state secrets or there is any dispute thereof, the PRC domestic companies shall report the same to the confidential administration department for determination) or secrets of the government authorities to the securities companies, securities service agencies or the offshore regulatory authorities or providing or publicly disclosing such documents and materials through its offshore listing entity, and shall complete corresponding procedures when providing or publicly disclosing documents and materials which may adversely influence national security and the public interest to the securities companies, securities service agencies or the offshore regulatory authorities or providing or publicly disclosing such documents and materials through its offshore listing entity. The PRC domestic companies shall provide written statements on the implementation on the aforementioned rules to the securities companies and securities service agencies and the PRC domestic companies shall not provide accounting files to an overseas accounting firm unless such firm complies with the corresponding procedures.
155
Directors and Executive Officers
The following table sets forth information regarding our directors and executive officers as of the date of this prospectus.
| Directors and Executive Officers | Age | Position/Title | ||
| Jinhong Deng | 40 | Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Min Liu | 49 | Director and Senior Vice President | ||
| Shijie Chen | 39 | Director and Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Zhijia Liu | 48 | Director | ||
| Mi Zhou | 40 | Director | ||
| Yu Zhang | 47 | Director | ||
| Xinghong Hua | 56 | Independent Director | ||
| Xiaowei Wang | 52 | Independent Director | ||
| Junchen Sun | 37 | Independent Director | ||
| Xu Deng | 38 | General Manager of Yimutian Business |
Mr. Jinhong Deng founded our Company in 2011 and has served as our chairman and chief executive officer since our inception. Mr. Deng started his career at Baidu in 2006 where he worked in the marketing department and served as a product manager. In 2009, Mr. Deng founded Yi Cun Wang (易村网), a digital platform for comparing market prices of agricultural products, and had served as its chief executive officer until 2010. Mr. Deng is the Industrial Entrepreneur of the Year awarded by the 2023 International Top 100 Future Agricultural Food Conference and the Pioneer of Digital Agriculture awarded by the 2020 World Digital Agriculture Conference. He is also one of the Fortune China’s 40 Under 40 business elites in 2020, the 36Kr’s 36 Under 36 brilliant entrepreneurs in 2020, and the top 10 entrepreneurs rewarded the For Good Awards on the 2022 China Forum of Social Enterprise and Investment of Impact. Mr. Deng graduated from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree.
Mr. Min Liu has served as our director and senior vice president since March 2015. Mr. Liu was a lawyer specialized in intellectual property at Beijing Yonghe Law Firm from September 2004 to November 2006. From December 2006 to February 2015, he served at the legal department of Baidu Group where he was a legal counsel and later became the director of legal department. Mr. Liu graduated from Nanjing University in 2004 with a master of laws degree, and he received a Ph.D. degree in law from Peking University in 2014.
Mr. Shijie Chen has served as our chief financial officer since May 2019. Before joining us, Mr. Chen was a consulting manager at Moody’s Investor Services from March 2010 to April 2014. He later joined Lan Ju Investment Group where he was a project partner from June 2014 to April 2016. Mr. Chen had served as a senior investment director at Xiaomi Group from August 2016 to December 2018. Mr. Chen graduated from Beijing Second Foreign Language School in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree. He received a master’s degree from Claremont Graduate University in 2010.
Mr. Zhijia Liu has served as our director since 2018. Mr. Liu served the director at Beijing Economic Information Center from 1997 to 2013. Mr. Liu first joined us in 2013 and served as the marketing manager until 2015. Mr. Liu later joined Dachuwang, an affiliate of our company, in 2015 and served as the marketing manager until 2016. Mr. Liu later founded Meichu Tianxia Network Technology Co., Limited in 2016 and served as the general manager until 2017. In 2018, Mr. Liu re-joined us as the manager of the innovation division. Mr. Liu received an associate degree from Capital Normal University in 1997. He graduated from the University of International Business and Economics with a bachelor’s degree in 2002.
156
Mr. Mi Zhou is our co-founder and has served as our director since 2018. Mr. Zhou was a software engineer at Baidu Online Network Technology Co., Ltd. from July 2007 to December 2009. After that, he served as a senior technology manager in the technology division at Dangdang.com until he co-founded our company in March 2012. Mr. Zhou graduated from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in July 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in information security.
Mr. Yu Zhang has served as our director since 2018. He has served as a vice president of Yiguo and the general manager of Shanghai ExFresh Logistic Technology Co., Ltd. since 2015. Mr. Zhang obtained his bachelor’s degree in industrial foreign trade from East China University of Science and Technology in 2000.
Mr. Xinghong Hua has served as our independent director since August 2025. Mr. Hua was a manager at the department of overseas branch management of the headquarter of Bank of China from 1994 to 1996. He had served as a project manager at the department of government relations of ARCO in Washington D.C., United States from 1997 to 1998. He later became a senior manager at Pace Global Energy Services from 1998 to 2004. In 2004, Mr. Hua joined Alcoa Inc. as an Asia-Pacific vice president until 2008. From 2008 to 2020, Mr. Hua was the greater China president and a managing director at Cerberus Capital Management LP. He served as a managing director at Lone Star Funds from 2020 to 2021. Mr. Hua has been the co-founder and chief executive officer of Zan Investment Advisory Limited in Hong Kong since 2022. Mr. Hua received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 and master’s degree in 1994 from Peking University School of International Relations. He also received a master’s degree in international economics, energy and environment from the Johns Hopkins University in 1998.
Ms. Xiaowei Wang has served as our independent director since August 2025. From 2000 to 2006, Ms. Wang served as a human resource director at China Dot Com Group. She became a human resource director at Motorola Mobile Technology (China) Limited in 2008. From 2013 to 2015, Ms. Wang was a human resource vice president at 99Bill Group. She later served as a human resource vice president at Xiaomi Group from 2016 to 2019. She has been a human resource vice president at Hello Group Inc (Nasdaq: MOMO) since 2019. Ms. Wang received a bachelor’s degree of economics from Jinnan University, Guangzhou in 1995 and a master’s degree of finance from the Chinese Academy of Social Science in 1998. She also received an EMBA degree from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in 2005.
Mr. Junchen Sun has served as our independent director since August 2025. Mr. Sun is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Inewborn Healthcare Limited since January 2024. Mr. Sun worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP Tianjin Branch from October 2011 to May 2015, with his last position held as a senior associate. He previously worked at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch and MicroMedia Holdings Limited between October 2015 and February 2017. From February 2017 to April 2023, Mr. Sun worked at Beijing BlueCity Information & Technology Co., Ltd. from July 2020 to August 2022 (Nasdaq: BLCT), with his last position held as the chief financial officer. From April 2023 to April 2024, he worked at Newborn Town Inc. (HKEx: 9911), with his last position held as vice president of investment development. Since March 2024, Mr. Sun has served as an independent non-executive director and a member of the audit committee of the board of directors of China Vered Financial Holding Co., Ltd. (HKEx: 245). Mr. Sun obtained his bachelor’s degree in accountancy in June 2011 from the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics. He obtained his master’s degree in business administration from the Peking University in July 2018. He obtained another master’s degree in business administration from the Tsinghua University in June 2024. He was accredited as a Certified Public Accountant by the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants in April 2015.
Mr. Xu Deng has served as the general manager of Yimutian business since March 2021. Previously, Mr. Deng started his career in NetEase Media Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of NetEase (Nasdaq: NETS; HKEx: 9999), in July 2011 and later became a product vice director. In August 2016, Mr. Deng joined Yixia.com where he served as the general manager of the Yizhibo App business. Mr. Deng jointed Douyu (Nasdaq: DOYU) in November 2018 as the head of R&D division. In October 2019, Mr. Deng served as a director of the business division of new car at Golden Guazi Technology Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Chehaoduo Group. Mr. Deng graduated from the Beijing University of Science and Technology in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design. He also received a master’s degree from Beijing University of Technology in 2011.
157
Board of Directors
Our board of directors consists of nine directors. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company to qualify to serve as a director. The Listing Rules of Nasdaq generally require that a majority of an issuer’s board of directors must consist of independent directors. However, the Listing Rules of Nasdaq permit foreign private issuers like us to follow “home country practice” in certain corporate governance matters. We rely on this “home country practice” exception and do not have a majority of independent directors serving on our board of directors.
A director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or proposed contract with our company is required to declare the nature of his or her interest at a meeting of our directors. A general notice given to the directors by any director to the effect that he or she is a member, shareholder, director, partner, officer or employee of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract or transaction with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest for the purposes of voting on a resolution in respect to a contract or transaction in which he/she has an interest, and after such general notice it shall not be necessary to give special notice relating to any particular transaction. A director may vote in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he/she may be interested therein and if he/she does so, his/her vote shall be counted and he/she may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of the directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement is considered. Our board of directors may exercise all of the powers of our company to borrow money, to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital, or any part thereof, and to issue debentures, debenture stock or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third party. None of our directors has a service contract with us that provides for benefits upon termination of service as a director.
Committees of the Board of Directors
We have established three committees under the board of directors: an audit committee; a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. We have adopted a charter for each of the three committees. Each committee’s members and functions are described below.
Audit Committee. Our audit committee consists of Mr. Junchen Sun, Mr. Xinghong Hua and Ms. Xiaowei Wang. Mr. Junchen Sun is the chairman of our audit committee. We have determined that Mr. Junchen Sun, Mr. Xinghong Hua and Ms. Xiaowei Wang satisfy the “independence” requirements of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Listing Rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. We have determined that Mr. Junchen Sun qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert.” The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:
| ● | appointing the independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by the independent auditors; |
| ● | reviewing with the independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response; |
| ● | discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and the independent auditors; |
| ● | reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our accounting and internal control policies and procedures and any steps taken to monitor and control major financial risk exposures; |
| ● | reviewing and approving all proposed related-party transactions; |
| ● | meeting separately and periodically with management and the independent auditors; and |
| ● | monitoring compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure proper compliance. |
158
Compensation Committee. Our compensation committee consists of Ms. Xiaowei Wang and Mr. Junchen Sun. Ms. Xiaowei Wang is the chairwoman of our compensation committee. We have determined that Ms. Xiaowei Wang and Mr. Junchen Sun satisfy the “independence” requirements of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Listing Rules of Nasdaq. The compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure, including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which his compensation is deliberated. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:
| ● | reviewing and approving, or recommending to the board for its approval, the compensation for our chief executive officer and other executive officers; |
| ● | reviewing and recommending to the board for determination with respect to the compensation of our non-employee directors; |
| ● | reviewing periodically and approving any incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or similar arrangements; and |
| ● | selecting a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser only after taking into consideration all factors relevant to that person’s independence from management. |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Mr. Xinghong Hua and Mr. Junchen Sun. Mr. Xinghong Hua is the chairman of our nominating and corporate governance committee. Mr. Xinghong Hua and Mr. Junchen Sun satisfy the “independence” requirements of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Listing Rules of Nasdaq. The nominating and corporate governance committee assists the board of directors in selecting individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board and its committees. The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for, among other things:
| ● | selecting and recommending to the board nominees for election by the shareholders or appointment by the board; |
| ● | reviewing annually with the board the current composition of the board with regard to characteristics such as independence, knowledge, skills, experience and diversity; |
| ● | making recommendations on the frequency and structure of board meetings and monitoring the functioning of the committees of the board; and |
| ● | advising the board periodically with regard to significant developments in the law and practice of corporate governance as well as our compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and making recommendations to the board on all matters of corporate governance and on any remedial action to be taken. |
Duties and Functions of Directors
Under Cayman Islands law, our directors owe fiduciary duties to our company, including a duty of loyalty, a duty to act honestly and a duty to act in what they consider in good faith to be in our best interests. Our directors must also exercise their powers only for a proper purpose. Our directors also owe to our company a duty to exercise the skill they actually possess and such care and diligence that a reasonable prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time. Our company has the right to seek damages if a director breaches any duty which he or she owes to us. In limited exceptional circumstances, a shareholder may have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by our directors is breached. In accordance with our amended and restated articles of association, the functions and powers of our board of directors include, among others, (i) convening shareholders’ annual general meetings and reporting its work to shareholders at such meetings, (ii) declaring dividends, (iii) appointing officers and determining their terms of offices and responsibilities, and (iv) approving the transfer of shares of our company, including the registering of such shares in our register of members. In addition, in the event of a tie vote, the chairman of the meeting has, the right to cast a second or casting vote.
159
Terms of Directors and Officers
Our directors may be appointed by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. Our directors are not subject to a term of office and hold office until such time as they are removed from office by ordinary resolution of our shareholders (except with regard to the removal of the chairman of the board of directors, who may only be removed from office by special resolution of our shareholders). Our independent directors are subject to a fixed term of two years and their services may be terminated earlier with advanced notice. A director will cease to be a director if, among other things, the director (i) resigns his or her office by notice in writing to our company; (ii) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors generally; (iii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (iv) is prohibited by any applicable law or stock exchange rules from being a director; (v) without special leave of absence from the board, is absent from meetings of the board for three (3) consecutive meetings and the board (excluding the absent director) resolves that his or her office be vacated; or (vi) is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of our post offering amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of our board of directors.
Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
We have entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers. Under these agreements, each of our executive officers is employed for an initial specified term, which is automatically extended for successive periods unless either party gives 60 days’ advance written notice of non-renewal. We may terminate employment for cause, at any time, without advance notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, such as conviction or plea of guilty to a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, negligent or dishonest acts to our detriment, or misconduct or a failure to perform agreed duties. We may also terminate an executive officer’s employment without cause upon a 60-day advance written notice. In such case of termination by us, the executive officer will receive compensation and benefits during the notice period, and any additional severance as may be agreed, subject to the executive officer signing a customary release of claims. The executive officer may resign at any time with a 60 days’ advance written notice.
Each executive officer has agreed to hold, both during and after the termination or expiry of his or her employment agreement, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his or her duties in connection with the employment or pursuant to applicable law, any of our confidential information or trade secrets, any confidential information or trade secrets of our clients or prospective clients, or the confidential or proprietary information of any third-party received by us and for which we have confidential obligations. The executive officers have also agreed to disclose in confidence to us all inventions, designs and trade secrets which they conceive, develop or reduce to practice during the executive officer’s employment with us and to assign all right, title and interest in them to us, and assist us in obtaining and enforcing patents, copyrights and other legal rights for these inventions, designs and trade secrets.
In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition and non-solicitation restrictions during the term of his or her employment and typically for two years and one year following the last date of employment, respectively. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to (i) approach our suppliers, clients, customers or contacts or other persons or entities introduced to the executive officer in his or her capacity as a representative of us for the purpose of doing business with such persons or entities that will harm our business relationships with these persons or entities; (ii) assume employment with or provide services to any of our competitors, or engage, whether as principal, partner, licensor or otherwise, any of our competitors, without our express consent; or (iii) seek directly or indirectly, to solicit the services of any of our employees who is employed by us on or after the date of the executive officer’s termination, or in the year preceding such termination, without our express consent.
We have also entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. Under these agreements, we agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.
160
Interested Transactions
A director may, subject to any separate requirement for audit committee approval under applicable law or applicable Nasdaq Stock Market Rules, vote in respect of any contract or transaction in which he or she is interested, provided that the nature of the interest of any directors in such contract or transaction is disclosed by him or her at or prior to its consideration and any vote in that matter.
Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we paid an aggregate of RMB5.8 million (US$0.8 million) in cash to our directors and executive officers. We have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our directors and executive officers. Our PRC subsidiaries are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employee’s salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and other statutory benefits and a housing provident fund.
Share Incentive Plans
2015 Share Incentive Plan
In December 2015, our board of directors approved and adopted the 2015 share incentive plan, or the 2015 Plan, to attract and retain the best available personnel, provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants, and promote the success of our business. The maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares that may be issued under the 2015 Plan is 815,130,483, subject to further amendment. As of the date of this prospectus, option to purchase a total of 623,107,735 ordinary shares have been granted under the 2015 Plan, excluding awards that were forfeited or cancelled after the relevant grant dates.
The following paragraphs summarize the principal terms of the 2015 Plan.
Type of Awards. The 2015 Plan permits the award of options.
Plan Administration. The 2015 Plan is administered by our board of directors. Our board of directors may also establish a committee to administer the 2015 Plan.
Award Agreement. Awards granted under the 2015 are evidenced by an award agreement that sets forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each award, which may include the term of the award, the provisions applicable in the event that the grantee’s employment or service terminates, and our authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind the award.
Eligibility. We may grant awards to our employees, directors and consultants.
Vesting Schedule. In general, our board of directors determines the vesting schedule, which is specified in the relevant award agreement. Typically, options granted to employees are subject to a four-year vesting schedule, with 25% of the granted options to vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date, and the remaining 75% of the granted options to equally vest (i) every month, (ii) every quarter, or (iii) every six months over the next three years, depending on the terms of the notice of awards.
Exercise of Awards. The exercise price, as applicable, and expiration date for each award are stated in the relevant award agreement. However, the maximum exercisable term is ten years from the date of grant unless extended by our board of directors. The option holders may only exercise their vested options after 90 days following the completion of an initial public offering or a sale of all or substantially all assets or equity interests of the Company, subject to compliance of applicable requirements under laws and regulations in mainland China.
Transfer Restrictions. Awards may not be transferred in any manner by the participant other than in accordance with the exceptions provided in the 2015 Plan or the relevant award agreement or otherwise determined by our board of directors or the committee established by our board of directors to administer the 2015 Plan.
161
Termination and Amendment of the Plan. Unless terminated earlier, the 2015 Plan has a term of ten years from the date of its effectiveness. Our board of directors has the authority to amend and terminate the 2015 Plan, provided that material amendments to the 2015 Plan, including but not limited to any increase in the authorized shares reserved for issuance under the 2015 Plan, require the approval of the shareholders according to the terms of the 2015 Plan. In May 2025, our board of directors approved an extension of the 2015 Plan by another ten-year period. However, unless otherwise determined by our board of directors or the committee established by our board of directors to administer the 2015 Plan in good faith, no such action may adversely affect in any material way any award previously issued pursuant to the 2015 Plan.
The following table summarizes, as of the date of this prospectus, the options granted to our directors and executive officers, excluding awards that were forfeited or cancelled after the relevant grant dates:
| Name | Ordinary Shares Underlying Options Awarded | Exercise Price (US$/Share) | Date of Grant | Date of Expiration | ||||||||
| Jinhong Deng | 10,711,847 | 0.01 | December 6, 2016 | December 6, 2026 | ||||||||
| 4,179,903 | 0.01 | September 30, 2017 | September 30, 2027 | |||||||||
| 22,719,111 | 0.01 | October 31, 2017 | October 31, 2027 | |||||||||
| 5,679,778 | 0.01 | January 10, 2018 | January 10, 2028 | |||||||||
| 29,874,034 | 0.01 | March 1, 2018 | March 1, 2028 | |||||||||
| 3,100,000 | 0.01 | May 1, 2018 | May 1, 2028 | |||||||||
| 191,639,966 | 0.01 | May 23, 2019 | May 23, 2029 | |||||||||
| Min Liu | 8,259,149 | 0.01 | December 6, 2016 | December 6, 2026 | ||||||||
| 3,222,828 | 0.01 | September 30, 2017 | September 30, 2027 | |||||||||
| 10,512,876 | 0.01 | October 31, 2017 | October 31, 2027 | |||||||||
| 2,628,219 | 0.01 | January 10, 2018 | January 10, 2028 | |||||||||
| 3,171,797 | 0.01 | March 1, 2018 | March 1, 2028 | |||||||||
| Shijie Chen | * | 0.01 | May 27, 2019 | May 27, 2029 | ||||||||
| Zhijia Liu | * | 0.01 | March 1, 2018 | March 1, 2028 | ||||||||
| * | 0.01 | October 17, 2022 | October 17, 2032 | |||||||||
| Mi Zhou | * | 0.01 | March 1, 2018 | March 1, 2028 | ||||||||
| Xu Deng | * | 0.01 | September 15, 2021 | September 15, 2031 | ||||||||
| All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group | 342,544,033 | |||||||||||
| * | The shares held by each of the directors and executive officers represent less than 1% of our total outstanding shares. |
As of the date of this prospectus, no restricted shares or restricted share units has been granted to our directors and executive officers.
As of the date of this prospectus, our employees and other qualified individuals other than members of directors and executive officers as a group hold options to acquire a total of 274,083,565 ordinary shares granted under the 2015 Plan.
2025 Share Incentive Plan
In May 2025, our board of directors approved and adopted the 2025 share incentive plan, or the 2025 Plan, to attract and retain the best available personnel, provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants, and promote the success of our business, effective upon the completion of the offering. The maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares that may be issued under the 2025 Plan is 178,075,362. As of the date of this prospectus, no awards have been granted under the 2025 Plan yet.
The following paragraphs describe the principal terms of the 2025 Plan.
Types of awards. The plan permits the awards of options, restricted shares, and restricted share unit awards or other types of awards approved by our board of directors or a committee (the “Committee”) of the board.
162
Plan administration. Our board of directors or the Committee (the plan administrator) administer the plan. The board or the Committee determines, among other things, the participants eligible to receive awards, the type or types of awards to be granted to each eligible participant, the number of awards to be granted to each eligible participant, and the terms and conditions of each award grant.
Award agreement. Awards under the plan are evidenced by an award agreement that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each award which may include the term of an award, the provisions applicable in the event the participant’s employment or service terminates, and our authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an award.
Eligibility. We may grant awards to our directors, consultants, and employees.
Vesting schedule. In general, the plan administrator determines the vesting schedule, which is specified in the relevant award agreement.
Exercise of awards. The exercise price per share subject to an option is determined by the plan administrator and set forth in the award agreement which may be a fixed price or a variable price related to the fair market value of the shares.
Transfer restrictions. Awards may not be transferred in any manner by the eligible participant other than in accordance with the limited exceptions provided in the plan, such as transfers to our company or a subsidiary of ours, transfers to the immediate family members of the participant by gift, the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits if the participant dies, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the participant by the participant’s duly authorized legal representative if the participant has suffered a disability, or, subject to the prior approval of the plan administrator or our executive officer or director authorized by the plan administrator, transfers to one or more natural persons who are the participant’s family members or entities owned and controlled by the participant and/or the participant’s family members, including but not limited to trusts or other entities whose beneficiaries or beneficial owners are the participant and/or the participant’s family members, or to such other persons or entities as may be expressly approved by the plan administrator, pursuant to such conditions and procedures as the plan administrator may establish.
Termination and amendment of the 2025 Share Incentive Plan. Unless terminated earlier, the 2025 Plan has a term of ten years. Our board of directors may terminate, amend or modify the plan, subject to the limitations of applicable laws. However, no termination, amendment, or modification of the plan may adversely affect in any material way any award previously granted pursuant to the plan without the prior written consent of the participant.
163
The following table sets forth information concerning the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, assuming the re-designation of all of the issued and outstanding preferred shares into ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis by:
| ● | each of our directors and executive officers; and | |
| ● | each person known to us to beneficially own 5% or more of our ordinary shares. |
The calculations in the table below are based on (i) 2,859,426,766 ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, including 2,516,653,606 Class A ordinary shares and 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares, and (ii) Class A ordinary shares and 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering, including Class A ordinary shares to be sold by us in this offering in the form of ADSs.
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included shares that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days, including through the exercise of any option, warrant, or other right or the conversion of any other security. These shares, however, are not included in the computation of the percentage ownership of any other person.
| Ordinary
Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to This Offering | Ordinary
Shares Beneficially Owned Immediately After This Offering | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A
ordinary shares | Class B
ordinary shares | Percentage of
Beneficial Ownership† | Percentage of
Aggregate Voting Power†† | Ordinary Shares Being Sold in This Offering | Class A
ordinary shares | Class B
ordinary shares | Percentage
of total ordinary shares on an as-converted basis | Percentage of
aggregate voting power††† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Directors and Executive Officers:** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jinhong Deng(1) | 165,207,841 | 342,773,160 | 17.77 | % | 74.91 | % | — | 165,207,841 | 342,773,160 | 16.94 | % | 73.81 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Min Liu(2) | — | 74,986,698 | 2.62 | % | — | — | — | 74,986,698 | 2.50 | % | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shijie Chen | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zhijia Liu | — | * | * | — | — | — | * | * | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mi Zhou | — | * | * | — | — | — | * | * | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yu Zhang | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xinghong Hua | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xiaowei Wang | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Junchen Sun | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xu Deng | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group | 165,207,841 | 342,773,160 | 17.77 | % | 74.91 | % | — | 165,207,841 | 342,773,160 | 16.94 | % | 73.81 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Shareholders: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yimutian Holdings Limited(1) | 44,245,706 | 231,167,735 | 9.63 | % | 49.80 | % | — | 44,245,706 | 231,167,735 | 9.18 | % | 49.07 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| HSG(3) | 430,257,574 | — | 15.05 | % | 4.59 | % | — | 430,257,574 | — | 14.35 | % | 4.52 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wise Prime International Limited(4) | 255,491,541 | — | 8.94 | % | 2.73 | % | — | 255,491,541 | — | 8.52 | % | 2.69 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passion Stream Investment Limited(5) | 207,632,859 | — | 7.26 | % | 2.22 | % | — | 207,632,859 | — | 6.92 | % | 2.18 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Win-Chain Agribusiness Holdings Limited(6) | 203,044,751 | — | 7.10 | % | 2.17 | % | — | 203,044,751 | — | 6.77 | % | 2.13 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CGC Moon Walk Limited(7) | 193,633,870 | — | 6.77 | % | 2.07 | % | — | 193,633,870 | — | 6.46 | % | 2.04 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership)(8) | 404,876,247 | — | 14.16 | % | 4.32 | % | — | 404,876,247 | — | 13.50 | % | 4.26 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| SCC Entities(9) | 62,042,527 | — | 2.17 | % | 0.66 | % | — | 62,042,527 | — | 2.07 | % | 0.65 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes: |
| * | Aggregate number of shares accounts for less than 1% of our total ordinary shares on an as-converted basis outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. |
164
| ** | Except as indicated otherwise below, the business address of our directors and executive officers is Building B-6, Block A, Zhongguancun Dongsheng Technology Campus, No. 66 Xixiaokou Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100192, the People’s Republic of China. |
| † | For each person and group included in this column, percentage ownership is calculated by dividing the number of shares beneficially owned by such person or group by the sum of the total number of shares outstanding and the number of shares such person or group has the right to acquire upon exercise of option, warrant or other right within 60 days after the date of this prospectus. |
| †† | According to our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, each ordinary share directly or indirectly held by Mr. Jinhong Deng, Mr. Min Liu, Mr. Bailin Song, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou (the “Founding Shareholders Group,” and such ordinary shares, collectively, the “Super Voting Shares”) is entitled to twenty votes per share. In general, the super voting rights attached to such Super Voting Shares shall terminate upon resignation of the members of the Founding Shareholders Group, among other conditions. Each share other than the Super Voting Shares is entitled to one vote per share. As Mr. Bailin Song resigned as our senior vice president effective as of August 2021, each ordinary share beneficially owned by Mr. Bailin Song is entitled to one vote per share. Pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed in 2016 by each of the members of the Founding Shareholders Group other than Mr. Jinhong Deng, and each of Mr. Haiyan Gao and Mr. Ming Gu who are beneficial owners of certain shares of our company, each of the foregoing individuals agreed to delegate Mr. Jinhong Deng to exercise the voting rights attached to the shares they beneficially own on their behalf in meetings of shareholders, unless doing so would, among others, result in violation of law or the organizational documents of our company. |
| ††† | For each person or group included in this column, percentage of total voting power represents voting power based on both Class A and Class B ordinary shares held by such person or group with respect to all outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B ordinary shares as a single class. Each holder of our Class B ordinary shares is entitled to twenty (20) votes per share. Each holder of our Class A ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per share. Our Class A ordinary shares are convertible at any time by the holder into Class B ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, while Class B ordinary shares are not convertible into Class A ordinary shares under any circumstances. |
| (1) | The number of Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng prior to this offering includes 44,245,706 Class A ordinary shares held by Yimutian Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Island company wholly owned by Mr. Jinhong Deng, and an aggregate of 120,962,135 Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Bailin Song, Mr. Haiyan Gao and Mr. Ming Gu. |
| The number of Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Deng prior to this offering includes 231,167,735 Class B ordinary shares held by Yimutian Holdings Limited and an aggregate of 111,605,425 Class B ordinary shares beneficially owned by Mr. Min Liu, Mr. Zhijia Liu and Mr. Mi Zhou. Pursuant to the powers of attorneys signed in 2016 by each of the foregoing individuals other than Mr. Deng, Mr. Deng has the right to exercise the voting rights attached to the shares they beneficially own on their behalf in meetings of shareholders, unless doing so would, among others, result in violation of law or the organizational documents of our company. | |
| The registered office of Yimutian Holdings Limited is Start Chambers, Wickham’s Cay II, P. O. Box 2221, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. | |
| (2) | Represents 74,986,698 Class B ordinary shares held by YMT Tech Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Island company wholly owned by Mr. Min Liu. The registered office of YMT Tech Holdings Limited is Start Chambers, Wickham’s Cay II, P. O. Box 2221, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. |
| (3) | Represents 430,257,574 Class A ordinary shares held by HSG CV IV Holdco, Ltd., or HSG, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The sole shareholder of HSG CV IV Holdco, Ltd. is HSG CV IV Senior Holdco, Ltd., which is wholly owned by HongShan Capital Venture Fund IV, L.P. The general partner of HongShan Capital Venture Fund IV, L.P. is HSG Venture IV Management, L.P., whose general partner is HSG Holding Limited. HSG Holding Limited is wholly owned by SNP China Enterprises Limited, which in turn is wholly owned by Neil Nanpeng Shen. The registered address of HSG CV IV Holdco, Ltd. is PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. |
| (4) | Represents 255,491,541 Class A ordinary shares held by Wise Prime International Limited, a company incorporated in British Virgin Island. Wise Prime International Co., Limited is wholly owned by Prime Agrifood Investment Limited, which is wholly owned by Jiefang Ji. The registered office of Wise Prime International Limited is the offices of OVERSEAS MANAGEMENT COMPANY TRUST (B.V.I.) LTD., OMC Chambers, PO Box 3152, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. |
| (6) | Represents 207,632,859 Class A ordinary shares held by Passion Stream Investment Limited, a company incorporated in Cayman Island. Passion Stream Investment Limited is wholly owned by 19 Growth Capital Fund. The general partner of 19 Growth Capital Fund is John Buckley. The registered office of Passion Stream Investment Limited is 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9005, Cayman Islands. |
165
| (7) | Represents 203,044,751 Class A ordinary shares held by Win-Chain Agribusiness Holdings Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, which is wholly owned by Shanghai Exfresh Supply Chain Management Co., Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of XiGuo Partnership. Shanghai Yuxia Corporate Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) is a limited partner of XiGuo Partnership holding 37.63% partnership share in XiGuo Partnership. The general partner of Shanghai Yuxia Corporate Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) is Yidongli (Shanghai) information Consulting Co., Limited, which is wholly owned by Ye Zhang and his wife Jiefang Ji, collectively. The registered office of Win-Chain Agribusiness Holdings Limited is RM 1907, 19/F Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. |
| (8) | Represents 193,633,870 Class A ordinary shares held by CGC Moon Walk Limited, a limited liability company incorporated in Hong Kong. CGC Moon Walk Limited is wholly owned by CGC Asia Growth Fund III, L.P., a limited partnership incorporated in Hong Kong. The general partner of CGC Asia Growth Fund III, L.P. is CGC International Group Limited. CGC International Group Limited is wholly owned by CGC Evergreen Limited. CGC Evergreen Limited is wholly owned by Dafei Chen. The registered address of CGC Moon Walk Limited is Suite 1113A, 11/F Ocean Ctr, Harbour City, 5 Canton Rd Tst Kln, Hong Kong. |
| (9) | Represents 404,876,247 Class A ordinary shares held by Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership), a limited partnership incorporated in People’s Republic of China. The general partner of Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) is Shanghai Yunfeng Equity Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership). The general partner of Shanghai Yunfeng Equity Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership) is Shanghai Yunfeng Enterprise Management Co., Ltd, which is controlled by Xuedong Yu. The registered address of Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) is 01-3239, 1F, Building 413, Jingzhou Garden, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. |
| (10) | Represents (i) 32,036,411 Class A ordinary shares held by Cornerstone Venture Limited, a company incorporated in British Virgin Islands and (ii) 36,106,116 Class A ordinary shares held by Geometry Ventures Limited, a company incorporated in British Virgin Islands. Cornerstone Venture Limited and Geometry Ventures Limited are collectively referred to as the SCC entities. The SCC entities are beneficially owned by Enlightenment Trust. Enlightenment Trust is a trust established under the laws of the Island of Jersey, of which Mr. Charlie Cao and his family members are the beneficiaries. The registered address of SCC Entities is Craigmuir Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, VG 1110, British Virgin Islands. |
As of the date of this prospectus, a total of 125,250,000 Class A ordinary shares are held by one record holder in the United States—JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., the depositary of our ADS program. None of our shareholders has informed us that it is affiliated with a member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.
We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company. See “Description of Share Capital — History of Securities Issuances” for a description of issuances of our ordinary shares and preferred shares that have resulted in significant changes in ownership held by our major shareholders.
166
Private Placements
See “Description of Share Capital — History of Securities Issuances.”
Shareholders Agreement
See “Description of Share Capital — Shareholders Agreement.”
Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements
See “Management — Employment Agreements and Indemnification Agreements.”
Share Incentives
See “Management — Share Incentive Plans.”
Other Related Party Transactions
Amounts due from related parties represent interest free loans we provided to a preferred shareholder and certain entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. All the loans were due on demand. In 2019, we provided interest free loans of RMB12.3 million to certain entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. In December 2023 and 2024, we received the repayment of RMB5.0 million and RMB1.5 million. The remaining balance was agreed to be settled by shareholders under an agreement signed in 2024. In June 2021, we provided an interest free loan to a preferred shareholder of US$0.5 million (equivalent to RMB3.1 million). As of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, the amount due from the preferred shareholder was RMB3.3 million, RMB3.4 million, RMB3.4 million (US$473 thousand) and RMB3.4 million (US$478 thousand), respectively.
Amounts due to related parties included (i) the payables related to cash collected on behalf of our equity investee of RMB16.9 million, RMB18.0 million, RMB9.5 million and nil as of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025 and we made a repayment of RMB8.5 million (US$1.2 million) and RMB9.5 million (US$1.3 million) in 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively, and (ii) the payables related to the repurchase the Company’s preferred shares of RMB3.5 million, RMB3.5 million, RMB3.6 million (US$495 thousand) and RMB3.6 million (US$500 thousand) as of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively.
The principal of Series C ODI convertible loan issued by us was RMB42.0 million. Upon the investor’s exercise of the warrant and our issuance of preferred shares to the investor, we partially repaid Series C ODI convertible loan of RMB27.0 million in 2021 and entered into a new interest free shareholder loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB15.0 million in 2022, which is due on demand. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, we repaid RMB12.0 million, RMB2.0 million and RMB0.5 million (US$69 thousand) to the investor, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, RMB15.0 million, RMB13.0 million, RMB12.5 million (US$1.7 million) and RMB12.5 million (US$1.7 million) of the convertible loan was outstanding, respectively.
In 2021, we borrowed interest free loans of RMB1.2 million from our founder, Jinhong Deng, and US$0.2 million (equivalent to RMB1.0 million) from a preferred shareholder. In 2023, we borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB14.2 million from our founder and repaid RMB4.6 million. In 2024, we borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB28.3 million (US$3.9 million) from our founder and repaid RMB0.5 million (US$69 thousand). As of June 30, 2025, we borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB21.4 million (US$3.0 million) from our founder and repaid RMB3.5 million (US$490 thousand). Such loans are due on demand. As of December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and June 30, 2025, RMB11.6 million, RMB21.2 million, RMB49.6 million (US$6.8 million) and RMB67.5 million (US$9.4 million) of interest free loans from our founder and the preferred shareholder was outstanding, respectively.
In 2023, we borrowed interest free loans of RMB6.9 million (US$0.9 million) from an entities controlled by a preferred shareholder and repaid the loans in full in 2024.
167
We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, and Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the “Companies Act” below, and the common law of the Cayman Islands.
As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized share capital consists of US$200,000 divided into 20,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00001 each, comprising of (i) 16,000,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, (ii) 800,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, and (iii) 3,200,000,000 shares of such class or classes (however designated) as the board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association. We have 2,403,603,606 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding and 342,773,160 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. All of our shares issued and outstanding prior to the completion of the offering are and will be fully paid, and all of our shares to be issued in the offering will be issued as fully paid.
The following are summaries of material provisions of our currently effective amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.
Our Memorandum and Articles of Association
Objects of Our Company
Under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, the objects of our company are unrestricted and we have the full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Cayman Islands law.
Ordinary Shares
General. Our authorized share capital is US$200,000 divided into 16,000,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, with a par value of US$0.00001 each and 800,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. We may not issue share to bearer. Our shareholders who are nonresidents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.
Conversion. Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances.
Dividends. The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that dividends may be declared and paid out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor. Dividends may also be declared and paid out of share premium account or any other fund or account which can be authorized for this purpose in accordance with the Companies Act. No dividend may be declared and paid unless our directors determine that, immediately after the payment, we will be able to pay our debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business and we have funds lawfully available for such purpose.
168
Voting Rights; Meeting of Shareholders. In respect of all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote, holders of ordinary shares shall, at all times, vote on all matters submitted to a vote by the members at any such general meeting. Each Class B ordinary share shall be entitled to twenty (20) votes on all matters subject to the vote at general meetings of our company, and each Class A ordinary share shall be entitled to one vote on all matters subject to the vote at general meetings (including extraordinary general meetings) of our company. At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a poll, save that the chairman of the meeting may, in good faith, allow a resolution which relates purely to a procedural or administrative matter to be voted on by a show of hands.
A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders holding not less than one-third (1/3) of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at general meetings present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to) in each calendar year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting in which case we will specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, and the annual general meeting will be held at such time and place as may be determined by our directors. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting. Shareholders’ annual general meetings and any other general meetings of our shareholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors or our chairman or upon a requisition of shareholders holding at the date of deposit of the requisition not less than a majority of all votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares that as at the date of the deposit entitled to vote at general meetings, in which case the directors are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting; however, our memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders. Advance notice of at least seven (7) calendar days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and other general meetings unless such notice is waived in accordance with our articles of association.
An ordinary resolution to be passed at a meeting by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast by those shareholders entitled to vote who are present in person or by proxy at a general meeting. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our memorandum and articles of association. Our shareholders may, among other things, divide or combine their shares by ordinary resolution.
Transfer of Ordinary Shares. Subject to the restrictions in our memorandum and articles of association as set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or any other form approved by our board of directors. Our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any ordinary share unless:
| ● | the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the ordinary shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
| ● | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares; |
| ● | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; |
| ● | in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the ordinary share is to be transferred does not exceed four; |
169
| ● | the shares are free from any lien in favor of us; and |
| ● | a fee of such maximum sum as Nasdaq may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof. |
If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three calendar months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.
The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of Nasdaq, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than thirty (30) calendar days in any calendar year.
Liquidation. If in a winding up the assets available for distribution amongst our shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise. If our assets available for distribution are insufficient to repay all of the paid-up capital, the assets will be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses are borne by our shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them.
Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares. Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the specified time of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Ordinary Shares. We may issue shares on terms that such shares are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders thereof, on such terms and in such manner as may be determined, before the issue of such shares, by our board of directors or by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. Our company may also repurchase any of our shares provided that the manner and terms of such purchase have been approved by our board of directors or by ordinary resolution of our shareholders, or are otherwise authorized by our memorandum and articles of association. Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our company’s profits or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares outstanding, or (c) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.
Variations of Rights of Shares. If at any time our share capital is divided into different classes or series of shares, the rights attached to any class or series of shares (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue) of the shares of that class or series), whether or not our company is being wound-up, may be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of at least two-third (2/3) the holders of the issued shares of that class or series or with the sanction of an ordinary resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of the class or series. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not be deemed to be materially and adversely varied by the creation or issue of shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights.
Inspection of Books and Records. Holders of our ordinary shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records (other than copies of our memorandum and articles of association, our register of mortgage and charges and any special resolutions passed by our shareholders). However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Issuance of Additional Shares. Our memorandum and articles of association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.
170
Our memorandum and articles of association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preferred shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:
| ● | the designation of the series; |
| ● | the number of shares of the series; |
| ● | the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights; and |
| ● | the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences. |
Our board of directors may issue preferred shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. Some provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that:
| ● | authorize our board of directors to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preferred shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders; and |
| ● | limit the ability of shareholders to requisition and convene general meetings of shareholders. |
Exempted Company. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:
| ● | does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
| ● | is not required to open its register of members for inspection; |
| ● | does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| ● | may issue shares with no par value; |
| ● | may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); |
| ● | may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| ● | may register as a limited duration company; and |
| ● | may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on that shareholder’s shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Register of Members
Under the Companies Act, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:
| ● | the names and addresses of our members, together with a statement of the shares held by each member, and such statement shall confirm (i) the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member, (ii) the number and category of shares held by each member, and (iii) whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the articles of association of our company, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional; |
171
| ● | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| ● | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under the Companies Act, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (that is, the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members is deemed as a matter of the Companies Act to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon completion of this offering, we will perform the procedure necessary to immediately update the register of members to record and give effect to the issuance of shares by us to the Depositary (or its nominee) as the depositary. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name, and in particular, the depositary (or its nominee) will be deemed to be the registered legal holder of the number of shares set out against its name in our register of members, which shall be the shares represented by the ADSs being offered in this offering.
If the name of any person is incorrectly entered in or omitted from our register of members, or if there is any default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a member of our company, the person or member aggrieved (or any member of our company or our company itself) may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for an order that the register be rectified, and the Court may either refuse such application or it may, if satisfied of the justice of the case, make an order for the rectification of the register.
Differences in Corporate Law
The Companies Act of the Cayman Islands is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England, but does not follow many recent English law statutory enactments. In addition, the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company, and (b) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. The written plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a declaration as to the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.
A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose, a company is a “parent” of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary.
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.
Save in certain limited circumstances, a shareholder of a Cayman constituent company who dissents from the merger or consolidation is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) upon dissenting to the merger or consolidation, provide that the dissenting shareholder complies strictly with the procedures set out in the Companies Act. The exercise of dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.
172
Separate from the statutory provisions relating to mergers and consolidations, the Companies Act also contains statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies by way of schemes of arrangement, provided that the arrangement is approved by (a) 75% in value of shareholders or each class of shareholders, as the case may be, or (b) a majority in number representing 75% in value of creditors or each class of creditors, as the case may be, depending on the circumstances, that are, in each case, present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:
| ● | the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met; |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class; |
| ● | the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest man of that Class acting in respect of his interest; and |
| ● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act. |
The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition which may facilitate the “squeeze out” of a dissenting minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender offer is made and accepted by holders of 90.0% of the shares affected within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares to the offeror on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.
If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, or if a tender offer is made and accepted, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company, and as a general rule a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands court can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) which permit a minority shareholder to commence a Class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge actions where:
| ● | a company acts or proposes to act illegally or ultra vires; |
| ● | the act complained of, although not ultra vires, could only be effected duly if authorized by more than a simple majority vote that has not been obtained; and |
| ● | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability. Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Under our memorandum and articles of association, to the fullest extent permissible under Cayman Islands law every director and officer of our company shall be indemnified against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by him by reason of any act done or omitted in or about the execution of their duty in their respective offices or trusts. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.
173
In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our memorandum and articles of association.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Directors’ Fiduciary Duties. Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.
As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company — a duty to act bona fide in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party, and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.
Shareholder Action by Written Consent. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association provide that our shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.
Shareholder Proposals. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.
The Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our memorandum and articles of association allow our shareholders holding in aggregate not less than a majority of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares of our company entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings.
174
Cumulative Voting. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it.
Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our memorandum and articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Removal of Directors. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our memorandum and articles of association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders (except with regard to the removal of the chairman of the board of directors, who may only be removed from office by special resolution of our shareholders). A director shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term or his or her successor shall have been elected and qualified, or until his or her office is otherwise vacated. In addition, a director’s office shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (iii) resigns his office by notice in writing to the company; (iv) without special leave of absence from the board, is absent from meetings of the board for three (3) consecutive meetings and the board (excluding the absent director) resolves that his office be vacated; or (v) is removed from office pursuant to any other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association.
Transactions with Interested Shareholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.
Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, the directors of our company are required to comply with fiduciary duties which they owe to us under Cayman Islands laws, including the duty to ensure that, in their opinion, any such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company, and are entered into for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.
Restructuring. A company may present a petition to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the appointment of a restructuring officer on the grounds that the company:
| (a) | is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts; and |
| (b) | intends to present a compromise or arrangement to its creditors (or classes thereof) either pursuant to the Companies Act, the law of a foreign country or by way of a consensual restructuring. |
The Grand Court may, among other things, make an order appointing a restructuring officer upon hearing of such petition, with such powers and to carry out such functions as the court may order. At any time (i) after the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer but before an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer has been made, and (ii) when an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer is made, until such order has been discharged, no suit, action or other proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) shall be proceeded with or commenced against the company, no resolution to wind up the company shall be passed, and no winding up petition may be presented against the company, except with the leave of the court. However, notwithstanding the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer or the appointment of a restructuring officer, a creditor who has security over the whole or part of the assets of the company is entitled to enforce the security without the leave of the court and without reference to the restructuring officer appointed.
175
Dissolution; Winding up. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.
Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so. Under the Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association, our company may be dissolved, liquidated or wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Variation of Rights of Shares. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under Cayman Islands law and our memorandum and articles of association, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class with the written consent of the holders of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of an ordinary resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Amendment of Governing Documents. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association, our memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.
Rights of Nonresident or Foreign Shareholders. There are no limitations imposed by our memorandum and articles of association on the rights of nonresident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our memorandum and articles of association that require our company to disclose shareholder ownership above any particular ownership threshold.
History of Securities Issuances
The following is a summary of our securities issuances in the past three years.
Issuance of Ordinary Shares
On December 10, 2023, our company issued 63,600,043 ordinary shares to the following shareholders:
| ● | 43,948,896 ordinary shares to Yimutian Holdings Limited; |
| ● | 5,170,130 ordinary shares to YMT 360 Holdings Limited; |
| ● | 14,481,017 ordinary shares to YMT Tech Holdings Limited. |
In August 2025, we issued and sold a total of 113,050,000 Class A ordinary shares represented by 4,522,000 ADSs at a public offering price of US$4.10 per ADS in our initial public offering on Nasdaq. The selling shareholders sold 488,000 ADSs in our initial public offering.
176
Issuance of Preferred Shares
On December 10, 2023, our company issued 280,352,854 Series B preferred shares to Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership), or Beijing Fengmu, for a consideration of US$20,000,000, which is equivalent to the unpaid RMB-denominated loan extended to the WFOE by Shanghai Yunfeng Equity Investment Center (Limited Partnership), or Shanghai Yunfeng, an entity that is under common control with Beijing Fengmu. On December 10, 2023, following Shanghai Yunfeng’s surrender of the unpaid 124,523,393 Series C preferred shares to our company for nil consideration and repayment of the outstanding loan in the RMB equivalent of US$5,000,000 by the WFOE to Shanghai Yunfeng, we issued 124,523,393 Series C preferred shares to Beijing Fengmu for a consideration of US$5,000,000.
On December 10, 2023, we issued 36,214,579 Series C preferred shares to LC Multi Strategy Fund SG VCC — LC Multi Strategy SF5, or LC Multi Strategy Fund, for a consideration of US$1,000,000, following the surrender of 36,214,579 Series C preferred shares beneficially owned by Hangzhou Xingyi Venture Investment Limited Partnership (an affiliate of LC Multi Strategy Fund) to our company for nil consideration.
On December 10, 2023, our company issued 6,559,380 preferred shares to the following shareholders:
| ● | 3,326,059 Series C-2 preferred shares to CGC Moonwalk Limited; |
| ● | 798,254 Series C-2 preferred shares to Yimutian Holdings Limited; |
| ● | 147,580 Series D preferred shares to China Innovation Capital General Partners Limited; |
| ● | 295,159 Series D preferred shares to Ganlai Limited; |
| ● | 922,374 Series D preferred shares to Geometry Ventures Limited; |
| ● | 332,055 Series D preferred shares to Yimutian Holdings Limited; and |
| ● | 737,899 Series D preferred shares to Guangdong Evergreen Group Co., Ltd. |
Save as disclosed above, there has been no alteration in the share capital of our company during the three years immediately preceding the date of this document.
Share Option Grants
We have granted share options to certain of our executive officers and employees. See “Management — Share Incentive Plans.”
Convertible Loans
In 2022, our company issued to Dezhou Decai Industrial Innovation Equity Investment Fund (Limited Partnership), or Decai Fund, convertible loans in principal amount of RMB19,500,000, or the Convertible Loans. Pursuant to the investment agreement entered into in September 2022 and its supplemental agreement entered into in September 2023 between the WFOE and Decai Fund, the Convertible Loans bear an interest rate at 7% per annum and no interest shall accrue if a debt-to-equity conversion occurs thereunder. The Convertible Loans are due to mature on September 8, 2024. In September 2024, the maturity date was further extended to September 8, 2025. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in these agreements and any subsequent agreements to be entered into, Decai Fund may elect to convert the principal amount of the loan they extended to us into ordinary shares after we complete the offering. As of the date of this prospectus, Decai Fund has not converted any Convertible Loans into our ordinary shares.
Shareholders Agreement
Our currently effective investors agreement was entered into on May 8, 2021 by and among us, our shareholders, and certain other parties named therein.
The current shareholders agreement provides for certain special rights, including registration right, preemptive right, redemption right, and drag-along right and contains provisions governing the board of directors and other corporate governance matters. Those special rights (except the registration right as described below), as well as the corporate governance provisions, were terminated upon the completion of our initial public offering.
177
Registration Rights
Pursuant to the current shareholders agreement, we have granted certain registration rights to our shareholders. Set forth below is a description of the registration rights granted under the agreement.
Demand Registration Other Than on Form F-3 or Form S-3. At any time or from time to time after the date that is six months after the closing of the IPO, holders of registrable securities holding 20% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding registrable securities held by all holders of registrable securities may request in writing that our company effect a registration of registrable securities. Upon receipt of such a request, our company shall (x) promptly give written notice of the proposed registration to all other holders of registrable securities and (y) as soon as practicable, use our reasonable best efforts to cause the registrable securities specified in the request, together with any registrable securities of any holders of registrable securities who requests in writing to join such registration within 15 days after our company’s delivery of written notice, to be registered and/or qualified for sale and distribution in such jurisdiction as the initiating holders may request. Our company shall be obligated to consummate no more than two registrations that have been declared and ordered effective; provided that if the registrable securities sought to be included in the registration are not fully included in the registration due to the fault of our company, such registration shall not be deemed to constitute one of the registration rights granted.
Demand Registration on Form F-3 or Form S-3. Our company shall use its best efforts to qualify for registration on Form F-3 or Form S-3. If our company qualifies for registration on Form F-3 or Form S-3 (or any comparable form for registration in a jurisdiction other than the United States), holders of registrable securities holding 20% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding registrable securities held by all holders of registrable securities may request our company to file, in any jurisdiction in which our company has had a registered underwritten public offering, a Registration Statement on Form F-3 or Form S-3 (or any comparable form for Registration in a jurisdiction other than the United States), including without limitation any registration statement filed under the Securities Act providing for the registration of, and the sale on a continuous or a delayed basis by the holders of registrable securities of, all of the registrable securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act and/or any similar rule that may be adopted by the SEC. Upon receipt of such a request, our company shall (i) promptly give written notice of the proposed registration to all other holders of registrable securities and (ii) as soon as practicable, use our reasonable best efforts to cause the registrable securities specified in the request, together with any registrable securities of any holder who requests in writing to join such registration within 15 days after our company’s delivery of written notice, to be registered and qualified for sale and distribution in such jurisdiction. Our company shall be obligated to consummate no more than two registrations that have been declared and ordered effective within any 12-month period; provided that if the registrable securities sought to be included in the registration are not fully included in such registration due to the fault of our company, such registration shall not be deemed to constitute one of the registration rights granted.
Piggyback Registrations. If our company proposes to register for our own account any of our equity securities, or for the account of any holder (other than a holder of registrable securities) of equity securities any of such holder’s equity securities, in connection with the public offering of such securities (except for exempt registrations), our company shall promptly give each holder of registrable securities written notice of such registration and, upon the written request of any holder of registrable securities given within 15 days after delivery of such notice, our company shall use reasonable best efforts to include in such registration any registrable securities thereby requested to be registered by such holder of registrable securities. If a holder of registrable securities decides not to include all or any of its registrable securities in such registration by our company, such holder of registrable securities shall nevertheless continue to have the right to include any registrable securities in any subsequent registration statement or registration statements as may be filed by our company.
Expense of Registration. We will bear all registration expenses, other than the underwriting discounts and selling commissions applicable to the sale of registrable securities pursuant to the current shareholders agreement, subject to certain limitations.
Termination of Registration Rights. Our shareholders’ registration rights shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the date that is five years from the date of closing of IPO, (ii) with respect to any Holder, the date on which such shareholder may sell all of such shareholder’s registrable securities under Rule 144 of the Securities Act in any 90-day period.
178
DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
American Depositary Receipts
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), as depositary, will issue the ADSs that you will be entitled to receive in this offering. Each ADS will represent an ownership interest in a designated number or percentage of shares that we will deposit with the custodian, as agent of the depositary, under the deposit agreement among ourselves, the depositary, and all holders and beneficial owners from time to time of American depositary receipts issued thereunder.
The depositary’s office is located at 383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11, New York, NY 10179.
The ADS to share ratio is subject to amendment as provided in the form of ADR (which may give rise to fees contemplated by the form of ADR). In the future, each ADS will also represent any securities, cash or other property deposited with the depositary but which they have not distributed directly to you.
A beneficial owner is any person or entity having a beneficial ownership interest in ADSs. A beneficial owner need not be the holder of the ADR evidencing such ADS. If a beneficial owner is not an ADR holder, it must rely on the holder of the ADR(s) evidencing such ADSs in order to assert any rights or receive any benefits under the deposit agreement. A beneficial owner shall only be able to exercise any right or receive any benefit under the deposit agreement solely through the holder of the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs owned by such beneficial owner. The arrangements between a beneficial owner and the holder of the corresponding ADRs may affect the beneficial owner’s ability to exercise any rights it may have.
An ADR holder shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all beneficial owners of the ADSs evidenced by the ADRs registered in such ADR holder’s name for all purposes under the deposit agreement and ADRs. The depositary’s only notification obligations under the deposit agreement and the ADRs is to registered ADR holders. Notice to an ADR holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of the deposit agreement and the ADRs, to constitute notice to any and all beneficial owners of the ADSs evidenced by such ADR holder’s ADRs.
Unless certificated ADRs are specifically requested, all ADSs will be issued on the books of our depositary in book-entry form and periodic statements will be mailed to you which reflect your ownership interest in such ADSs. In our description, references to American depositary receipts or ADRs shall include the statements you will receive that reflect your ownership of ADSs.
You may hold ADSs either directly or indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, by having an ADS registered in your name on the books of the depositary, you are an ADR holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. If you hold the ADSs through your broker or financial institution nominee, you must rely on the procedures of such broker or financial institution to assert the rights of an ADR holder described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
As an ADR holder or beneficial owner, we will not treat you as a shareholder of ours and you will not have any shareholder rights. Cayman Island law governs shareholder rights. Because the depositary or its nominee will be the shareholder of record for the shares represented by all outstanding ADSs, shareholder rights rest with such record holder. Your rights are those of an ADR holder or of a beneficial owner. Such rights derive from the terms of the deposit agreement to be entered into among us, the depositary and all holders and beneficial owners from time to time of ADRs issued under the deposit agreement and, in the case of a beneficial owner, from the arrangements between the beneficial owner and the holder of the corresponding ADRs. The obligations of our company and the depositary and its agents are also set out in the deposit agreement. Because the depositary or its nominee will actually be the registered owner of the shares, you must rely on it to exercise the rights of a shareholder on your behalf.
The deposit agreement, the ADRs and the ADSs are governed by the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the application of the conflict of law principles thereof. Under the deposit agreement, as an ADR holder or a beneficial owner of ADSs, you agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving us or the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated thereby, may only be instituted by you in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, in certain cases, the state courts of New York County, New York), and you irrevocably waive any objection which you may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding and irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.
179
The following is a summary of what we believe to be the material terms of the deposit agreement. Notwithstanding this, because it is a summary, it may not contain all the information that you may otherwise deem important. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of ADR that contains the terms of your ADSs. You can read a copy of the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement (or amendment thereto) on Form F-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may also obtain a copy of the deposit agreement at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, which is currently located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-732-0330. You may also find the registration statement and the attached deposit agreement on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Distributions on Deposited Securities, Sales
How will I receive dividends and other distributions on the shares underlying my ADSs?
We may make various types of distributions with respect to our securities. The depositary has agreed that, to the extent practicable, it will pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities, after converting any cash received into U.S. dollars (if it determines such conversion may be made on a reasonable basis) and, in all cases, making any necessary deductions provided for in the deposit agreement. The depositary may utilize a division, branch or affiliate of JPMorgan to direct, manage and/or execute any public and/or private sale of securities and/or property under the deposit agreement. Such division, branch and/or affiliate may charge the depositary a fee in connection with such sales, which fee is considered an expense of the depositary chargeable to holders of ADSs. All sales of securities will be handled by the depositary in accordance with its then current policies. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of underlying securities that your ADSs represent. In all instances where the deposit agreement or an ADR refers to a “sale” (or words of similar import) of securities or property, the depositary may, but shall not be obligated, to effect any such sale unless the securities to be sold are listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange or there is a public market for the property to be sold. To the extent the securities are not so listed and publicly traded or there is no public market for the property so distributed by us: (i) the depositary shall, in the event the deposit agreement is terminated and the depositary holds deposited securities that are not listed and publicly traded after the termination date of the deposit agreement, act in accordance with the termination provisions of the deposit agreement and form of ADR in respect of such securities and property; and (ii) in the event the depositary or its custodian receives a distribution other than cash, our shares and/or rights to acquire our shares, and such distribution consists of securities or property that are not distributed by the depositary the depositary will be deemed to have sold the aggregate number of securities and/or property so received for nominal value and shall have no obligation to distribute such securities or any proceeds from the deemed sale thereof to the ADR holders. Furthermore, in the event the depositary endeavors to make a sale of shares, other securities or property, such securities and/or property may be sold in a block sale or single lot transaction.
Except as stated below, the depositary will deliver such distributions to ADR holders in proportion to their interests in the following manner:
| ● | Cash. The depositary will distribute any U.S. dollars available to it resulting from a cash dividend or other cash distribution or the net proceeds of sales of any other distribution or portion thereof (to the extent applicable), on an averaged or other practicable basis, subject to (i) appropriate adjustments for taxes withheld, (ii) such distribution being permissible or practicable with respect to certain registered ADR holders, and (iii) deduction of the depositary’s and/or its agents’ fees and expenses in (1) converting any foreign currency to U.S. dollars to the extent that it determines that such conversion may be made on a reasonable basis, (2) transferring foreign currency or U.S. dollars to the United States by such means as the depositary may determine to the extent that it determines that such transfer may be made on a reasonable basis, (3) obtaining any approval or license of any governmental authority required for such conversion or transfer, which is obtainable at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time and (4) making any sale by public or private means in any commercially reasonable manner. To the extent that any of the deposited securities is not or shall not be entitled, by reason of its date of issuance, or otherwise, to receive the full amount of such cash dividend, distribution, or net proceeds of sales, the depositary shall make appropriate adjustments in the amounts distributed to the ADR holders issued in respect of such deposited securities. To the extent we or the depositary shall be required to withhold and do withhold from any cash dividend, distribution or net proceeds from sales in respect of any deposited securities an amount on account of taxes, the amount distributed on the ADSs issued in respect of such deposited securities shall be reduced accordingly. |
180
To the extent the depositary determines in its discretion that it would not be permitted by applicable law, rule or regulation, or it would not otherwise be practicable, to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars and distribute such U.S. dollars to some or all of the ADR holders entitled thereto, the depositary may in its discretion distribute some or all of the foreign currency received by the depositary as it deems permissible and practicable to, or retain and hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the ADR holders entitled to receive the same. To the extent the depositary retains and holds any cash, foreign currency, securities or other property as permitted under the deposit agreement, any and all fees, charges and expenses related to, or arising from, the holding thereof shall be paid from such cash, foreign currency, securities or other property, or the net proceeds from the sale thereof, thereby reducing the amount so held. If exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert a foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.
| ● | Shares. In the case of a distribution in shares, the depositary will issue additional ADRs to evidence the number of ADSs representing such shares. Only whole ADSs will be issued. Any shares that would result in fractional ADSs will be sold and the net proceeds of the public or private sales of such will be distributed in the same manner as cash to the ADR holders entitled thereto. |
| ● | Rights to receive additional shares. In the case of a distribution of rights to subscribe for additional shares or other rights, if we timely provide evidence satisfactory to the depositary that it may lawfully distribute such rights, the depositary will distribute warrants or other instruments in the discretion of the depositary representing such rights. However, if we do not timely furnish such evidence, the depositary may: |
| (i) | sell such rights if practicable and distribute the net proceeds of the public or private sales of such rights in the same manner as cash to the ADR holders entitled thereto; or |
| (ii) | if it is not practicable to sell such rights by reason of the non-transferability of the rights, limited markets therefor, their short duration or otherwise, do nothing and allow such rights to lapse, in which case ADR holders will receive nothing and the rights may lapse. |
We have no obligation to file a registration statement under the Securities Act in order to make any rights available to ADR holders.
| ● | Other Distributions. In the case of a distribution of securities or property other than those described above, the depositary may either (i) distribute such securities or property in any manner it deems equitable and practicable or (ii) to the extent the depositary deems distribution of such securities or property not to be equitable and practicable, sell such securities or property and distribute any net proceeds of public or private sales in the same way it distributes cash. |
| ● | Elective Distributions. In the case of a dividend payable at the election of our shareholders in cash or in additional ordinary shares, we will notify the depositary at least 30 days prior to the proposed distribution stating whether or not we wish such elective distribution to be made available to ADR holders. The depositary shall make such elective distribution available to ADR holders only if (i) we shall have timely requested that the elective distribution is available to ADR holders, (ii) the depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable and (iii) the depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of the deposit agreement including any legal opinions of counsel that the depositary in its reasonable discretion may request. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the depositary shall, to the extent permitted by law, distribute to the ADR holders, on the basis of the same determination as is made in the local market in respect of the ordinary shares for which no election is made, either (x) cash or (y) additional ADSs representing such additional ordinary shares. If the above conditions are satisfied, the depositary shall establish procedures to enable ADR holders to elect the receipt of the proposed dividend in cash or in additional ADSs. There can be no assurance that ADR holders or beneficial owners of ADSs generally, or any ADR holder or beneficial owner of ADSs in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of ordinary shares. |
181
If the depositary determines in its sole discretion that any distribution described above is not practicable with respect to any or all ADR holders, the depositary may choose any method of distribution that it deems practicable for such ADR holder, including the distribution of some or all of any cash, foreign currency, securities or other property (or appropriate documents evidencing the right to receive some or all of any such cash, foreign currency, security or other property), and/or it may retain some or all of such items, without paying interest on or investing them, on behalf of the ADR holder as deposited securities, in which case the ADSs will also represent the retained items. To the extent the depositary does not reasonably believe it will be permitted by applicable law, rule or regulation to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars and distribute such U.S. dollars to some or all of the ADR holders, the depositary may in its discretion distribute the foreign currency received by the depositary to, or hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the ADR holders entitled to receive the same. To the extent the depositary holds such foreign currency, any and all costs and expenses related to, or arising from, the holding of such foreign currency shall be paid from such foreign currency thereby reducing the amount so held.
Any U.S. dollars will be paid via wire transfer and/or distributed by checks drawn on a bank in the United States for whole dollars and cents. Fractional cents will be withheld without liability and dealt with by the depositary in accordance with its then current practices.
The depositary is not responsible if it fails to determine that any distribution or action is lawful or reasonably practicable.
There can be no assurance that the depositary will be able to convert any currency at a specified exchange rate or sell any property, rights, shares or other securities at a specified price, nor that any of such transactions can be completed within a specified time period. All purchases and sales of securities will be handled by the depositary in accordance with its then current policies, which are currently set forth on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of www.adr.com (as updated by the depositary from time to time, “ADR.com”).
Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation
How does the depositary issue ADSs?
The depositary will issue ADSs if you or your broker deposit shares or evidence of rights to receive shares with the custodian and pay the fees and expenses owing to the depositary in connection with such issuance. In the case of the ADSs to be issued under this prospectus, we will arrange to deposit such shares.
Shares deposited in the future with the custodian must be accompanied by certain delivery documentation and shall, at the time of such deposit, be registered in the name of “JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as depositary for the benefit of holders of ADRs” or in such other name as the depositary shall direct.
The custodian will hold all deposited shares (including those being deposited by or on our behalf in connection with the offering to which this prospectus relates) for the account and to the order of the depositary, in each case for the benefit of ADR holders, to the extent not prohibited by law. ADR holders and beneficial owners thus have no direct ownership interest in the shares and only have such rights as are contained in the deposit agreement. The custodian will also hold any additional securities, property and cash received on or in substitution for the deposited shares. The deposited shares and any such additional items are referred to as “deposited securities”.
Deposited securities are not intended to, and shall not, constitute proprietary assets of the depositary, the custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in deposited securities is intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the deposit agreement continue to be, vested in the beneficial owners of the ADSs representing such deposited securities. Notwithstanding anything else contained herein, in the deposit agreement, in the form of ADR and/or in any outstanding ADSs, the depositary, the custodian and their respective nominees are intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the deposit agreement be, the record holder(s) only of the deposited securities represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the ADR holders. The depositary, on its own behalf and on behalf of the custodian and their respective nominees, disclaims any beneficial ownership interest in the deposited securities held on behalf of the ADR holders.
182
Upon each deposit of shares, receipt of related delivery documentation and compliance with the other provisions of the deposit agreement, including the payment of the fees and charges of the depositary and any taxes or other fees or charges owing, the depositary will issue an ADR or ADRs in the name or upon the order of the person entitled thereto evidencing the number of ADSs to which such person is entitled. All of the ADSs issued will, unless specifically requested to the contrary, be part of the depositary’s direct registration system, and a registered holder will receive periodic statements from the depositary which will show the number of ADSs registered in such ADR holder’s name. An ADR holder can request that the ADSs not be held through the depositary’s direct registration system and that a certificated ADR be issued.
How do ADR holders cancel an ADS and obtain deposited securities?
When you turn in your ADR certificate at the depositary’s office, or when you provide proper instructions and documentation in the case of direct registration ADSs, subject to the provisions of or governing our shares (including, without limitation, our governing documents and all applicable laws, rules and regulations), the depositary will, upon payment of certain applicable fees, charges and taxes, deliver the underlying shares to you or upon your written order. Delivery of deposited securities in certificated form will be made at the custodian’s office (or from the custodian to the extent dematerialized). At your risk, expense and request, the depositary may deliver deposited securities (including any certificates therefor) at such other place as you may request.
The depositary may only restrict the withdrawal of deposited securities in connection with:
| ● | temporary delays caused by closing our transfer books or those of the depositary or the deposit of shares in connection with voting at a shareholders’ meeting, or the payment of dividends; |
| ● | the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges; or |
| ● | compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the ADRs or to the withdrawal of deposited securities. |
This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.
Record Dates
The depositary may, after consultation with us if practicable, fix record dates (which, to the extent applicable, shall be as near as practicable to any corresponding record dates set by us) for the determination of the registered ADR holders who will be entitled (or obligated, as the case may be):
| ● | to receive any distribution on or in respect of deposited securities, |
| ● | to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights, |
| ● | to pay any fees assessed by, or owing to, the depositary for administration of the ADR program and for any expenses as provided for in the ADR, or |
| ● | to receive any notice or to act or be obligated in respect of other matters, |
all subject to the provisions of the deposit agreement.
183
Voting Rights
How do I vote?
If you are an ADR holder and the depositary asks you to provide it with voting instructions, you may instruct the depositary how to exercise the voting rights for the shares which underlie your ADSs. As soon as practicable after receipt from us of notice of any meeting at which the holders of shares are entitled to vote, or of our solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of shares, the depositary shall fix the ADS record date in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement, provided that if the depositary receives a written request from us in a timely manner and at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of such vote or meeting, the depositary shall, at our expense, distribute to the registered ADR holders a “voting notice” stating (i) final information particular to such vote and meeting and any solicitation materials, (ii) that each ADR holder on the record date set by the depositary will, subject to any applicable provisions of the laws of the Cayman Islands, be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the deposited securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such ADR holder’s ADRs and (iii) the manner in which such instructions may be given or deemed given, including instructions for giving a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us. Each ADR holder shall be solely responsible for the forwarding of voting notices to the beneficial owners of ADSs registered in such ADR holder’s name. There is no guarantee that ADR holders and beneficial owners generally or any holder or beneficial owner in particular will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable such ADR holder or beneficial owner to return any voting instructions to the depositary in a timely manner.
Following actual receipt by the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting of ADR holders’ instructions (including, without limitation, instructions of any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC), the depositary shall, in the manner and on or before the time established by the depositary for such purpose, endeavor to vote or cause to be voted the deposited securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such ADR holders’ ADRs in accordance with such instructions insofar as practicable and permitted under the provisions of or governing deposited securities.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that (A) we have provided the depositary with at least thirty-five (35) days’ notice of the proposed meeting, (B) the voting notice mailed by the depositary will be received by all holders and beneficial owners no less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting and/or the cut-off date for the solicitation of consents, and (C) the depositary does not receive instructions on a particular agenda item from a holder (including, without limitation, any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC) in a timely manner, such holder shall be deemed, and, in the deposit agreement, the depositary is instructed to deem such holder, to have instructed the depositary to give a discretionary proxy for such agenda item(s) to a person designated by us to vote the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs for which actual instructions were not so given by all such holders on such agenda item(s), provided that no such instruction shall be deemed given and no discretionary proxy shall be given unless (1) we inform the depositary in writing that (a) we wish such proxy to be given with respect to such agenda item(s), (b) there is no substantial opposition existing with respect to such agenda item(s) and (c) such agenda item(s), if approved, would not materially or adversely affect the rights of holders of ordinary shares, and (2) the depositary has obtained an opinion of counsel, in form and substance satisfactory to the depositary, confirming that (i) the granting of such discretionary proxy does not subject the depositary to any reporting obligations in the Cayman Islands, (ii) the granting of such proxy will not result in a violation of the laws, rules, regulations or permits of the Cayman Islands, (iii) the voting arrangement and deemed instruction as contemplated herein will be given effect under the laws, rules and regulations of the Cayman Islands, and (iv) the granting of such discretionary proxy will not under any circumstances result in the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs being treated as assets of the depositary under the laws, rules or regulations of the Cayman Islands. While the depositary may from time to time access information available to it to consider whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) above exist, or request additional information from us in respect thereto, the depositary shall not in any way be deemed or inferred to have been required, or have had any duty or responsibility (contractual or otherwise), to monitor or inquire whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) above existed. The depositary will be fully relying exclusively on us to inform it of any of the circumstances set forth in above, and (b) neither the depositary, its custodian nor any of its or their respective agents shall be obliged to inquire or investigate whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) above exist and/or whether we complied with our obligation to timely inform the depositary of such circumstances. Neither the depositary, its custodian nor any of its or their respective agents shall incur any liability to holders or beneficial owners (i) as a result of our failure to determine that any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) above exist or our failure to timely notify the depositary of any such circumstances or (ii) if any agenda item which is approved at a meeting has, or is claimed to have, a material or adverse effect on the rights of holders of ordinary shares. Because there is no guarantee that holders and beneficial owners will receive the notices described above with sufficient time to enable such holders or beneficial owners to return any voting instructions to the depositary in a timely manner, holders and beneficial owners may be deemed to have instructed the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us in such circumstances, and neither the depositary, its custodian nor any of its or their respective agents shall incur any liability to holders or beneficial owners in such circumstances.
184
Under Cayman Islands law and our memorandum and articles of association, each as in effect as of the date of this prospectus, voting at any meeting of our shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the results of the show of hands or on the withdrawal of any other demand for a poll) demanded. In the event that voting on any resolution or matter is conducted on a show of hands basis in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, the depositary will refrain from voting and the voting instructions received by the depositary shall lapse. The depositary will not demand a poll or join in demanding a poll, whether or not requested to do so.
ADR holders are strongly encouraged to forward their voting instructions to the depositary as soon as possible. For instructions to be valid, the ADR department of the depositary that is responsible for proxies and voting must receive them in the manner and on or before the time specified, notwithstanding that such instructions may have been physically received by the depositary prior to such time. The depositary will not itself exercise any voting discretion in respect of deposited securities. The depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the deposited securities, for the manner in which any voting instructions are given or deemed given, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us, for the manner in which any vote is cast, including, without limitation, any vote cast by a person to whom the depositary is instructed or deemed instructed to grant a discretionary proxy pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, or for the effect of any such vote.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the deposit agreement or any ADR, the depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by any law, rule or regulation, or by the rules, regulations or requirements of any stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the depositary in connection with any meeting of or solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of deposited securities, distribute to the registered holders of ADRs a notice that provides such ADR holders with or otherwise publicizes to such ADR holders instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request (i.e., by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials).
There is no guarantee that you will receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote.
Reports and Other Communications
Will ADR holders be able to view our reports?
The deposit agreement, the provisions of or governing deposited securities, and any written communications from us which are both received by the custodian or its nominee as a holder of deposited securities and made generally available to the holders of deposited securities, are available for inspection by ADR holders at the offices of the depositary in the United States, on the SEC’s internet website or upon request to the depositary (which request may be refused by the depositary at its discretion).
Additionally, if we make any written communications generally available to holders of our shares, and we furnish copies thereof (or English translations or summaries) to the depositary, it will distribute the same to registered ADR holders.
Fees and Expenses
What fees and expenses will I be responsible for paying?
The depositary may charge each person to whom ADSs are issued, including, without limitation, issuances against deposits of shares, issuances in respect of share distributions, rights and other distributions, issuances pursuant to a share dividend or share split declared by us or issuances pursuant to a merger, exchange of securities or any other transaction or event affecting the ADSs or deposited securities, and each person surrendering ADSs for withdrawal of deposited securities or whose ADSs are cancelled or reduced for any other reason, a fee of up to $5.00 for each 100 ADSs (or any portion thereof) issued, delivered, reduced, cancelled or surrendered, or upon which a share distribution or elective distribution is made or offered, as the case may be. The depositary may sell (by public or private sale) sufficient securities and property received in respect of a share distribution, rights and/or other distribution prior to such deposit to pay such charge.
185
The following additional fees, charges and expenses shall also be incurred by the ADR holders, the beneficial owners, by any party depositing or withdrawing shares or by any party surrendering ADSs and/or to whom ADSs are issued (including, without limitation, issuance pursuant to a share dividend or share split declared by us or an exchange of share regarding the ADSs or the deposited securities or a distribution of ADSs), whichever is applicable:
| ● | a fee of up to U.S.$0.05 per ADS held for any cash distribution made, or for any elective cash/share dividend offered, pursuant to the deposit agreement; |
| ● | an aggregate fee of up to US$0.05 per ADS per calendar year (or portion thereof) for services performed by the depositary in administering the ADRs (which fee may be charged on a periodic basis during each calendar year and shall be assessed against holders of ADRs as of the record date or record dates set by the depositary during each calendar year and shall be payable in the manner described in the next succeeding provision); |
| ● | an amount for the reimbursement of such fees, charges and expenses as are incurred by the depositary and/or any of its agents (including, without limitation, the custodian, as well as charges and expenses incurred on behalf of ADR holders in connection with compliance with foreign exchange control regulations or any law, rule or regulation relating to foreign investment) in connection with the servicing of the shares or other deposited securities, the sale of securities (including, without limitation, deposited securities), the delivery of deposited securities or otherwise in connection with the depositary’s or its custodian’s compliance with applicable law, rule or regulation (which fees and charges shall be assessed on a proportionate basis against ADR holders as of the record date or dates set by the depositary and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the depositary by billing such ADR holders or by deducting such charge from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions); |
| ● | a fee of up to $0.05 per ADS held for the direct or indirect distribution of securities (other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs) or the net cash proceeds from the public or private sale of such securities, regardless of whether any such distribution and/or sale is made by, for, or received from, or (in each case) on behalf of, the depositary, us and/or any third party (which fee may be assessed against ADR holders as of a record date set by the depositary); |
| ● | share transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges; |
| ● | a transaction fee per cancellation request (including any cancellation request made through SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication) as disclosed on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of www.adr.com (as updated by the depositary from time to time, “ADR.com”) and any applicable delivery expenses (which are payable by such persons or ADR holders); |
| ● | transfer or registration fees for the registration of transfer of deposited securities on any applicable register in connection with the deposit or withdrawal of deposited securities; and |
| ● | fees of any division, branch or affiliate of the depositary utilized by the depositary to direct, manage and/or execute any public and/or private sale of securities under the deposit agreement. |
To facilitate the administration of various depositary receipt transactions, including disbursement of dividends or other cash distributions and other corporate actions, the depositary may engage the foreign exchange desk within the banking division of JPMorgan (the “Bank”) and/or its affiliates in order to enter into spot foreign exchange transactions to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars. For certain currencies, foreign exchange transactions are entered into with the Bank or an affiliate, as the case may be, acting in a principal capacity. For other currencies, foreign exchange transactions are routed directly to and managed by an unaffiliated local custodian (or other third party local liquidity provider), and neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates is a party to such foreign exchange transactions.
186
The foreign exchange rate applied to a foreign exchange transaction will be either (a) a published benchmark rate, or (b) a rate determined by a third party local liquidity provider, in each case plus or minus a spread, as applicable. The depositary will disclose which foreign exchange rate and spread, if any, apply to such currency on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of ADR.com. Such applicable foreign exchange rate and spread may (and neither the depositary, the Bank nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to ensure that such rate does not) differ from rates and spreads at which comparable transactions are entered into with other customers or the range of foreign exchange rates and spreads at which the Bank or any of its affiliates enters into foreign exchange transactions in the relevant currency pair on the date of the foreign exchange transaction. Additionally, the timing of execution of a foreign exchange transaction varies according to local market dynamics, which may include regulatory requirements, market hours and liquidity in the foreign exchange market or other factors. Furthermore, the Bank and its affiliates may manage the associated risks of their position in the market in a manner they deem appropriate without regard to the impact of such activities on the depositary, us, ADR holders or beneficial owners. The spread applied does not reflect any gains or losses that may be earned or incurred by the Bank and its affiliates as a result of risk management or other hedging related activity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent we provide U.S. dollars to the depositary, neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates will execute a foreign exchange transaction as set forth herein. In such case, the depositary will distribute the U.S. dollars received from us.
Further details relating to the applicable foreign exchange rate, the applicable spread and the execution of foreign exchange transactions will be provided by the depositary on ADR.com. Each holder and beneficial owner by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, and we, each acknowledge and agree that the terms applicable to foreign exchange transactions disclosed from time to time on ADR.com will apply to any foreign exchange transaction executed pursuant to the deposit agreement.
We will pay all other fees, charges and expenses of the depositary and any agent of the depositary (except the custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between us and the depositary.
The right of the depositary to charge and receive payment of fees, charges and expenses survives the termination of the deposit agreement, and shall extend for those fees, charges and expenses incurred prior to the effectiveness of any resignation or removal of the depositary.
The fees and charges described above may be amended from time to time by agreement between us and the depositary.
The depositary anticipates reimbursing us for certain expenses incurred by us that are related to the establishment and maintenance of the ADR program upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary may agree from time to time. The depositary may make available to us a set amount or a portion of the depositary fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary may agree from time to time. Under certain limited circumstances the depositary may also agree to reduce or waive certain fees that would normally be charged on ADSs issued to or at the director of, or otherwise held by, us and/or certain holders and beneficial owners and holders and beneficial owners of shares of ours. The depositary collects its fees for issuance and cancellation of ADSs directly from investors depositing shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions, or by directly billing investors, or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary will generally set off the amounts owing from distributions made to holders of ADSs. If, however, no distribution exists and payment owing is not timely received by the depositary, the depositary may refuse to provide any further services to ADR holders that have not paid those fees and expenses owing until such fees and expenses have been paid. At the discretion of the depositary, all fees and charges owing under the deposit agreement are due in advance and/or when declared owing by the depositary.
187
Payment of Taxes
ADR holders and/or beneficial owners must pay any tax or other governmental charge payable by the custodian or the depositary on any ADS or ADR, deposited security or distribution. If any taxes or other governmental charges (including any penalties and/or interest) shall become payable by or on behalf of the custodian or the depositary with respect to any ADR, any deposited securities represented by the ADSs evidenced thereby or any distribution thereon, including, without limitation, any Chinese enterprise income tax owed if the Circular Guoshuifa [2009] No. 82 issued by the Chinese State Administration of Taxation (SAT) or any other circular, edict, order or ruling, as issued and as from time to time amended, is applied or otherwise such tax or other governmental charge shall be paid by the ADR holder thereof to the depositary and by holding or owning, or having held or owned, an ADR or any ADSs evidenced thereby, the ADR holder and all beneficial owners thereof, and all prior ADR holders and beneficial owners thereof, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the depositary and its agents in respect of such tax or other governmental charge. Notwithstanding the depositary’s right to seek payment from current or former ADR holders and beneficial owners, each ADR holder and beneficial owner, and each prior ADR holder and beneficial owner, by holding or owning, or having held or owned, an ADR or an interest in ADSs acknowledges and agrees that the depositary has no obligation to seek payment of amounts owing from any current or prior beneficial owner. If an ADR holder owes any tax or other governmental charge, the depositary may (i) deduct the amount thereof from any cash distributions, or (ii) sell deposited securities (by public or private sale) and deduct the amount owing from the net proceeds of such sale. In either case, the ADR holder remains liable for any shortfall. If any tax or governmental charge is unpaid, the depositary may also refuse to effect any registration, registration of transfer, split up or combination of ADRs or withdrawal of deposited securities until such payment is made. If any tax or governmental charge is required to be withheld on any cash distribution, the depositary may deduct the amount required to be withheld from any cash distribution or, in the case of a non-cash distribution, sell the distributed property or securities (by public or private sale) in such amounts and in such manner as the depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay such taxes and distribute any remaining net proceeds or the balance of any such property after deduction of such taxes to the ADR holders entitled thereto. Neither we nor the depositary nor any of our or its respective agents, shall be liable to ADR holders or beneficial owners of the ADSs for failure of any of them to comply with applicable tax laws, rules and/or regulations.
As an ADR holder or beneficial owner, you will be agreeing to indemnify us, the depositary, its custodian and any of our or their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained, which obligations shall survive any transfer or surrender of ADSs or the termination of the deposit agreement.
Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers
If we take certain actions that affect the deposited securities, including (i) any change in par value, split-up, consolidation, cancellation or other reclassification of deposited securities or (ii) any distributions of shares or other property not made to holders of ADRs or (iii) any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, liquidation, receivership, bankruptcy or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, then the depositary may choose to, and shall if reasonably requested by us:
| ● | amend the form of ADR; |
| ● | distribute additional or amended ADRs; |
| ● | distribute cash, securities or other property it has received in connection with such actions; |
| ● | sell by public or private sale any securities or property received and distribute the proceeds as cash; or |
| ● | none of the above. |
If the depositary does not choose any of the above options, any of the cash, securities or other property it receives will constitute part of the deposited securities and each ADS will then represent a proportionate interest in such property.
Amendment and Termination
How may the deposit agreement be amended?
We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADSs without your consent for any reason. ADR holders must be given at least thirty (30) days’ notice of any amendment that imposes or increases any fees on a per ADS basis, charges or expenses (other than stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges, transfer or registration fees, a transaction fee per cancellation request (including any cancellation request made through SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication), applicable delivery expenses or other such fees, charges or expenses), or otherwise prejudices any substantial existing right of ADR holders or beneficial owners. Such notice need not describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, but must identify to ADR holders and beneficial owners a means to access the text of such amendment. If an ADR holder or beneficial owner continues to hold an ADR or ADRs, or an interest therein, after being so notified, such ADR holder and any beneficial owner are deemed to agree to such amendment and to be bound by the deposit agreement as so amended. No amendment, however, will impair your right to surrender your ADSs and receive the underlying securities, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.
188
Any amendments or supplements that (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by us and the depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the ADSs or shares to be traded solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by ADR holders, shall be deemed not to prejudice any substantial rights of ADR holders or beneficial owners. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations that would require amendment or supplement of the deposit agreement or the form of ADR to ensure compliance therewith, we and the depositary may amend or supplement the deposit agreement and the form of ADR (and all outstanding ADRs) at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the deposit agreement in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to ADR holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance.
Notice of any amendment to the deposit agreement or form of ADRs shall not need to describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice invalid, provided, however, that, in each such case, the notice given to the ADR holders identifies a means for ADR holders and beneficial owners to retrieve or receive the text of such amendment (i.e., upon retrieval from the SEC’s, the depositary’s or our website or upon request from the depositary).
How may the deposit agreement be terminated?
The depositary may at any time, and shall at our written direction, terminate the deposit agreement and the ADRs by mailing notice of such termination to the registered holders of ADRs at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination; provided, however, if the depositary shall have (i) resigned as depositary under the deposit agreement, notice of such termination by the depositary shall not be provided to registered ADR holders unless a successor depositary shall not be operating under the deposit agreement within sixty (60) days of the date of such resignation, and (ii) been removed as depositary under the deposit agreement, notice of such termination by the depositary shall not be provided to registered holders of ADRs unless a successor depositary shall not be operating under the deposit agreement on the 60th day after our notice of removal was first provided to the depositary. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the deposit agreement, the depositary may terminate the deposit agreement (a) without notifying us, but subject to giving thirty (30) days’ notice to the ADR holders, under the following circumstances: (i) in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation proceedings or insolvency, (ii) if our shares are delisted from a “national securities exchange” (that has registered with the Commission under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), (iii) if we effect (or will effect) a redemption of all or substantially all of the deposited securities, or a cash or share distribution representing a return of all or substantially all of the value of the deposited securities, (iv) there are no deposited securities with respect to ADSs remaining, including if the deposited securities are cancelled, or the deposit securities have been deemed to have no value, or (v) there occurs a merger, consolidation, sale of assets or other transaction as a result of which securities or other property are delivered in exchange for or in lieu of deposited securities, and (b) immediately without prior notice to the Company, any ADR holder or beneficial owner or any other person if (i) required by any law, rule or regulation relating to sanctions by any governmental authority or body, (ii) the depositary would be subject to liability under or pursuant to any law, rule or regulation, or (iii) required by any governmental authority or body, in each case under (b) as determined by the depositary in its reasonable discretion.
If our shares are not listed and publicly traded on a stock exchange or in a securities market as of the date so fixed for termination or if, for any reason, the depositary does not sell the deposited securities, then after such date fixed for termination, the depositary shall use its reasonable efforts to ensure that the ADSs cease to be eligible for settlement within The Depository Trust Company (DTC) and that neither DTC nor any of its nominees shall thereafter be an ADR holder. At such time as the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible and/or neither DTC nor any of its nominees is an ADR holder, to the extent we are not, to the depositary’s knowledge, insolvent or in bankruptcy or liquidation, the depositary shall (A) cancel all outstanding ADRs; (B) request DTC to provide the depositary with information on those holding ADSs through DTC and, upon receipt thereof, revise the ADR register to reflect the information provided by DTC; (C) instruct its custodian to deliver all deposited securities to us, a subsidiary or affiliate of ours (the company representative) or an independent trust company engaged by us (the trustee) to hold those deposited securities in trust for the beneficial owners of the ADRs if we are not permitted to hold any of the deposited securities under applicable law and/or we have directed the depositary to deliver such deposited securities to the company representative or trustee along with a stock transfer form and/or such other instruments of transfer covering such deposited securities as are needed under applicable law, in either case referring to the names set forth on the ADR register and (D) provide us with a copy of the ADR register.
189
Upon receipt of any instrument of transfer covering such deposited securities, any applicable share certificate or indemnity for lost share certificate and the ADR Register, we have agreed that we will, approve the transfer of the deposited securities previously represented by the ADSs evidenced by their ADRs the persons listed on the ADR register (as applicable), procure the relevant updates to the register of members of the Company to reflect the transfer of the deposited securities previously represented by their ADRs to the persons listed on the ADR register (as applicable) and provide the depositary with a certified copy of the updated register of our shareholders.
To the extent the depositary reasonably believes that we are insolvent, or if we are in receivership, have filed for bankruptcy and/or are otherwise in restructuring, administration or liquidation, and in any such case the deposited securities are not listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange after the termination date, or if, for any reason, the depositary believes it is not able to or cannot practicably sell the deposited securities promptly and without undue effort, the deposited securities shall be deemed to have no value (and such holder shall be deemed to have instructed the depositary that the deposited securities have no value). The depositary may (and, by holding an ADR or an interest therein, all holders irrevocably consent and agree that the depositary may) instruct its custodian to deliver all deposited securities to us (acting, as applicable by an administrator, receiver, administrative receiver, liquidator, provisional liquidator, restructuring officer, interim restructuring officer, trustee, controller or other entity overseeing the bankruptcy, insolvency, administration, restructuring or liquidation process) and notify us that the deposited shares are surrendered for no consideration. The deposit agreement requires us, subject to applicable law, to promptly accept the surrender of the deposited shares for no consideration and deliver to the depositary a written notice confirming (A) the acceptance of the surrender of the deposited securities for no consideration and (B) the cancellation of such deposited shares. Promptly after notifying us that the deposited shares are surrendered for no consideration and irrespective of whether we haves complied with the immediately preceding sentence, the depositary shall notify ADR holders that their ADSs have been cancelled with no consideration being payable to such ADR holders.
Upon the depositary’s compliance with the provisions of any of the above three paragraphs, the depositary and its agents shall be discharged from all, and cease to have any, obligations under the deposit agreement and the ADRs.
If our shares are listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange and the depositary believes that it is able, permissible and practicable to sell the deposited securities without undue effort, then the depositary may endeavor to publicly or privately sell (as long as it may lawfully do so) the deposited securities, which sale may be effected in a block sale/single lot transaction and, after the settlement of such sale(s), to the extent legally permissible and practicable, distribute or hold in an account (which may be a segregated or unsegregated account) the net proceeds of such sale(s), less any amounts owing to the depositary (including, without limitation, cancellation fees), together with any other cash then held by it under the deposit agreement, in trust, without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the holders entitled thereto. After making such sale, the depositary shall be discharged from all obligations in respect of the deposit agreement and the ADRs, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in connection with any such termination, the depositary may, in its sole discretion and without notice to us, establish an unsponsored American depositary share program (on such terms as the depositary may determine) for our shares and make available to ADR holders a means to withdraw the shares represented by the ADSs issued under the deposit agreement and to direct the deposit of such shares into such unsponsored American depositary share program, subject, in each case, to receipt by the depositary, at its discretion, of the fees, charges and expenses provided for under the deposit agreement and the fees, charges and expenses applicable to the unsponsored American depositary share program.
190
Limitations on Obligations and Liability
Limits on our obligations and the obligations of the depositary; limits on liability to ADR holders, beneficial owners and others
Prior to the issue, registration, registration of transfer, split-up, combination, or cancellation of any ADRs, or the delivery of any distribution in respect thereof, and from time to time in the case of the production of proofs as described below, we or the depositary or its custodian may require:
| ● | payment with respect thereto of (i) any share transfer or other tax or other governmental charge, (ii) any share transfer or registration fees in effect for the registration of transfers of shares or other deposited securities upon any applicable register and (iii) any applicable fees and expenses described in the deposit agreement; |
| ● | the production of proof satisfactory to it of (i) the identity of any signatory and genuineness of any signature and (ii) such other information, including without limitation, information as to citizenship, residence, exchange control approval, beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, any securities, compliance with applicable law, regulations, provisions of or governing deposited securities and terms of the deposit agreement and the ADRs, as it may deem necessary or proper; and |
| ● | compliance with such regulations as the depositary may establish consistent with the deposit agreement or as the depositary believes are required, necessary or advisable in order to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations. |
The issuance of ADRs, the acceptance of deposits of shares, the registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of ADRs or the withdrawal of shares, may be suspended, generally or in particular instances, when the ADR register or any register for deposited securities is closed or when any such action is deemed required, necessary or advisable by the depositary for any reason provided that the ability to withdraw shares may only be limited under the following circumstances: (i) temporary delays caused by closing transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books or the deposit of shares in connection with voting at a shareholders’ meeting, or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes, and similar charges, and (iii) compliance with any laws or governmental regulations relating to ADRs or to the withdrawal of deposited securities. The depositary may close the ADR register (and/or any portion thereof) at any time or from time to time when deemed expedient by it.
The deposit agreement expressly limits the obligations and liability of the depositary, the depositary’s custodian or ourselves and each of our and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, provided, however, that no provision of the deposit agreement is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights that ADR holders or beneficial owners may have under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable. The deposit agreement provides that each of us, the depositary and our respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates will:
| ● | incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to ADR holders or beneficial owners) if any present or future law, rule, regulation, fiat, order or decree of the United States, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China or any other country or jurisdiction, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system, the provisions of or governing any Deposited Securities, any present or future provision of the Company’s charter, any act of God, war, terrorism, epidemic, pandemic, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, extraordinary market conditions, work stoppage, strike, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions, cyber, ransomware or malware attack, computer failure or circumstance our, the depositary’s or our respective directors’, officers’, employees’, agents’ or affiliates’ direct and immediate control shall prevent or delay, or shall cause any of them to be subject to any civil or criminal penalty in connection with, any act which the deposit agreement or the ADRs provide shall be done or performed by any such party (including, without limitation, voting); |
| ● | incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to ADR holders or beneficial owners) by reason of any non-performance or delay, caused as aforesaid, in the performance of any act or things which by the terms of the deposit agreement it is provided shall or may be done or performed or any exercise or failure to exercise discretion under the deposit agreement or the ADRs including, without limitation, any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable; |
191
| ● | in the case of the depositary and its agents, incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to holders or beneficial owners) if it performs its obligations specifically set forth in the deposit agreement and ADRs without gross negligence or willful misconduct; |
| ● | in the case of the depositary and its agents, be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any deposited securities the ADSs or the ADRs; |
| ● | in the case of us and our agents, be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any deposited securities the ADSs or the ADRs, which in our or our agents’ opinion, as the case may be, may involve us in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to us or our agent, as the case may be against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability is furnished as often as may be requested; |
| ● | not be liable (including, without limitation, to ADR holders or beneficial owners) for any action or inaction by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from any legal counsel, any accountant, any person presenting shares for deposit, any registered holder of ADRs, or any other person believed by it to be competent to give such advice or information and/or, in the case of the depositary, from us provided that the foregoing shall not apply to our indemnification obligations under the deposit agreement; or |
| ● | may rely and shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request, direction, instruction or document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed, presented or given by the proper party or parties. |
The depositary shall not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to ADR holders or beneficial owners.
The depositary and its agents may fully respond to any and all demands or requests for information maintained by or on its behalf in connection with the deposit agreement, any registered holder or holders of ADRs, any ADRs or otherwise related to the deposit agreement or ADRs to the extent such information is requested or required by or pursuant to any lawful authority, including without limitation laws, rules, regulations, administrative or judicial process, banking, securities or other regulators. The depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions made by, or the insolvency of, any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system. Furthermore, the depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, the insolvency of any custodian that is not a branch or affiliate of JPMorgan. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the deposit agreement or any ADRs, the depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, any act or omission to act on the part of the custodian except to the extent that any registered ADR holder has incurred liability directly as a result of the custodian having (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the custodian is located. The depositary and the custodian(s) may use third party delivery services and providers of information regarding matters such as, but not limited to, pricing, proxy voting, corporate actions, class action litigation and other services in connection with the ADRs and the deposit agreement, and use local agents to provide services such as, but not limited to, attendance at any meetings of security holders of issuers. Although the depositary and the custodian will use reasonable care (and cause their agents to use reasonable care) in the selection and retention of such third party providers and local agents, they will not be responsible for any errors or omissions made by them in providing the relevant information or services.
The depositary has no obligation to inform ADR holders or beneficial owners about the requirements of the laws, rules or regulations or any changes therein or thereto of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, the United States or any other country or jurisdiction or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system.
Additionally, none of the depositary, the custodian or us, or any of their or our respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates shall be liable for the failure by any registered holder of ADRs or beneficial owner to obtain the benefits of credits or refunds of non-U.S. tax paid against such ADR holder’s or beneficial owner’s income tax liability. The depositary is under no obligation to provide the ADR holders and beneficial owners, or any of them, with any information about our tax status. None of us, the depositary, the custodian or any of our or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates shall incur any liability for any tax or tax consequences that may be incurred by registered ADR holders or beneficial owners on account of their ownership or disposition of ADRs or ADSs.
192
Neither the depositary nor its agents will be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the deposited securities, for the manner in which any voting instructions are given, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us, for the manner in which any vote is cast, including, without limitation, any vote cast by a person to whom the depositary is instructed to grant a discretionary proxy pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, or for the effect of any such vote. The depositary shall endeavor to effect any sale of securities or other property and any conversion of currency, securities or other property, in each case as is referred to or contemplated in the deposit agreement or the form of ADR, in accordance with the depositary’s normal practices and procedures under the circumstances applicable to such sale or conversion, but shall have no liability (in the absence of its own willful default or gross negligence or that of its agents, officers, directors or employees) with respect to the terms of any such sale or conversion, including the price at which such sale or conversion is effected, or if such sale or conversion shall not be practicable, or shall not be believed, deemed or determined to be practicable by the depositary. Specifically, the depositary shall not have any liability for the price received in connection with any public or private sale of securities (including, without limitation, for any sale made at a nominal price), the timing thereof or any delay in action or omission to act nor shall it be responsible for any error or delay in action, omission to act, default or negligence on the part of the party so retained in connection with any such sale or proposed sale. The depositary shall not incur any liability in connection with or arising from any failure, inability or refusal by us or any other party, including any share registrar, transfer agent or other agent appointed by us or the depositary or any other party, to process any transfer, delivery or distribution of cash, shares, other securities or other property, including without limitation upon the termination of the deposit agreement, or otherwise to comply with any provisions of the deposit agreement that are applicable to it. The depositary may rely upon instructions from us or our counsel in respect of any approval or license required for any currency conversion, transfer or distribution. The depositary shall not incur any liability for the content of any information submitted to it by us or on our behalf for distribution to ADR holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the deposited securities, for the validity or worth of the deposited securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the deposit agreement or for the failure or timeliness of any notice from us. The depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the depositary. Notwithstanding any other provision of the deposit agreement or the ADRs to the contrary, neither we or the depositary, nor any of our or their respective agents shall be liable to the other for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (excluding reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) or lost profits, in each case of any form incurred by any of them, or liable to any other person or entity (including, without limitation, holders and beneficial owners) for any such damages, or any fees or expenses of counsel in connection therewith, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought; provided, however, that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing and, for the avoidance of doubt, the depositary and its agents shall be entitled to legal fees and expenses in defending against any claim for any such damages and (ii) to the extent any such damages arise from or out of a claim brought by a third party (including, without limitation, holders and beneficial owners) against the depositary or any of its agents, the depositary and its agents shall be entitled to full indemnification from us for all such damages, and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel in connection therewith, unless such damages are found to have been a direct result of the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the depositary.
In the deposit agreement each party thereto (including, for avoidance of doubt, each ADR holder and beneficial owner) irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any right it may have to a trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding against the depositary and/or us directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to the shares or other deposited securities, the ADSs or the ADRs, the deposit agreement or any transaction contemplated therein, or the breach thereof (whether based on contract, tort, common law or any other theory). No provision of the deposit agreement or the ADRs is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights which an ADR holder or any beneficial owner may have under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
The depositary and its agents may own and deal in any class of securities of our company and our affiliates and in ADSs.
193
Disclosure of Interest in ADSs
To the extent that the provisions of or governing any deposited securities may require disclosure of or impose limits on beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, deposited securities, other shares and other securities and may provide for blocking transfer, voting or other rights to enforce such disclosure or limits, you as ADR holders or beneficial owners agree to comply with all such disclosure requirements and ownership limitations and to comply with any reasonable instructions we may provide in respect thereof.
Books of Depositary
The depositary or its agent will maintain a register for the registration, registration of transfer, combination and split-up of ADRs, which register shall include the depositary’s direct registration system. Registered holders of ADRs may inspect such records at the depositary’s office at all reasonable times, but solely for the purpose of communicating with other ADR holders in the interest of the business of our company or a matter relating to the deposit agreement. Such register (and/or any portion thereof) may be closed at any time or from time to time, when deemed expedient by the depositary.
The depositary will maintain facilities for the delivery and receipt of ADRs.
Appointment
In the deposit agreement, each registered holder of ADRs and each beneficial owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs or ADRs (or any interest in any of them) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the deposit agreement will be deemed for all purposes to:
| ● | be a party to and bound by the terms of the deposit agreement and the applicable ADR or ADRs, |
| ● | appoint the depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all actions contemplated in the deposit agreement and the applicable ADR or ADRs, to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with applicable laws and to take such action as the depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the deposit agreement and the applicable ADR and ADRs, the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness thereof; and |
| ● | acknowledge and agree that (i) nothing in the deposit agreement or any ADR shall give rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties thereto, nor establish a fiduciary or similar relationship among such parties, (ii) the depositary, its divisions, branches and affiliates, and their respective agents, may from time to time be in the possession of non-public information about us, ADR holders, beneficial owners and/or their respective affiliates, (iii) the depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may at any time have multiple banking relationships with us, ADR holders, beneficial owners and/or the affiliates of any of them, (iv) the depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may, from time to time, be engaged in transactions in which parties adverse to us, ADR holders, or beneficial owners may have interests, (v) nothing contained in the deposit agreement or any ADR(s) shall (A) preclude the depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates from engaging in any such transactions or establishing or maintaining any such relationships, or (B) obligate the depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates to disclose any such transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment received in any such transactions or relationships, (vi) the depositary shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any information held by any branch, division or affiliate of the depositary and (vii) notice to an ADR holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of the deposit agreement and the ADRs, to constitute notice to any and all beneficial owners of the ADSs evidenced by such ADR holder’s ADRs. For all purposes under the deposit agreement and the ADRs, the ADR holders thereof shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all beneficial owners of the ADSs evidenced by such ADRs. |
Consent to Jurisdiction
In the deposit agreement, we have submitted to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in New York, New York and appointed an agent for service of process on our behalf. Any action based on the deposit agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein or thereby may also be instituted by the depositary against us in any competent court in the Cayman Islands, the United States and/or any other court of competent jurisdiction.
194
Under the deposit agreement, by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, holders and beneficial owners each irrevocably agree that (i) any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving holders or beneficial owners brought by us or the depositary, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein or thereby, may be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein each irrevocably waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding and (ii) any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving us and/or the depositary brought by holders or beneficial owners, arising out of or based upon the deposit agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein or thereby, including, without limitation, claims under the Securities Act of 1933, may be instituted only in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or in the state courts of New York County in New York if either (a) the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute or (b) the designation of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for any particular dispute is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable). In the deposit agreement each holder and beneficial owner irrevocably waives any objection which it may at any time have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.
Notwithstanding anything in the deposit agreement to the contrary, by directly or indirectly holding or owing an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, holders and beneficial owners each agree that: (i) the depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein or thereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination against any other party or parties, by having such dispute referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration; provided, however, to the extent there are specific federal securities law violation aspects to any claims against us and/or the depositary, such specific, and only such specific, claims may be brought by any holder or beneficial owner in federal or state court in New York, New York and all other aspects, claims, disputes, legal suits, actions and/or proceedings brought by such holder or beneficial owner, including those brought along with, or in addition to, federal securities law violation claims, would be referred to, or remain in arbitration. Any such arbitration shall, at the depositary’s election, be conducted either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre serving as the appointing authority and the language of any such arbitration shall be English. In all cases, the fees of the arbitrators and other costs incurred by the parties in connection with such arbitration shall be paid by the party (or parties) that is (or are) unsuccessful in such arbitration. Holders and beneficial owners shall not be entitled to join or consolidate disputes by or against others in any arbitration, or to include in any arbitration any dispute as a representative or member of a class, or act in any arbitration in the interest of the general public or in a private attorney general capacity.
Jury Trial Waiver
In the deposit agreement, each party thereto (including, for the avoidance of doubt, each holder and beneficial owner of, and/or holder of interests in, ADSs or ADRs) irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any right it may have to a trial by jury in any suit, action or proceeding against the depositary and/or us directly or indirectly arising out of, based on or relating in any way to the shares or other deposited securities, the ADSs or the ADRs, the deposit agreement or any transaction contemplated therein, or the breach thereof (whether based on contract, tort, common law or any other theory), including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.
If we or the depositary were to oppose a jury trial demand based on such waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable state and federal law, including whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. The waiver to right to a jury trial in the deposit agreement is not intended to be deemed a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of our or the depositary’s compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
195
ADS Warrants
The following summary of certain terms and provisions of the ADS Warrants offered hereby is not complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by the form of ADS Warrant, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Prospective investors should carefully review the terms and provisions set forth in the form of ADS Warrant.
Duration and Exercise Price. The ADS Warrants offered hereby will have an exercise price of $ per ADS (based on an assumed public offering price of $ per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant). The ADS Warrants will be immediately exercisable upon issuance and will be exercisable for up to five years from the date of issuance. The exercise price and number of ADSs issuable upon exercise are subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of share dividends, share splits, reorganizations or similar events affecting our ADS or ordinary shares and the exercise price. The ADS Warrants will be issued in certificated form only.
Exercisability. The ADS Warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice accompanied by payment in full for the number of ADS purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below). A holder (together with its affiliates) may not exercise any portion of such holder’s ADS Warrants to the extent that the holder would own more than 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of our outstanding ADS or ordinary shares immediately after exercise, except that upon at least 61 days’ prior notice from the holder to us, the holder may increase the amount of ownership of outstanding ADS or ordinary shares after exercising the holder’s ADS Warrants up to 9.99% of the number of ADS or ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the ADS Warrants. Purchasers in this offering may also elect prior to the issuance of ADS Warrants to have the initial exercise limitation set at 9.99% of our outstanding ADS or ordinary shares.
Exercise Price. The exercise price for the ADS Warrants initially will be $ per ADS (based on an assumed public offering price of $ per ADS and accompanying ADS Warrant). The exercise price is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain ADS or ordinary share dividends and distributions, ADS or ordinary share splits, ADS or ordinary share consolidation, reclassifications or similar events affecting our ADS or ordinary shares and also upon any distributions of assets, including cash, stock or other property to our shareholders.
In addition, with limited exceptions, if at any time while the ADS Warrants are outstanding, we issue any ADS or ordinary shares or securities entitling any person or entity to acquire ADS or ordinary shares (upon conversion, exercise or otherwise), at an effective price per share less than the exercise price of the ADS Warrants (a “Dilutive Issuance”), then the exercise price of the ADS Warrants shall be reduced to the same price as the new investment.
If at any time on or after the date of issuance there occurs any share split, share dividend, share combination recapitalization or other similar transaction involving our ADS or ordinary shares and the lowest daily volume weighted average price of the ADS for the five lowest trading days during the ten trading days ending on the fifth trading day after such event is less than the exercise price then in effect, then the exercise price shall be reduced to the lowest daily volume weighted average price during such period.
Cashless Exercise. If at the time of exercise of the ADS Warrants there is no effective registration statement registering, or the prospectus contained therein is not available for the resale of the ADS issuable upon exercise of the ADS Warrants, then the ADS Warrants will only be exercisable on a “cashless exercise” basis under which the holder will receive upon such exercise a net number of ADS or determined according to a formula set forth in the ADS or Warrants.
Transferability. Subject to applicable laws, the ADS Warrants may be offered for sale, sold, transferred or assigned without our consent.
No Listing. There is no established public trading market for the ADS Warrants and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply for listing of the ADS Warrants on any securities exchange or trading system. Without an active market, the liquidity of the ADS Warrants will be limited.
Fundamental Transactions. In the event of a fundamental transaction, as described in the ADS Warrants and generally including any reorganization, recapitalization or reclassification of our ADS or ordinary shares, the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of our properties or assets, our consolidation or merger with or into another person, the acquisition of more than 50% of our outstanding ADS or ordinary shares, or any person or group becoming the beneficial owner of more than 50% of the voting power represented by our outstanding ADS or ordinary shares, the holders of the ADS Warrants will be entitled to receive upon exercise of the ADS Warrants the kind and amount of securities, cash or other property that the holders would have received had they exercised the ADS Warrants immediately prior to such fundamental transaction without regard to any limitations on exercise contained in the ADS Warrants.
Rights as a Shareholder. Except as otherwise provided in the ADS Warrants or by virtue of such holder’s ownership of our ADS or ordinary shares, the holder of a ADS Warrant does not have the rights or privileges of a holder of our ADS or ordinary shares, including any voting rights, until the holder exercises the ADS Warrant.
196
Pre-Funded Warrants
The following summary of certain terms and provisions of Pre-Funded Warrants that are being offered hereby is not complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of the Pre-Funded Warrant, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Prospective investors should carefully review the terms and provisions of the form of Pre-Funded Warrant for a complete description of the terms and conditions of the Pre-Funded Warrants.
Duration and Exercise Price. Each Pre-Funded Warrant offered hereby will have an initial exercise price equal to $0.001 per ADS. The Pre-Funded Warrants will be exercisable upon issuance, and may be exercised at any time until the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised in full. The exercise price and number of ADSs issuable upon exercise is subject to appropriate proportional adjustment in the event of share dividends, share splits, subsequent rights offerings, and pro rata distributions.
Exercisability. The Pre-Funded Warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and within the earlier of (i) one trading days and (ii) the number of trading days comprising the standard settlement period following the date of exercise, payment in full for the number of ADSs purchased upon such exercise (except in the case of a cashless exercise as discussed below). A holder may not exercise any portion of the Pre-Funded Warrant to the extent that the holder, together with its affiliates and any other persons acting as a group together with the holder or any of the holder’s affiliates, would own more than 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of the number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after exercise (the “Beneficial Ownership Limitation”); provided that a holder, upon notice to the Company and effective on the 61st day after the date such notice is delivered to the Company may increase the Beneficial Ownership Limitation.
Cashless Exercise. The Pre-Funded Warrants may also be exercised, in whole or in part, at such time by means of “cashless exercise” in which the holder shall be entitled to receive upon such exercise (either in whole or in part) the net number of ADSs determined according to a formula set forth in the Pre-Funded Warrants, which generally provides for a number of ADSs equal to (A)(1) the volume weighted average price on the trading day immediately preceding the notice of exercise, if the notice of exercise is executed and delivered on a day that is not a trading day or prior to the opening of “regular trading hours” on a trading day, or (2) at the option of the holder, either (x) the volume weighted average price on the trading day immediately preceding the date of the notice of exercise or (y) the bid price of the ADSs on the principal trading market as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (“Bloomberg”) as of the time of the holder’s execution of the notice of exercise if such notice of exercise is executed during “regular trading hours” on a trading day and is delivered within two hours thereafter (including until two hours after the close of “regular trading hours” on a trading day), or (3) the volume weighted average price on the date of the notice of exercise, if the date of such notice of exercise is a trading day and the notice of exercise is both executed and delivered after the close of “regular trading hours” on such trading day, less (B) the exercise price, multiplied by (C) the number of ADSs the Pre-Funded Warrant was exercisable into, with such product then divided by the number determined under clause (A) in this sentence.
Fractional Shares. No fractional ADSs will be issued upon the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants. Rather, we will, at our election, either pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the exercise price or round up to the next whole ADSs.
Transferability. Subject to applicable laws, a Pre-Funded Warrant may be transferred at the option of the holder upon surrender of the Pre-Funded Warrant to us together with the appropriate instruments of transfer and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon such transfer.
Trading Market. There is no trading market available for the Pre-Funded Warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system. We do not intend to list the Pre-Funded Warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system.
Rights as a Shareholder. Except as otherwise provided in the Pre-Funded Warrants or by virtue of such holder’s ownership of the underlying ADSs, the holders of the Pre-Funded Warrants do not have the rights or privileges of holders of our ADSs, including any voting rights, until they exercise their Pre-Funded Warrants.
Fundamental Transaction. In the event of a fundamental transaction, as described in the Pre-Funded Warrants and generally, including any reorganization, recapitalization, or reclassification of our ADSs, the sale, transfer, or other disposition of all or substantially all of our properties or assets, our consolidation or merger with or into another person, the acquisition of more than 50% of the voting power of our capital stock, the holders of the Pre-Funded Warrants will be entitled to receive upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants the kind and amount of securities, cash, or other property that the holders would have received had they exercised the Pre-Funded Warrants immediately prior to such fundamental transaction.
197
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Upon completion of this offering, we will have up to 10,577,928 ADSs outstanding (including 5,010,000 ADSs outstanding before this offering but assuming no exercise of the ADS Warrants or placement agent warrants), representing 264,448,200 Class A ordinary shares, or approximately 8.5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. All of the ADSs sold in this offering will be freely transferable by persons other than our “affiliates” without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act. Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs in the public market could adversely affect prevailing market prices of the ADSs. Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. We do not expect that a trading market will develop for our ordinary shares not represented by the ADSs.
Lock-up Agreements
In connection with our initial public offering in August 2025, we, our executive officers, directors and all of our existing shareholders (including all selling shareholders) have agreed with the underwriter, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of 180 days after August 18, 2025, not to (A) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any ordinary shares or ADSs or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for ordinary shares or ADSs or any such substantially similar securities, or (B) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the ordinary shares or ADSs or any such securities, whether any such transaction described in sub-paragraph (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of ordinary shares or ADSs or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or (C) file or submit with the SEC any registration statement under the Securities Act relating to the offering of any ordinary shares or ADSs, or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for ordinary shares or ADSs or any such substantially similar securities, or (D) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, without the prior written consent of the representative of the underwriter.
In connection with this offering, the underwriter of our initial public offering has waived those lock-up provisions with respect to the shares being sold by us in this offering. The remaining shares and ADSs will continue to be subject to those lock-up provisions during the 180-day period.
Our directors and executive officers will enter into lock-up agreements. Under these agreements, these parties have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise dispose of any securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, our securities for a period of sixty days after the date of this prospectus without the prior consent of the placement agent. Notwithstanding these limitations, our securities may be transferred under limited circumstances, including by gift, will, or intestate succession.
Rule 144
“Restricted shares” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act may be sold publicly in the United States only if they are subject to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements. Under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person (or persons whose shares are aggregated) who at the time of a sale is not, and has not been during the three months preceding the sale, an affiliate of ours and has beneficially owned our restricted shares for at least six months will be entitled to sell the restricted securities without registration under the Securities Act, subject only to the availability of current public information about us, and will be entitled to sell restricted securities beneficially owned for at least one year without restriction.
Other than this offering, we are not aware of any plans by any significant shareholders to dispose of significant numbers of the ADSs or ordinary shares. However, one or more existing shareholders or owners of securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for the ADSs or ordinary shares may dispose of significant numbers of the ADSs or ordinary shares in the future. We cannot predict what effect, if any, future sales of the ADSs or ordinary shares, or the availability of ADSs or ordinary shares for future sale, will have on the trading price of the ADSs from time to time. Sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs or ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the trading price of the ADSs.
Persons who are our affiliates and have beneficially owned our restricted securities for at least six months may sell a number of restricted securities within any three-month period that does not exceed the greater of the following:
| ● | 1% of the then outstanding Class A ordinary shares of the same class, in the form of ADSs or otherwise, which will equal approximately 278,110,181 Class A ordinary shares immediately after this offering; or |
| ● | the average weekly trading volume of our Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs or otherwise on Nasdaq during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which notice of the sale is filed with the SEC. |
Affiliates who sell restricted securities under Rule 144 may not solicit orders or arrange for the solicitation of orders, and they are also subject to notice requirements and the availability of current public information about us.
198
The following discussion of Cayman Islands, mainland China and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, such as the tax consequences under U.S. state, or local laws or the tax laws of any jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands, mainland China and the United States. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of Cayman Islands tax law, it represents the opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of mainland China’s tax law, it represents the opinion of Global Law Office, our mainland China counsel.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation, and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares levied by the government of the Cayman Islands, except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the ADSs or ordinary shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the ADSs or ordinary shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the ADSs or ordinary shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax.
Mainland China
Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside mainland China with “de facto management bodies” within mainland China is considered a “resident enterprise” for mainland China enterprise income tax purposes and is generally subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on its worldwide income. Under the implementation regulations to the PRC EIT Law, a “de facto management body” is defined as a body that has material and overall management and control over the manufacturing and operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise.
In addition, the SAT Circular 82 issued by the SAT in April 2009 specifies that certain offshore incorporated enterprises controlled by mainland China enterprises or mainland China enterprise groups will be classified as mainland China’s resident enterprises only if all of the following conditions are met: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function have their presence mainly in mainland China; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in mainland China; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in mainland China; and (iv) not less than half of the enterprise’s directors or senior management with voting rights habitually reside in mainland China. Further to SAT Circular 82, in June 2018 the SAT amended the SAT Bulletin 45 to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 provides for procedures and administration details of determination on resident status and administration on post-determination matters. Our company is a company incorporated outside mainland China. As a holding company, its key assets are its ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained, outside mainland China. As such, we do not believe that our company meets all of the conditions above or is a resident enterprise of mainland China for mainland China’s tax purposes. For similar reasons, we believe our other entities outside of China are not resident enterprises of mainland China either. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” There can be no assurance that the mainland China government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with us. If the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is a resident enterprise of mainland China for mainland China’s enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable mainland China’s tax consequences could follow. For example, a 10% withholding tax would be imposed on dividends we pay to our non-resident enterprise shareholders (including the ADS holders). In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders (including the ADS holders) may be subject to mainland China’s tax at a rate of 10% on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within mainland China. Furthermore, if we are deemed a resident enterprise of mainland China, dividends paid to our non-resident individual shareholders (including the ADS holders) and any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares by such shareholders may be subject to mainland China’s tax at a rate of 20% (which, in the case of dividends, may be withheld at source by us). These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is unclear whether non-resident shareholders (including the ADS holders) of our company would be able to obtain the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and mainland China in the event that we are treated as a resident enterprise of mainland China. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in Mainland China — If we are classified as a mainland China resident enterprise for mainland China enterprise income tax purposes, such classification could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-mainland-China shareholders and ADS holders.”
199
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
The following discussion is a summary of U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares by a U.S. Holder (as defined below) that acquires the ADSs (hereinafter, including ADS Warrants or pre-funded Warrants) in this offering and holds the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion is based upon existing U.S. federal tax law, which is subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. There can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), or a court will not take a contrary position. This discussion, moreover, does not address the U.S. federal estate, gift, Medicare, and minimum tax considerations, or any state, local and non-U.S. tax considerations, relating to the ownership or disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares. The following summary does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances or to persons in special tax situations such as:
| ● | banks and other financial institutions; |
| ● | insurance companies; |
| ● | pension plans; |
| ● | cooperatives; |
| ● | regulated investment companies; |
| ● | real estate investment trusts; |
| ● | broker-dealers; |
| ● | traders that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting; |
| ● | certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents; |
| ● | tax-exempt entities (including private foundations); |
| ● | holders who acquire their ADSs or Class A ordinary shares pursuant to any employee share option or otherwise as compensation; |
| ● | investors that will hold their ADSs or Class A ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
| ● | investors that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar; |
| ● | persons that actually or constructively own ADSs or Class A ordinary shares representing 10% or more of our stock (by vote or value); or |
| ● | partnerships or other entities taxable as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or persons holding ADSs or Class A ordinary shares through such entities; |
all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those discussed below.
200
Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the application of U.S. federal taxation to its particular circumstances, and the state, local, non-U.S. and other tax considerations of the ownership and disposition of the ADSs or our Class A ordinary shares.
General
For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ● | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| ● | a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| ● | an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or |
| ● | a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and that has one or more U.S. persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has otherwise validly elected to be treated as a U.S. person under the Code. |
If a partnership (or other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares and their partners are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is generally expected that a U.S. Holder of ADSs will be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a U.S. Holder of the ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or withdrawals of Class A ordinary shares for ADSs will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations
In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for any taxable year in which (i) 50% or more of the value of its assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income, or (ii) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income. For this purpose, cash and assets readily convertible into cash are categorized as passive assets and the company’s goodwill and other unbooked intangibles are taken into account. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. We will be treated as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, 25% or more (by value) of the stock. Although the law in this regard is not entirely clear, we treat our VIEs and their subsidiaries as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes because we control their management decisions and are entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits associated with them. As a result, we consolidate their results of operations in our consolidated U.S. GAAP financial statements. If it were determined, however, that we are not the owner of our VIEs and their subsidiaries for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may be treated as a PFIC for the current and subsequent taxable years.
Assuming that we are the owner of our VIEs and their subsidiaries for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based on the current and anticipated value of our assets and the composition of our income and assets, including goodwill (taking into account the expected proceeds from, and our anticipated market capitalization immediately following, this offering), we do not presently expect to be or become a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future. While we do not expect to be or become a PFIC, no assurance can be given in this regard because the determination of whether we are or will become a PFIC for any taxable year is a fact-intensive inquiry made on an annual basis that depends, in part, upon the composition and classification of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of the ADSs may cause us to be or become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years because the value of our assets for the purpose of the asset test, including the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, may be determined by reference to the market price of the ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). In estimating the value of our goodwill, we have taken into account the expected cash proceeds from, and our anticipated market capitalization following, this offering. If our market capitalization is less than anticipated or subsequently declines, we may be or become classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or future taxable years. The composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. If we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash (including the cash raised in this offering) for active purposes, our risk of being or becoming a PFIC may substantially increase.
201
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed below under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” will generally apply to such U.S. Holder for such taxable year, and unless the U.S. Holder makes certain elections, will apply in future years even if we cease to be a PFIC.
Dividends
Subject to the discussion below entitled “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”, the gross amount of distributions paid on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares (including the amount of any mainland China’s tax withheld) out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder, in the case of Class A ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, the full amount of any distribution we pay will generally be treated as a “dividend” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Dividends received on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction generally allowed to corporations.
Dividends received by individuals and certain other non-corporate U.S. Holders may be subject to tax at the lower capital gain tax rate applicable to “qualified dividend income,” provided that certain conditions are satisfied, including that (1) the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares on which the dividends are paid are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, or, in the event that we are deemed to be a mainland China resident enterprise under mainland China’s tax law, we are eligible for the benefit of the United States-mainland China income tax treaty (the “Treaty”), (2) we are neither a PFIC nor treated as such with respect to such U.S. Holder (as discussed below) for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid and the preceding taxable year, and (3) certain holding period requirements are met. We expect the ADSs (but not the Class A ordinary shares), which we have applied to list on Nasdaq, will be considered readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, although there can be no assurance in this regard. Because the Class A ordinary shares will not be listed on a U.S. exchange, dividends received with respect to Class A ordinary shares that are not represented by ADSs may not be treated as qualified dividends. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for dividends paid with respect to the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares.
In the event that we are deemed to be a mainland China resident enterprise under the EIT Law (see “Taxation — Mainland China”), we may be eligible for the benefits of the Treaty. If we are eligible for such benefits, dividends we pay on our Class A ordinary shares, regardless of whether such shares are represented by the ADSs, and regardless of whether the ADSs are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, would be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation described in the preceding paragraph.
For U.S. foreign tax credit purposes, dividends paid on the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, if any, will generally be treated as income from foreign sources and will generally constitute passive category income for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes. Subject to certain conditions and limitations, mainland China’s withholding taxes on dividends that are non-refundable under the Treaty may be treated as foreign taxes eligible for credit against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign taxes withheld may instead, subject to applicable limitations, claim a deduction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholding, but only for a year in which such holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex and their outcome depends in large part on the U.S. Holder’s individual facts and circumstances. Accordingly, U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.
Sale or Other Disposition
Subject to the discussion below entitled “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”, a U.S. Holder will generally recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or Class A ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term if the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes, which will generally limit the availability of foreign tax credits. Long-term capital gain of individuals and certain other non-corporate U.S. Holders will generally be eligible for a reduced rate of taxation. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations.
202
As described in “Taxation — Mainland China,” if we are deemed to be a mainland China resident enterprise under the EIT Law, gains from the disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares may be subject to mainland China income tax and will generally be U.S.-source, which may limit the ability to receive a foreign tax credit. If a U.S. Holder is eligible for the benefits of the Treaty, such holder may be able to elect to treat such gain as mainland China-source income under the Treaty. Pursuant to United States Treasury regulations (the applicability of which has been postponed until further guidance is issued), however, if a U.S. Holder is not eligible for the benefits of the Treaty or does not elect to apply the Treaty, then such holder may not be able to claim a foreign tax credit arising from any mainland China tax imposed on the disposition of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares. The rules regarding foreign tax credits and deduction of foreign taxes are complex. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of a foreign tax credit or deduction in light of their particular circumstances, including their eligibility for benefits under the Treaty, and the potential impact of the United States Treasury regulations.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares, and unless the U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election (as described below), the U.S. Holder will generally be subject to special tax rules on (i) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or Class A ordinary shares. Under the PFIC rules:
| ● | the excess distribution or gain will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares; |
| ● | the amount allocated to the current taxable year and any taxable years in the U.S. Holder’s holding period prior to the first taxable year in which we are a PFIC (each, a “pre-PFIC year”), will be taxable as ordinary income; and |
| ● | the amount allocated to each prior taxable year, other than a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that year, increased by an additional tax equal to the interest on the resulting tax deemed deferred with respect to each such taxable year. |
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares and any of our subsidiaries, our VIEs or their subsidiaries are also PFICs (each a “lower-tier PFIC”), such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC for purposes of the application of these rules. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries, our VIEs or their subsidiaries.
As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder of “marketable stock” (as defined below) in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such stock. If a U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election with respect to the ADSs, the holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of ADSs held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of such ADSs held at the end of the taxable year, but such deduction will only be allowed to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of the ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC and we subsequently cease to be a PFIC, the holder will not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that we are not a PFIC. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election, any gain such U.S. Holder recognizes upon the sale or other disposition of the ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but such loss will only be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election.
The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” which is stock that is traded in other than de minimis quantities on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (“regularly traded”) on a qualified exchange or other market, as defined in applicable United States Treasury regulations. We expect that the ADSs, but not the Class A ordinary shares will be treated as marketable stock upon their listing on Nasdaq, which is a qualified exchange for these purposes. We anticipate that the ADSs should qualify as being regularly traded, but no assurances may be given in this regard.
Because a mark-to-market election cannot technically be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder that makes the mark-to-market election may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder’s indirect interest in any investments held by us that are treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. Holders to make qualified electing fund elections which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from (and generally less adverse than) the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.
If a U.S. Holder owns the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the holder must generally file an annual IRS Form 8621. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consideration of owning and disposing of the ADSs or Class A ordinary shares if we are or become a PFIC, including the availability and possibility of making a mark-to-market election.
THE PRECEDING DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE TAX ADVICE. U.S. HOLDERS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS AS TO THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S. TAX CONSIDERATIONS TO THEM OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF THE ADSS AND CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES IN THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.
203
Pursuant to a placement agency agreement, dated , 2026 (the “Placement Agency Agreement”), we have engaged FT Global Capital, Inc. to act as our exclusive placement agent in connection with this offering. The placement agent is not purchasing or selling any of our securities, nor is it required to arrange for the purchase and sale of any specific number or dollar amount of such securities, other than to use their “reasonable best efforts,” to arrange for the sale of such securities by us. The terms of this offering are subject to market conditions and negotiations between us, the placement agent, and prospective investors. The Placement Agency Agreement does not give rise to any commitment by the placement agent to purchase any of our securities, and the placement agent will have no authority to bind us by virtue of the Placement Agency Agreement. Further, the placement agent does not guarantee that it will be able to raise new capital in any prospective offering. The placement agent may engage sub-agents or selected dealers to assist with this offering.
We will enter into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) directly with each investor in connection with this offering and we may not sell the entire amount, or any amount, of securities offered pursuant to this prospectus. The form of the Securities Purchase Agreement is included as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We have agreed to indemnify the investors against certain losses resulting from our breach of any of our representations, warranties, or covenants under agreements with the purchasers as well as under certain other circumstances described in the Securities Purchase Agreement.
We will deliver to the investors the ADS (or Pre-Funded Warrants) and ADS Warrants upon closing and receipt of investor funds for the purchase of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus. We intend to complete one closing of this offering, but may undertake one or more additional closings for the sale of additional securities to the investors in the initial closing. We expect to hold an initial closing on , 2026, but the offering will be terminated by , 2026, provided that the closing(s) of the offering for all of the securities have not occurred by such termination date, which date may be extended by written agreement of the Company and the placement agent. Any extensions or material changes to the terms of the offering will be contained in an amendment to this prospectus. We expect initial delivery of up to ADS (or Pre-Funded Warrants) and ADS Warrants offered pursuant to this prospectus against payment in U.S. dollars will be made on or about , 2026.
Commissions and Expenses
The following table shows the total placement agent’s commissions we will pay in connection with the sale of the securities in this offering, assuming the purchase of all of the securities we are offering.
| Per
ADS and Accompanying ADS Warrant |
Per
ADS and Accompanying ADS Warrant |
Total
(assuming maximum offering) |
||||||||||
| Public offering price | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
| Placement agent commissions | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
| Proceeds, before expenses, to us | US$ | US$ | US$ | |||||||||
We have agreed to pay to the placement agent commissions equal to 7.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in this offering. We have also agreed to reimburse the placement agent for its non-accountable expenses up to $20,000, and for its legal expenses up to $50,000.
In addition, we agreed to pay additional compensation to the placement agent in the form of the placement agent warrants to purchase that number of ADS which equals 3.0% of the aggregate number of ADS sold in this offering at an exercise price of $ per share. The placement agent warrants and the underlying ADS may be deemed to be compensation by FINRA, and therefore will be subject to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1). In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), neither the placement agent warrants nor any of our ADS issued upon exercise of the placement agent warrants may be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of such securities by any person, for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement date of sales in this offering, subject to certain exceptions. The placement agent warrants to be received by the placement agent and related persons in connection with this offering: (i) fully comply with lock-up restrictions pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1); and (ii) fully comply with transfer restrictions pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2).
204
We estimate the total expenses payable by us for this offering, assuming the maximum offering is completed, to be approximately $1.55 million, which amount includes (i) a placement agent’s commissions of approximately $0.7 million, assuming the purchase of all of the securities we are offering; (ii) the placement agent’s non-accountable expense allowance in the amount of up to $20,000 and legal expenses of up to $50,000 in connection with this offering; and (iii) other expenses of approximately $0.78 million associated with the offering of our securities. However, because this is a “best efforts” offering and there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to the closing of this offering, the actual offering amount, the placement agent commissions and non-accountable expenses and net proceeds to us are not presently determinable and may be substantially less than the maximum amounts set forth herein.
Lock-Up Agreements
Our directors, executive officers, and beneficial owners of 5% or more of our outstanding securities will enter into lock-up agreements. Under these agreements, these parties have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to offer, sell, contract to sell, hypothecate, pledge, or otherwise dispose of any securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, our securities for a period of sixty days after the date of this prospectus without the prior consent of the placement agent. Notwithstanding these limitations, our securities may be transferred under limited circumstances, including by gift, will, or intestate succession.
Tail Financing
The placement agent shall be entitled to a cash fee equal to 7.0% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of any public or private offering or other financing or capital-raising transaction of any kind (each, a “Tail Financing”) to the extent that such financing or capital is provided to the Company by parties contacted by the placement agent directly and indirectly, and such Tail Financing is consummated within 12 months after the expiration or termination of the Placement Agency Agreement.
Securities Issuance Standstill
In addition, we have agreed that for a period of thirty days from the closing of this offering, subject to certain exemptions, we will not (a) offer, sell, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any capital shares of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for capital shares of the Company; or (b) file or caused to be filed any registration statement with the SEC relating to the offering of any capital shares of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for capital shares of the Company.
Listing
Our ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “YMT.” On February 5, 2026, the closing trading price for our ADSs, as reported on Nasdaq, was US$1.796 per ADS. There is no established public trading market for the ADS Warrants or Pre-Funded Warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. We do not plan to list the Pre-Funded Warrants or ADS Warrants on the Nasdaq Stock Market or any other securities exchange or trading market.
Regulation
The placement agent may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act and any fees received by it and any profit realized on the sale of the securities by it while acting as principal might be deemed to be underwriting commissions under the Securities Act. The placement agent will be required to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act including, without limitation, Rule 10b-5 and Regulation M under the Exchange Act. These rules and regulations may limit the timing of purchases and sales of the securities by the placement agent. Under these rules and regulations, the placement agent may not (i) engage in any stabilization activity in connection with our securities; and (ii) bid for or purchase any of our securities or attempt to induce any person to purchase any of our securities, other than as permitted under the Exchange Act, until they have completed their participation in the distribution.
Other Relationships
From time to time, the placement agent may provide, various advisory, investment, and commercial banking and other services to us in the ordinary course of business, for which it may receive customary fees and commissions. However, except as disclosed in this prospectus, we have no present arrangements with the placement agent for any services. We have agreed to indemnify the placement agent against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. If we are unable to provide this indemnification, we will contribute to payments that the placement agent may be required to make for these liabilities.
Selling Restrictions
No action may be taken in any jurisdiction other than the United States that would permit a public offering of the Securities or the possession, circulation, or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Accordingly, our securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, and neither the prospectus nor any other offering material or advertisements in connection with our securities may be distributed or published in or from any country or jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable laws, rules, and regulations of any such country or jurisdiction.
205
EXPENSES RELATING TO THIS OFFERING
Set forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding placement agent’s fees, that we expect to incur in connection with this offering. With the exception of the SEC registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, filing fee, all amounts are estimates.
| Expenses | Amount | |||
| U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee | US$ | 4,839 | ||
| FINRA filing fee | US$ | 2,000 | ||
| Printing and engraving expenses | US$ | 50,000 | ||
| Legal fees and expenses | US$ | 700,000 | ||
| Accounting fees and expenses | US$ | 50,000 | ||
| Miscellaneous costs | US$ | 43,161 | ||
| Total | US$ | 850,000 | ||
206
We are being represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP with respect to certain legal matters of U.S. federal securities and New York State law. Certain legal matters with respect to U.S. federal and New York State law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the placement agent by ArentFox Schiff LLP, Washington, DC. The validity of the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered in this offering and other certain legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP. Legal matters as to laws of mainland China will be passed upon for us by Global Law Office and for the placement agent by PacGate Law Group. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP may rely upon Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and Global Law Office with respect to matters governed by laws of mainland China. ArentFox Schiff LLP may rely upon PacGate Law Group with respect to matters governed by laws of mainland China.
The consolidated financial statements of Yimutian Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, and for each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, have been included herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the report of Assentsure PAC, independent registered public accounting firm, appearing elsewhere herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The audit report covering the December 31, 2024 consolidated financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph that states that the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders have rights to request the Company to redeem all of the redeemable convertible preferred shares if the Company fails to complete the qualified initial public offering or a trade sale before December 31, 2025. In addition, the Company experienced recurring operating losses, had net cash used in operating activities and net current liabilities raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of that uncertainty.
The office of Assentsure PAC is located at 180B Bencoolen St, #03-01 The Bencoolen, Singapore 189646.
207
CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT
We previously engaged KPMG Huazhen LLP, or KPMG, our prior independent registered public accounting firm to audit our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, who issued their report on December 22, 2023. On May 8, 2025, we dismissed KPMG and engaged Assentsure PAC, or Assentsure, as our new independent registered public accounting firm. The change of auditors was approved by our board of directors.
The report of KPMG on the consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022 did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor was it qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles, except that KPMG’s report contained a separate paragraph stating that “the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in note 2(a) to the consolidated financial statements, the Company experienced recurring operating losses, had net cash used in operating activities and net current liabilities, that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in note 2(a). The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.” During the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and the subsequent interim period through May 8, 2025, (i) there were no disagreements with KPMG on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of KPMG, would have caused KPMG to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreements in connection with its report on the consolidated financial statements, and (ii) there were no “reportable events” as defined under Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of Form 20-F, except for the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to our lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements to properly address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and related disclosures. The board of directors discussed the material weakness with KPMG.
We provided a copy of this disclosure to KPMG, and requested KPMG furnish us with a letter addressed to the SEC stating whether it agrees with the above statements, and if not, stating the respects in which it does not agree. A copy of such letter, dated June 9, 2025 is filed as the Exhibit 16.1 to the registration statement.
During the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and the subsequent interim period through May 8, 2025, neither we nor any person on our behalf consulted with Assentsure regarding either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specific completed or contemplated transaction, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our financial statements and no written or oral advice was provided by Assentsure that was an important factor considered by us in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue, or (ii) any matter that was the subject of a disagreement, as that term is defined in Item 16F(a)(1)(iv) and the related instructions to Item 16F of Form 20-F, or reportable event as that term is defined in Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of Form 20-F.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement (including amendments and exhibits to the registration statement) on Form F-1 under the Securities Act. This prospectus, which is part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as part of the registration statement. If a document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, we refer you to the copy of the document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit.
We are subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we are required to file reports and other information with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K. All information filed with the SEC can be obtained over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. However, we intend to furnish the depositary with our annual reports, which will include a review of operations and annual audited consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, and all notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to our shareholders. The depositary will make such notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and, if we so request, will mail to all record holders of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders’ meeting received by the depositary from us.
208
INDEX TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To The Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Yimutian Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Yimutian Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, changes in shareholders’ deficit, and consolidated statements of cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial positions of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in note 2(a) to the consolidated financial statements, the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders have rights to request the Company to redeem all the redeemable convertible preferred shares if the Company fails to complete the qualified initial public offering or a trade sale before December 31, 2025. In addition, the Company experienced recurring operating losses, had net cash used in operating activities, and net current liabilities. These raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in note 2(a). The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Group in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Assentsure PAC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2025.
Singapore June 9, 2025
PCAOB ID: 6783
F-2
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As of December 31, 2023 and 2024
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 3,829 | 2,772 | 382 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 139 | 733 | 101 | |||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 11,311 | 3,436 | 473 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 38,415 | 40,040 | 5,518 | |||||||||
| Inventory | — | 237 | 33 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 53,694 | 47,218 | 6,507 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment | 2,147 | 1,060 | 146 | |||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 15,389 | 9,589 | 1,321 | |||||||||
| Long-term investments | 1,122 | — | — | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,207 | 3,156 | 435 | |||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 21,865 | 13,805 | 1,902 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 75,559 | 61,023 | 8,409 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 3,266 | 4,398 | 607 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | 98,293 | 88,103 | 12,141 | |||||||||
| Bank loans | 4,330 | 10,000 | 1,378 | |||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,681 | 20,990 | 2,892 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 228,711 | 248,643 | 34,264 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 21,526 | 13,079 | 1,802 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 100,213 | 89,224 | 12,295 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 7,924 | 4,961 | 684 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 484,944 | 479,398 | 66,063 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | 14,030 | 12,223 | 1,684 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 6,847 | 4,042 | 557 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 20,877 | 16,265 | 2,241 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 505,821 | 495,663 | 68,304 | |||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||||||
| Mezzanine equity: | ||||||||||||
| Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 387,781,378 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB51,874 and RMB56,098 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 51,874 | 56,098 | 7,731 | |||||||||
| Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 703,901,412 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB750,062 and RMB787,739 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 750,062 | 787,739 | 108,553 | |||||||||
| Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 517,022,352 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB171,731 and RMB181,992 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 171,731 | 181,992 | 25,079 | |||||||||
F-3
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS — (Continued)
As of December 31, 2023 and 2024
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 357,323,044 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB142,090 and RMB153,660 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 142,090 | 153,660 | 21,175 | |||||||||
| Series C-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 220,757,061 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB175,577 and RMB189,873 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 175,577 | 189,873 | 26,165 | |||||||||
| Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 95,320,147 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB125,866 and RMB136,115 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 125,866 | 136,115 | 18,757 | |||||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (134,455 | ) | (134,455 | ) | (18,528 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (30,021 | ) | (29,026 | ) | (4,000 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (38,955 | ) | (38,955 | ) | (5,368 | ) | ||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,213,769 | 1,303,041 | 179,564 | |||||||||
| SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 2,713,770,293 shares authorized, 460,147,059 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 31 | 31 | 4 | |||||||||
| Additional paid – in capital | 47,006 | 47,006 | 6,478 | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (98,963 | ) | (99,395 | ) | (13,697 | ) | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,592,359 | ) | (1,715,536 | ) | (236,407 | ) | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (1,644,285 | ) | (1,767,894 | ) | (243,622 | ) | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 254 | 30,213 | 4,163 | |||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,644,031 | ) | (1,737,681 | ) | (239,459 | ) | ||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 75,559 | 61,023 | 8,409 | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-4
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
For the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2024
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| Revenues | 187,523 | 161,321 | 22,231 | |||||||||
| Cost of revenues | (49,248 | ) | (30,573 | ) | (4,213 | ) | ||||||
| Gross profit | 138,275 | 130,748 | 18,018 | |||||||||
| Operating Expenses | ||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (94,647 | ) | (87,618 | ) | (12,074 | ) | ||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (96,712 | ) | (39,564 | ) | (5,452 | ) | ||||||
| Research and development expenses | (47,453 | ) | (37,811 | ) | (5,210 | ) | ||||||
| Other income, net | 823 | 218 | 30 | |||||||||
| Operating loss | (101,884 | ) | (34,027 | ) | (4,688 | ) | ||||||
| Interest income | 23 | 12 | 2 | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (211 | ) | (964 | ) | (133 | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of financial liabilities | (3,728 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Loss from derecognition of financial liabilities | (1,953 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity | (105,583 | ) | (34,979 | ) | (4,819 | ) | ||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Share of (loss) income of equity method investments | (38 | ) | 38 | 5 | ||||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,814 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | 11 | 41 | 6 | |||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc | (105,610 | ) | (34,900 | ) | (4,808 | ) | ||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (2,872 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (915 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (71,735 | ) | (88,277 | ) | (12,165 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (181,132 | ) | (123,177 | ) | (16,973 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,814 | ) | ||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | ||||||||||||
| Fair value changes of financial liabilities due to instrument-specific credit risk, net of nil income taxes | 781 | — | — | |||||||||
| Reclassification adjustment for gain on financial liabilities in net income, net of nil income taxes | 1,953 | — | — | |||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment for parent company, net of nil income taxes | (24,300 | ) | (432 | ) | (60 | ) | ||||||
| Total comprehensive loss | (127,187 | ) | (35,373 | ) | (4,874 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | (0.45 | ) | (0.27 | ) | (0.04 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding used in computing net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | 400,206,197 | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-5
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
For the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2024
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
| Ordinary shares | Additional | Accumulated
other | Total
shareholders’ deficit to | Non- | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number
of shares(1) | Amount | paid-in
capital | comprehensive
income (loss) | Accumulated
deficit | ordinary
shareholders | controlling
interests | shareholders’
deficit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2023 | 396,547,016 | 27 | — | (77,397 | ) | (1,411,227 | ) | (1,488,597 | ) | 265 | (1,488,332 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (105,610 | ) | (105,610 | ) | (11 | ) | (105,621 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of ordinary shares | 63,600,043 | 4 | 51,432 | — | — | 51,436 | — | 51,436 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series C-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholder | — | — | — | — | (2,872 | ) | (2,872 | ) | — | (2,872 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholder | — | — | — | (915 | ) | (915 | ) | — | (915 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares | — | — | (4,426 | ) | — | (71,735 | ) | (76,161 | ) | — | (76,161 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Fair value changes of financial liabilities due to instrument- specific credit risk, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | 781 | — | 781 | — | 781 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification adjustment for gains on financial liabilities in net income, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | 1,953 | — | 1,953 | — | 1,953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | (24,300 | ) | — | (24,300 | ) | — | (24,300 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (98,963 | ) | (1,592,359 | ) | (1,644,285 | ) | 254 | (1,644,031 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attributable to owners of the parent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares | Additional | Accumulated
other | Total
shareholders’ deficit to | Non- | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number
of shares(1) | Amount | paid-in
capital | comprehensive
income (loss) | Accumulated
deficit | ordinary
shareholders | controlling
interests | shareholders’
deficit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2024 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (98,963 | ) | (1,592,359 | ) | (1,644,285 | ) | 254 | (1,644,031 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (34,900 | ) | (34,900 | ) | (41 | ) | (34,941 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital contribution from non-controlling interest | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30,000 | 30,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares | — | — | — | — | (88,277 | ) | (88,277 | ) | — | (88,277 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | (432 | ) | — | (432 | ) | — | (432 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (99,395 | ) | (1,715,536 | ) | (1,767,894 | ) | 30,213 | (1,737,681 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 in US$ | — | 4 | 6,478 | (13,697 | ) | (236,407 | ) | (243,622 | ) | 4,163 | (239,459 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-6
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2024
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| Operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | (105,621 | ) | (34,941 | ) | (4,815 | ) | ||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,021 | 1,454 | 200 | |||||||||
| (Reversal) Allowance for credit losses | (3,115 | ) | 453 | 62 | ||||||||
| Changes in fair value of financial instruments | 3,728 | — | — | |||||||||
| Share of loss of equity method investments | 38 | (38 | ) | (5 | ) | |||||||
| Loss from derecognition of financial liabilities | 1,953 | — | — | |||||||||
| Loss on disposal of property and equipment | 40 | (16 | ) | (2 | ) | |||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | 51,436 | — | — | |||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | 3,898 | (871 | ) | (120 | ) | |||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 11,669 | (5,472 | ) | (754 | ) | |||||||
| Other non-current assets | (1,723 | ) | 51 | 7 | ||||||||
| Inventory | — | (237 | ) | (33 | ) | |||||||
| Accounts payable | 455 | 1,132 | 156 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities | 9,227 | (11,997 | ) | (1,653 | ) | |||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 8,593 | (10,989 | ) | (1,514 | ) | |||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | (555 | ) | 32 | 4 | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (17,956 | ) | (61,439 | ) | (8,467 | ) | ||||||
| Investing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Cash paid for purchase of property and equipment | (2,070 | ) | (351 | ) | (48 | ) | ||||||
| Cash paid for long-term investments | (1,160 | ) | 500 | 69 | ||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (3,230 | ) | 149 | 21 | ||||||||
| Financing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from short-term borrowings | — | 10,000 | 1,378 | |||||||||
| Repayment for short-term borrowings | (2,000 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Proceeds from shareholder loans | 14,203 | 28,322 | 3,903 | |||||||||
| Repayment for shareholder loans | (7,193 | ) | (8,374 | ) | (1,154 | ) | ||||||
| Amounts due to related parties, net | 786 | (8,500 | ) | (1,171 | ) | |||||||
| Loan repaid by a related party | 5,000 | 7,925 | 1,092 | |||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | 7,749 | 995 | 137 | |||||||||
| Capital contribution from non-controlling interest | — | 30,000 | 4,134 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 18,545 | 60,368 | 8,319 | |||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (215 | ) | (135 | ) | (14 | ) | ||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (2,856 | ) | (1,057 | ) | (141 | ) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 6,685 | 3,829 | 523 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3,829 | 2,772 | 382 | |||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | ||||||||||||
| Interest paid | 211 | 964 | 133 | |||||||||
| Noncash in investing and financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Issuance of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares upon conversion of financial liabilities (see Note 11) | 287,331 | — | — | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-7
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION
Description of business
Yimutian Inc. (“the Company”), through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) (collectively referred to as “the Group”), is principally engaged in the provision of integrated platform services for agricultural product transaction in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”).
Organization
The Group operates its online business in the PRC through Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Yimutian” or the “WFOE”), Beijing Yimutian New Agriculture Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Yimutian Xinnong”), which was established on August 1, 2011 and Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Douniu”), which was established on September 10, 2021, (collectively the “VIEs”), in order to comply with the PRC laws and regulations which prohibit or restrict control of companies involved in the provision of value-added telecommunication services by foreign investors. The VIEs hold the necessary licenses to carry out the internet value-added businesses in China. The equity interests of Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu are legally held by Mr. Deng Jinhong and certain individuals who act as nominee equity holders of the VIEs on behalf of WFOE, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary. A series of contractual agreements, including Powers of Attorney, Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements, Equity Pledge Agreements, Exclusive Option Agreements, Letter of Confirmation and Undertaking and Spouse Consent Letters (collectively, the “VIE Agreements”), were entered among WFOE, VIEs and its nominee equity holders. Through the VIE Agreements, the nominee equity holders of the VIEs have granted all their legal rights including voting rights and disposition rights of their equity interests in the VIEs to WFOE.
Pursuant to the VIE Agreements, the Company is able to exercise effective control over, enjoys substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, and has an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law at the lowest price possible. The Company’s management concluded that Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu are VIEs and WFOE is its primary beneficiary. As such, the consolidated financial statements of the VIEs are included in the consolidated financial statements of the Company.
The principal terms of the VIE Agreements are described below.
1) Powers of Attorney
Pursuant to the powers of attorney executed by the equity holders of the VIEs, each of them irrevocably authorizes the WFOE, or any person designated by the WFOE, to act on their respective behalf as proxy attorney, to the extent permitted by law, to exercise all rights of shareholders concerning all the equity interest held by each of them in the VIEs, including without limitation, the right to (i) propose, convene and attend shareholders’ meetings and sign relevant resolutions, (ii) exercise all shareholder’s rights under laws of Chinese Mainland and the articles of association of the VIEs, such as the voting right, nomination right and appointment right, (iii) receive dividends and sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of all the equity held in part or in whole in the VIEs. The powers of attorney remain irrevocably effective as long as such equity holders remain as the equity holders of the VIEs.
2) Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive business cooperation agreements, among the WFOE and the VIEs, the WFOE has the exclusive right to provide the VIEs with comprehensive technological support and consulting services, including but not limited to software licensing, technology research and development, staff training and technology consultations. Without the WFOE’s prior written consent, the VIEs may not accept the same or similar service contemplated by the agreement provided by any third party during the term of the agreement. The VIEs agreed to pay the WFOE service fees, the amount of which will be subject to adjustment by the WFOE. The exclusive business cooperation agreement remains effective indefinitely except agreed otherwise or terminated by the WFOE in writing. The Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Beijing Yimutian and Xinnong will be in effect until July 31, 2031 which represents the end of operation term of Xinnong, and agreement between Beijing Yimutian and Douniu will be effect until May 13, 2044 which represents the end of operation term of Beijing Yimutian.
F-8
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
3) Equity Pledge Agreements
Pursuant to the equity pledge agreements among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective equity holders, the equity holders of the VIEs pledged all of their equity interests in the VIEs to the WFOE to guarantee the performance of the obligations by such equity holders and by the VIEs under the exclusive option agreements, the exclusive business cooperation agreements and the powers of attorney. In the event of a breach by the VIEs or any of their respective equity holders of the obligations under these contractual arrangements, the WFOE, as pledgee, will have the right to enforce the pledge. The equity holders of the VIEs also covenant that, without the prior written consent of the WFOE, they will not dispose of the pledged equity, create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity. The agreement will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements. The equity holders of the VIEs completed all the registration of the equity pledge contemplated under the equity pledge agreements with the competent authorities in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of mainland China in December 2024.
4) Exclusive Option Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive option agreements entered among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective equity holders, each of the equity holders of the VIEs has irrevocably granted the WFOE, or any person or persons designated by the WFOE, an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity in the VIEs. The WFOE or person(s) designated by the WFOE may exercise such options to purchase equity in the VIEs at the lowest price permitted under laws of Chinese mainland. The VIEs and their respective equity holders covenant that, without the WFOE’s prior written consent, they will not, among other things, (i) amend the VIEs’ articles of association, (ii) increase or decrease the VIEs’ registered capital or change its structure of registered capital, and (iii) sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of any assets of the VIEs’ that is more than US$50,000. The equity holders of the VIEs covenant that they will not create any pledge or encumbrance on their equity in the VIEs, other than those created under the equity pledge agreements as part of the contractual arrangements. The Exclusive Option Agreements will be terminated when the entire equity interests in the VIEs have been transferred to the Company or its designee(s) pursuant to the agreements.
5) Letters of Confirmation and Undertaking
Pursuant to the letters of confirmation and undertaking executed by the equity holders of the VIEs, each of them, among other things, (i) confirms that his/her spouse does not have the right to claim any interests in the respective equity of the VIEs (together with any other interests therein) or exert influence on the day-to-day management and voting matters of the respective equity of the VIEs; undertakes that (ii) in the event of his/her divorce, he/she will take all actions that the WFOE deems necessary to safeguard the execution of the contractual arrangement; (iii) he/she will not participate in, engage in, or merge with any business that competes with the WFOE or hold any interest from such business; (iv) he/she will not cause any conflict of interest between the WFOE and the VIEs or himself/herself; and (v) in the event of such conflict of interest, he/she will act in accordance with the WFOE’s instruction to eliminate such conflict of interest. The letters will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements.
6) Spouse Consent Letters
Pursuant to the spousal consent letters executed by the spouses of the applicable individual equity holders of the VIEs, each of them unconditionally and irrevocably agreed that the equity in the WFOE held by and registered in the name of such shareholder be disposed of in accordance with the exclusive business cooperation agreements, the exclusive option agreements, the equity pledge agreements, the powers of attorney, and the letters of confirmation and undertaking, and that such equity holders may perform, amend or terminate such agreements without his or her spouse’s consent. In addition, each of them agrees not to assert any rights over the equity interest in the VIEs held by his or her respective spouses. In the event that any of them obtains any equity interest in the VIEs held by their respective spouses for any reason, such spouses agree to be bound by similar obligations and agree to enter into similar contractual arrangements. The letters will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements.
F-9
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
Risks in relation to VIE structure
In the opinion of the Company’s management, based on the legal opinion obtained from the Company’s PRC legal counsel, the VIE Agreements have resulted in the Company having the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the VIEs, including appointing key management, setting up operating policies, exerting financial controls and transferring profit or assets out of the VIE at its discretion. The Company considers that it has the right to receive all the benefits and assets of the VIEs. As the VIEs were established as a limited liability company under the PRC law, its creditors do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company for the liabilities of the VIEs, and the Company does not have the obligation to assume the liabilities of the VIEs.
The Company has determined that the VIE Agreements are in compliance with PRC laws and are legally enforceable.
The Company’s ability to control the VIEs also depends on the rights provided to the Company under the Powers of Attorney to vote on all matters requiring equity holders’ approval in the respective VIEs. As noted above, the Company believes these Powers of Attorney are legally enforceable but yet they may not be as effective as direct equity ownership. In addition, if the corporate structure of the Group or the contractual arrangements between Beijing Yimutian the VIEs and its respective equity holders were found to be in violation of any existing PRC laws and regulations, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities could:
| ● | revoke the business licenses and/or operating licenses of the WFOE and VIEs; |
| ● | discontinue or place restrictions or onerous conditions on the operations through transactions between the WFOE and VIEs; |
| ● | impose fines, confiscate the income from WFOE or the VIEs, or impose other requirements with which the Company or the VIEs may not be able to comply; |
| ● | require the Company to restructure the ownership structure or operations, including terminating the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and deregistering the equity pledges of the VIEs, which in turn would affect the Company’s ability to consolidate, derive economic interests from, or exert effective control over the VIEs; |
| ● | restrict or prohibit the Company use of the proceeds of overseas offering or other offshore financing activities to fund the business and operations in China and the Company’ right to collect revenues; and |
| ● | take other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to the business. |
The imposition of any of the above restrictions or actions may result in a material and adverse effect on the Group’s ability to conduct its business. In addition, if the imposition of any of these restrictions causes the Company to lose the right to direct the activities of the VIEs or the right to receive its economic benefits, the Company would no longer be able to consolidate the VIEs. The Company’s management believes that the likelihood to lose the Company’s current ownership structure or the contractual arrangements with the VIE is remote based on the current facts and circumstances.
There is no VIE in which the Company has a variable interest but is not the primary beneficiary. Currently there is no contractual arrangement that could require the Company to provide additional financial support to the VIEs.
F-10
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
The following consolidated assets and liabilities information of the Group’s VIEs as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, and consolidated revenues, net loss and cash flow information for the years ended December 31,2023 and 2024, have been included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. All intercompany transactions and balances with the Company and its subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 3,231 | 1,537 | 212 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 139 | 730 | 111 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from parent company* | 5,394 | 5,394 | 743 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from subsidiaries* | 9,455 | 10,898 | 1,502 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 22,411 | 23,190 | 3,196 | |||||||||
| Inventory | — | 27 | 4 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 40,630 | 41,776 | 5,758 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 2,099 | 1,021 | 141 | |||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 12,581 | 6,450 | 889 | |||||||||
| Long-term investments | 1,122 | — | — | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 2,833 | 2,782 | 383 | |||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 18,635 | 10,253 | 1,413 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 59,265 | 52,029 | 7,171 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES | ||||||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 3,241 | 4,077 | 562 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | 98,125 | 87,989 | 12,125 | |||||||||
| Short-term borrowings | — | 5,000 | 689 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 41,874 | 35,000 | 4,823 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to parent company** | 50,884 | 50,884 | 7,012 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to WFOE** | 68,893 | 75,840 | 10,451 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to subsidiaries** | 1,275 | 28,900 | 3,983 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 50,906 | 46,172 | 6,363 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 6,870 | 3,614 | 498 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 322,068 | 337,476 | 46,506 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | 14,030 | 12,223 | 1,684 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 5,169 | 2,458 | 339 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 19,199 | 14,681 | 2,023 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 341,267 | 352,157 | 48,529 | |||||||||
F-11
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| Revenues | 187,082 | 160,176 | 22,073 | |||||||||
| Net loss (income) | (32,223 | ) | 7,170 | 988 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | 1,003 | 6,706 | 924 | |||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (1,160 | ) | 500 | 69 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | (2,026 | ) | (8,900 | ) | (1,226 | ) | ||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (2,183 | ) | (1,694 | ) | (233 | ) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 5,414 | 3,231 | 445 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 3,231 | 1,537 | 212 | |||||||||
| * | Intercompany receivable to parent company and Intercompany receivable from subsidiaries amounts are eliminated upon consolidation. |
| ** | Intercompany payable to parent company, Intercompany payable to WFOE and Intercompany payable to subsidiaries amounts are eliminated upon consolidation. |
The unrecognized revenue-producing assets that are held by the VIEs primarily consist of ICP license, trademarks, patents, know-how and customer relationships. None of the assets of the VIEs can be used only to settle obligations of VIEs. None of the assets of the VIEs has been pledged or collateralized. The creditors of the VIE do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company or its consolidated subsidiaries.
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(a) Basis of presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) assuming the Group will continue as a going concern. The going concern assumption contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. However, substantial doubt about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern exists.
Pursuant to the terms of redeemable convertible preferred share agreements (Note 15), if the Company fails to complete the qualified initial public offering (“IPO”) or a trade sale in which the valuation of the Company is no less than US$800,000,000 before December 31, 2025, the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders have the rights to request the Company to redeem all of the redeemable convertible preferred shares. The aggregate redemption amount for all redeemable convertible preferred shares as of December 31, 2024, is approximately RMB1,501,442 (US$206,904). The completion of a qualified IPO or a trade sale is not within the control of the Company. In addition, the Group experienced recuring operating losses. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Group had net cash used in operating activities of RMB61,439 (US$8,467). As of December 31, 2024, the Group had net current liabilities (current liabilities less current assets) of RMB432,180 (US$59,556). The Group will require additional liquidity to continue its operations over the next 12 months.
The Group is evaluating strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations and extension of the redemption period of redeemable convertible preferred shares. These strategies may include, but are not limited to, obtaining equity financing, issuing debt or entering into other financing arrangements, obtaining agreements with the existing investors to extend the due dates for outstanding debt and reaching agreements with the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders to extend the redemption dates. In addition, the Group plans to diversify revenue streams and implement cost saving measures to grow revenues and decrease expenses. However, the Group may be unable to access further equity or debt financing when needed. As such, there can be no assurance that the Group will be able to obtain additional liquidity when needed or under acceptable terms, if at all.
F-12
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the carrying amounts and classification of assets, liabilities, and reported expenses that may be necessary if the Group were unable to continue as a going concern.
(b) Principles of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries, the VIEs in which the Group, through its WFOE, has a controlling financial interest, and the VIEs’ subsidiaries.
All intercompany transactions and balances among the Group, its subsidiaries, the VIEs, and the VIEs’ subsidiaries are consolidated when the Company has a controlling financial interest, generally through ownership of a majority of the voting interests. Entities in which the Company holds less than a majority of the voting interests are consolidated if the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (VIE), in accordance with ASC 810, consolidation.
(c) Non-controlling interests
For the Group’s non-wholly owned subsidiaries, a non-controlling interest is recognized to reflect the portion of equity that is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the Group. Non-controlling interests are classified as a separate line item in the equity section of the Group’s consolidated balance sheets and have been separately disclosed in the Group’s consolidated statements of comprehensive loss to distinguish the interests from that of the Group.
(d) Use of estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date, and the reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Accounting estimates include, but not limited to, the allowance for credit losses, depreciable lives and recoverability of property and equipment, the realization of deferred income tax assets, the fair values of share-based compensation awards, the fair values of redeemable convertible preferred shares and the fair values of financial liabilities. Changes in facts and circumstances may result in revised estimates. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and as such, differences may be material to the consolidated financial statements.
(e) Convenience translation
Translations of the consolidated financial statements from RMB into US$ as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 are solely for the convenience of the readers.
The exchange rate we used to convert RMB to US$ was 7.1636:1 at the balance sheet dates of June 30, 2025. The average exchange rate for the period has been used to translate revenues and expenses. The average exchange rates we used to convert RMB to US$ were 7.1636:1 of June 30, 2025.
The US$ convenience translation is not required under U.S. GAAP and all US$ convenience translation amounts in the accompanying consolidated financial statements are unaudited.
(f) Commitments and contingencies
In the normal course of business, the Group is subject to loss contingencies, such as legal proceedings and claims arising out of its business, that cover a wide range of matters, including, among others, government investigations, shareholder lawsuits, and non-income tax matters. An accrual for a loss contingency is recognized when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. If a potential material loss contingency is not probable but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, is disclosed.
F-13
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(g) Cash
Cash consist of cash on hand and cash at bank. The Group places its cash with financial institutions with high-credit ratings and quality and believes it is not exposed to significant risk on cash and cash equivalents. The bank deposits with each financial institution in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and United States, are insured by the government authorities up to RMB500, HKD500 and US$250, respectively. The bank deposits are insured by the government authorities with amounts up to RMB2,155 and RMB981 (US$135) as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively. The Group has not experienced any losses in uninsured bank deposits.
(h) Long-term investments
Long-term investments represent the Group’s investments in privately held companies, which include equity method investment and equity investment without a readily determinable fair value.
Equity method investments
The Group applies the equity method to account for an equity investment, according to ASC 323, Investment — Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”), over which it has significant influence but does not own a majority equity interest or otherwise control. After the date of investment, the Group subsequently adjusts the carrying amount of the investment to recognize the Group’s proportionate share of each equity investees’ net income or loss in share of losses of equity method investment. The Group evaluates the equity method investments for impairment under ASC 323. An impairment loss on the equity method investments is recognized in earnings when the decline in value is determined to be other-than-temporary. The Group reviews its equity method investments to determine whether a decline in fair value to below the carrying value is other-than- temporary. The primary factors the Group considers in its determination are the duration and severity of the decline in fair value; the financial condition, operating performance and the prospects of the equity investee; and other company specific information. If the decline in fair value is deemed to be other-than-temporary, the carrying value of the equity investee is written down to fair value.
Equity investments without a readily determinable fair value
For an equity investee where the Group does not have the ability to exercise significant influence, and there are no readily determinable fair value, the Group elects to use the measurement alternative to measure the investment at cost, minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer since the Group adopted ASC 321, Investments — Equity Securities (“ASC 321”) on January 1, 2021. The Group performs a qualitative assessment considering impairment indicators to evaluate whether its equity investment without a readily determinable fair value is impaired. All gains and losses on the investment, realized and unrealized, are recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
(i) Property and equipment, net
Property and equipment are stated at cost less depreciation and any impairment. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:
| Electronic equipment | 3 years | |
| Office furniture and others | 3 years | |
| Leasehold improvements | Shorter of lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets |
When items are retired or otherwise disposed of, income is charged or credited for the difference between net book value and the proceeds received thereon. Ordinary maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, and replacements and betterments are capitalized and amortized over the remaining useful life.
F-14
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(j) Impairment of long-lived assets
Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset or asset group may not be fully recoverable or that the useful life is shorter than the Group had originally estimated. When these events occur, the Group evaluates the impairment for the long-lived assets or asset group by comparing the carrying value of the assets to an estimate of future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the use of the assets or asset group and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets or asset group, the Group recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value of the assets. No impairment of long-lived assets was recognized for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
(k) Value added taxes
The Company’s PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are subject to value added tax (“VAT”). Revenue is generally subject to VAT and subsequently paid to PRC tax authorities after netting input VAT on purchases. The excess of output VAT over input VAT is reflected in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, and the excess of input VAT over output VAT is reflected in prepayments and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets.
(l) Fair value measurements
Fair value represents the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.
ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”) defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. Accounting guidance establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy and requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels of inputs are:
Level 1 — Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2 — Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
Level 3 — Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity.
Accounting guidance also describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach; (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.
Financial assets and liabilities of the Group primarily consist of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets and deposits included in other non-current assets, short-term borrowings, accounts payable, amounts due to related parties, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, financial liabilities and shareholder loans, at amortized cost. The carrying amounts of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets, short-term borrowings, accounts payable, amounts due to related parties, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and shareholder loans, at amortized cost approximate their fair values due to the short-term maturities.
F-15
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The Group’s non-financial assets, such as property and equipment, equity investments without a readily determinable fair value the Group elects to use the measurement alternative to measure the investment at cost and equity method investments, would be measured at fair value only if they were determined to be impaired. On a recurring basis, financial liabilities presented in Note 11 elected fair value option were measured at fair value.
(m) Revenue recognition
The Group adopted ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) and recognizes revenue upon the transfer of control of promised services to the Group’s customers, in the amount of consideration the Group expects to receive for those services. Revenue is recorded net of value added tax (“VAT”).
Once a contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606 at contract inception, the Group identifies performance obligations in the contract. The Group recognizes revenue based on the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to each performance obligation when that performance obligation is satisfied.
Contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations. For such arrangements, the Group allocates transaction price to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. The Group generally determines relative standalone selling prices based on its standard price list, taking into consideration market conditions and its overall pricing strategy.
When another party is involved in a transaction, the Group evaluates whether it is a principal or an agent to determine whether revenue should be recorded on a gross or net basis. The Group acts as a principal if it obtains control over the goods and services before they are transferred to customers. In such case, revenue is recorded on a gross basis. If the Group does not control the goods and services before they are transferred to customers and acts as an agent, revenue is recorded on a net basis.
The Group applied the practical expedient to expense costs as incurred for incremental costs to obtain a contract with a customer, such as sales commission, when the amortization period would have been one year or less. Other incremental costs of obtaining contracts with customers are capitalized and amortized on a systematic basis that is consistent with the transfer to the customer of the services to which the capitalized costs relate.
Digital Agricultural Commerce Services
The Group operates two online platforms, namely Yimutian and Douniu, which facilitate transactions of agricultural products from merchants to wholesale markets and business buyers. The Group earns revenue from charging service fees on merchants in respect of membership services, value-added services and transaction services provided on Yimutian and Douniu platforms. When the service fees are paid in advance, they are initially recorded as contract liabilities.
Membership services
The Group provides subscription-based membership services to merchants on the online platforms, which allow its members to enjoy certain privileges, such as hosting premium storefronts on the Group’s online platforms. The subscription periods for the membership services range from one year to four years. The Group collects the non-refundable membership service fees in advance and records as contract liabilities, of which the subscription periods within one year are recorded in the current liabilities and the subscription periods over one year are recorded in the non-current liabilities. As the members receive and consume the benefits of obtaining the privileges throughout the subscription periods, the membership fees are recognized as revenue over the subscription periods on a straight-line basis.
Value-added services
The Group provides merchants with value-added services, which include advertising services and contact privilege services.
F-16
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The Group provides merchants with advertising services on the online platforms, which include display of digital advertisements and merchant certification services. For display of digital advertisements, the Group recognizes revenues from CPC (cost per click) arrangements based on the number of clicks and from CPM (cost per thousand impression) arrangements based on the number of times displayed and cost per thousand impressions. Merchant certification services, which provide merchants with certification labels, are valid ranging from one month to four years. Service fees from merchant certification services are recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the service period, as merchants simultaneously receive and consume the benefits from the certification services throughout the service period.
Contact privilege services enable merchants to make calls or send text messages to potential buyers via the online platforms for a fixed quantity over a period ranging from one month to four years. The Group recognizes revenue from contact privilege services at the point in time when the merchants exercise the right to make calls or send text messages or when the right expires unexercised.
The Group collects value-added service fees in advance and records as contract liabilities. The contract balance that will be recognized as revenue in the next twelve months is classified as current liabilities, and the remaining balance is classified as non-current liabilities.
Transaction services
The Group facilitates the sales transactions between merchants and buyers on Yimutian and Douniu platforms. Upon the completion of the transactions of certain agricultural products conducted on the platforms, the Group charges the merchants transaction fees.
Transaction fee is calculated as a predetermined percentage of the purchase price of the agricultural products. Transaction fee is recognized as revenue upon the completion of the transactions when the transaction service is accepted by merchants. The Group does not control the agricultural products before they are transferred to customers. Therefore, the Group recognizes revenue on a net basis i.e. it recognizes the transaction fees as its revenue.
Other Digital Agricultural Solutions
The Group provides other digital agricultural solutions services to local agricultural production organizations, which primarily include providing industry consulting reports, brand promotion, organizing agricultural conferences and digital agricultural training programs. Revenue is recognized at the point in time when the report is delivered or when the conferences and promotion events take place. Revenue from provision of training programs is recognized over the period of the programs.
(n) Contract balances
When either party to a contract has performed, the Group presents the contract in the consolidated balance sheets as a contract asset or a contract liability, depending on the relationship between the Group’s performance and the customer’s payment. A contract asset is recorded when the Group recognizes revenue before being unconditionally entitled to the consideration under the terms in the contract. A receivable is recorded when the Group has an unconditional right to consideration. A right to consideration is unconditional if only the passage of time is required before payment of the consideration is due.
A contract liability is recorded when the customer pays non-refundable consideration before the Group recognizes the related revenue. A contract liability is also recorded if the Group has an unconditional right to receive non-refundable consideration before the Group recognizes the related revenue. In such latter cases, a corresponding receivable is recorded.
F-17
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The provision of credit losses for accounts receivable is based upon the expected credit losses (“CECL”) model. The CECL model requires an estimate of the credit losses expected over the life of accounts receivable since initial recognition, and accounts receivable with similar risk characteristics are grouped together when estimating CECL In assessing the CECL, the Group considers both quantitative and qualitative information that is reasonable and supportable, including historical credit loss experience, adjusted for relevant factors impacting collectability and forward-looking information indicative of external market conditions. While the Group uses the best information available in making determination, the ultimate recovery of recorded receivables is also dependent upon future economic events and other conditions that may be beyond the Group’s control. Accounts receivable which are deemed to be uncollectible are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. There is a time lag between when the Group estimates a portion of or the entire account balances to be uncollectible and when a write off of the account balances is taken. The Group does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.
(o) Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues consists primarily of (i) staff cost, (ii) cloud service fees charged by cloud service providers, (iii) depreciation and (iv) other costs related to revenues.
(p) Selling and marketing expenses
Selling and marketing expenses mainly consist of (i) staff cost, and (ii) advertising and promotion expenses, and (iii) rental, depreciation and other expenses related to selling and marketing functions. The advertising and promotion expenses were RMB17,404 and RMB14,364 (US$1,979) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(q) Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of (i) staff cost and (ii) rental, depreciation and other expenses related to research and development functions. Research and development expenses are expensed as incurred.
(r) General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of (i) share-based compensation, staff cost, rental and depreciation related to general and administrative personnel, (ii) current expected credit losses, (iii) professional service fees, and (iv) other general corporate expenses.
(s) Inventories, net
Inventories, consisting of commodities available for sale, are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Cost of inventories is mainly determined using the weighted average cost method. Adjustments are recorded to write down the cost of inventories to the estimated net realizable value due to slow-moving merchandise and damaged goods, which is dependent upon factors such as inventory aging, historical and forecasted consumer demand, and market conditions that impact pricing. The Company takes ownership, risks and rewards of the products purchased.
(t) Share-based compensation
The Company periodically grants share options to eligible employees, directors, and consultants, which are subject to both service and performance conditions.
For the share-based awards granted with only service conditions that have a graded vesting schedule, share- based compensation expenses are recognized using the straight-line method, over the requisite service period, provided that the cumulative amount of compensation cost recognized at any date at least equals the portion of the grant-date value of such award that is vested at that date. For the share-based awards granted with both a service condition and an initial public offering (“IPO”) performance condition, share-based compensation expenses are measured at the grant-date fair value and recognized on a tranche-by-tranche basis, when it is probable an IPO will be achieved. The Company elects to recognize the effect of forfeitures in compensation cost when they occur. To the extent the required vesting conditions are not met resulting in the forfeiture of the share- based awards, previously recognized compensation expense relating to those awards is reversed.
F-18
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Share-based compensation in relation to the share options is estimated using the Binominal Option Pricing Model. The determination of the fair value of share options is affected by the share price of the Company’s ordinary shares as well as the assumptions regarding a number of variables, including the expected share price volatility, risk-free interest rate, exercise multiple and expected dividend yield.
(u) Employee benefits
The Company’s subsidiaries and VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries in PRC participate in a government mandated, multiemployer, defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain retirement, medical, housing and other welfare benefits are provided to employees. PRC labor laws require the entities incorporated in the PRC to pay to the local labor bureau a monthly contribution calculated at a stated contribution rate on the salaries of qualified employees. The Group has no further commitments beyond its monthly contribution. Employee social benefits included as expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss amounted to RMB28,818 and RMB22,431(US$3,091) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
(v) Income taxes
The Group accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Current income taxes are provided on the basis of income before income taxes for financial reporting purposes and adjusted for income and expense items which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdictions. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and for operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax laws and rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred income tax assets if based on the weight of available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not that some portion, or all, of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred income taxes arising from a change in tax rates is recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in the period of change.
The Group applies a “more likely than not” recognition threshold in the evaluation of uncertain tax positions. The Group recognizes the benefit of a tax position in its consolidated financial statements if the tax position is “more likely than not” to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the “more likely than not” recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. Unrecognized tax benefits may be affected by changes in interpretation of laws, rulings of tax authorities, tax audits, and expiry of statutory limitations. In addition, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require the Group to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Accordingly, unrecognized tax benefits are periodically reviewed and re-assessed. Adjustments, if required, are recorded in the Group’s consolidated financial statements in the period in which the change that necessities the adjustments occur. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in certain circumstances, a tax appeal or litigation process. The Group records interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits (if any) in interest expenses and general and administrative expenses, respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, the Group did not have any unrecognized uncertain tax positions.
F-19
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(w) Leases
The Group leases premise for offices under non-cancellable operating leases. Leases with rent provisions were recognized on a straight-line basis commencing with the beginning of the lease terms. There were no capital improvement funding and contingent rent in the lease agreements. The Group has no legal or contractual asset retirement obligations at the end of the lease terms.
The operating lease liabilities are recognized upon lease commencement for operating leases based on the present value of lease payments over the lease terms. The operating lease right-of-use assets are initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the operating lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. As the rate implicit in the lease cannot be readily determined, the incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date is used in determining the imputed interest and present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate was determined using a portfolio approach based on the rate of interest that the Group would have to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over a similar term. The Group recognizes the single lease cost on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease terms for operating leases. The Group elected the practical expedient of the short-term lease exemption for contracts with lease terms of 12 months or less.
(x) Foreign currency translation and foreign currency risks
The Group’s reporting currency is RMB. The functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries incorporated at Cayman Islands and Hong Kong S.A.R. is the US$. The functional currency of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries is RMB.
Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are remeasured into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are remeasured into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rate at the balance sheet date. The resulted exchange differences are recorded as general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
The financial statements of the Company and its subsidiary incorporated at Hong Kong S.A.R. are translated from their functional currencies into RMB. Assets and liabilities are translated into RMB using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Equity accounts other than earnings (deficits) generated in the current period are translated into RMB using the appropriate historical rates. Revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated into RMB using the average exchange rates for the relevant period. The resulted foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, and the accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated statements of changes in shareholders’ deficit.
RMB is not a freely convertible currency. The PRC State Administration for Foreign Exchange, under the authority of the PRC government, controls the conversion of RMB to foreign currencies. The value of the RMB is subject to changes of central government policies and international economic and political developments affecting supply and demand in the China foreign exchange trading system market.
(y) Accounts receivable
Accounts receivable are recorded at invoiced amounts, net of any allowance for expected credit losses. The Company evaluates the collectibility of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors including historical experience, current economic conditions, customer creditworthiness, and the age of the receivables. The Company estimates expected credit losses using a probability-weighted model under ASC 326, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses, and records an allowance for credit losses in the same period as the related revenue is recognized. Receivables are written off when deemed uncollectible.
F-20
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Allowance for credit losses
The Company estimates expected credit losses on accounts receivable using the historical loss rate method in accordance with ASC 326, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses. The model considers historical write-off trends adjusted for current economic conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that may affect collectability.
Receivables are grouped based on shared risk characteristics age of receivable, and loss rates are applied to each aging category. The Company writes off receivables when it determines they are no longer collectible.
(z) Other receivables
Other receivables consist primarily of receivable from online payment platforms, Receivables on behalf of merchants and Staff advances. These balances are recorded at amortized cost and are reviewed regularly for collectability. An allowance for credit losses is recorded as necessary, based on similar considerations as accounts receivable.
Prepayments primarily consist of consulting fee. These costs are recognized as assets and expensed over the period to which the prepaid item relates.
Other current assets consist of receivable from online payment platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants and VAT recoverable. These assets are stated at cost, which approximates fair value, and are expected to be realized within twelve months.
Other non-current assets primarily consist of security deposits and others. These assets are recorded at cost and are classified as non-current based on the expected timing of realization, which is greater than twelve months from the balance sheet date.
The Company periodically reviews these assets for indicators of impairment in accordance with applicable guidance (e.g., ASC 360 for long-lived assets, ASC 350 for intangibles, ASC 326 for financial assets). If indicators of impairment are present, the Company evaluates recoverability by comparing the carrying amount to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows or fair value. An impairment loss is recorded if the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable value.
Concentration of credit risk
Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets.
Concentration of customers and suppliers
All revenues were derived from customers located in the PRC. No customer individually represents greater than 10% of total revenues of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, one supplier represented greater than 10% of total purchases. For the year ended December 31, 2024, no single supplier represented greater than 10% of total purchases.
(aa) Statutory reserves
In accordance with the PRC Company Laws, the Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries must make appropriations from their after-tax profits as determined under the generally accepted accounting principles in the PRC (“PRC GAAP”) to non-distributable reserve funds including statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund. The appropriation to the statutory surplus fund must be 10% of the after-tax profits as determined under PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the statutory surplus fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of the PRC companies. Appropriation to the discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of the PRC companies.
F-21
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund are restricted for use. They may only be applied to offset losses or increase the registered capital of the respective companies. These reserves are not allowed to be transferred to the Company by way of cash dividends, loans or advances, nor can they be distributed except for liquidation.
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, no appropriation was made to the statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund by the Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries as these PRC companies did not earn any after-tax profits as determined under PRC GAAP.
(ab) Loss per share
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders, considering the accretions of redemption feature related to the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred shares, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares during the period using the two-class method. Under the two-class method, any net income is allocated between ordinary shares and other participating securities based on their participating rights. Net losses are not allocated to other participating securities if based on their contractual terms they are not obligated to share the losses. Contingently issuable shares are included in the computation of basic earnings per share only when there is no circumstance under which those shares would not be issued.
Diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders, as adjusted for the effect of dilutive ordinary equivalent shares, if any, by the weighted average number of ordinary and dilutive ordinary equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary equivalent shares consist of ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion of the preferred shares, using the if-converted method, and financial liabilities using the if-converted method, and shares issuable upon the exercise of share options using the treasury stock method. Ordinary equivalent shares are not included in the denominator of the diluted loss per share calculation when inclusion of such share would be anti-dilutive.
(ac) Segment reporting
The Group uses the management approach in determining its operating segments. The Group’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. For the purpose of internal reporting and management’s operation review, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer does not segregate the Group’s business by service lines. The Company operates as a single operating and reportable segment, as it offers a unified set of products and services primarily related to the provision of digital agricultural transaction services. Management has determined that the Group has one operating segment. All of the Group’s long-lived assets are located in the PRC.
(ad) Related parties
Parties, which can be a corporation or individual, are considered to be related if the Company has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other part in making financial and operating decisions. Companies are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or common significant influence, such as a family member or relative, shareholder, or are related corporation.
(ae) Recent accounting pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. The amendments in this Update are effective for public business entities that meet the definition of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filer, excluding entities eligible to be smaller reporting companies as defined by the SEC, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Group early adopted this guidance on January 1, 2021. There was no impact to the consolidated financial statements of adopting the new standard.
F-22
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07 (“ASU 2023-07”), Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 on a retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The Group adopted this guidance for the year beginning January 1, 2024 and the adoption of this standard does not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 (“ASU 2023-09”), Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvement to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The Group is currently evaluating the impact of this accounting standard update on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220-40): Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (“ASU 2024-03”). This update requires, among other things, more detailed disclosure about types of expenses in commonly presented expense captions such as cost of sales and selling, general, and administrative expenses, and is intended to improve the disclosures about an entity’s expenses including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation and amortization. ASU 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
3. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, NET
Accounts receivable, net consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | 148 | 743 | 102 | |||||||||
| Less: Allowance for credit losses | (9 | ) | (10 | ) | (1 | ) | ||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 139 | 733 | 101 | |||||||||
The movement of the allowance for credit losses is as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Balance at the beginning of the year | 1,150 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||
| Additions | 5 | 277 | 38 | |||||||||
| Write off | (1,146 | ) | (276 | ) | (38 | ) | ||||||
| Total | 9 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
F-23
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
4. PREPAYMENTS AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Prepayments and other current assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Receivable from online payment platforms | 15,513 | 12,215 | 1,683 | |||||||||
| Receivables on behalf of merchants | 8,056 | 9,077 | 1,251 | |||||||||
| Deferred IPO cost* | 10,751 | 10,751 | 1,482 | |||||||||
| Staff advances | 2,003 | 1,962 | 270 | |||||||||
| Contract acquisition costs | 2,052 | 6,172 | 851 | |||||||||
| Deposit | 492 | 387 | 53 | |||||||||
| Others | 9,169 | 9,273 | 1,278 | |||||||||
| Less: allowance for credit losses | (9,621 | ) | (9,797 | ) | (1,350 | ) | ||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets, net | 38,415 | 40,040 | 5,518 | |||||||||
| * | Direct cost incurred by the Group attributable to its IPO of ordinary shares in the United States have been deferred and recorded as deferred IPO cost and will be offset against the gross proceeds received from such offering. In the event the IPO is terminated or abandoned, all capitalized deferred IPO cost will be expensed. |
The movement of the allowance for credit losses is as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Balance at the beginning of the year | 13,024 | 9,621 | 1,326 | |||||||||
| Additions | — | 176 | 24 | |||||||||
| Reversals | (3,054 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Write off | (349 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Total | 9,621 | 9,797 | 1,350 | |||||||||
5. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET
Property and equipment consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Electronic equipment | 2,911 | 2,923 | 403 | |||||||||
| Office furniture and others | 567 | 578 | 80 | |||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | 4,234 | 4,413 | 608 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment | 7,712 | 7,914 | 1,091 | |||||||||
| Accumulated depreciation | (5,565 | ) | (6,855 | ) | (945 | ) | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 2,147 | 1,059 | 146 | |||||||||
F-24
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
5. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET (cont.)
Depreciation expenses on property and equipment were allocated to the following expense items:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | 217 | 195 | 27 | |||||||||
| Research and development expenses | 311 | 186 | 26 | |||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 1,493 | 1,073 | 147 | |||||||||
| Total depreciation expenses | 2,021 | 1,454 | 200 | |||||||||
6. LEASE
The Group leases facilities under non-cancellable operating leases expiring on different dates. The terms of substantially all these leases are ranging from one year to three years. All the Group’s leases qualify as operating leases. Short-term leases (lease terms less than 12 months) are recognized as incurred.
(a) A summary of supplemental information related to operating leases as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 15,389 | 9,589 | 1,321 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 7,924 | 4,961 | 684 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 6,847 | 4,042 | 557 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 14,771 | 9,003 | 1,241 | |||||||||
The weighted average remaining lease term as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 were 1.59 years and 1.48 years, and the weighted average discount rate of the operating leases were 4.67% and 4.09%, respectively.
(b) The components of lease cost were as follows:
| For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Lease cost: | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease cost | 6,087 | 5,999 | 827 | |||||||||
| Short-term lease cost | 2,170 | 2,438 | 336 | |||||||||
| Total lease cost | 8,257 | 8,437 | 1,163 | |||||||||
(c) Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 was as follows:
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| 2025 | 5,239 | 722 | ||||||
| 2026 | 3,762 | 518 | ||||||
| 2027 | 370 | 51 | ||||||
| Total undiscounted cashflows | 9,371 | 1,291 | ||||||
| Less: amounts representing interest | 368 | 50 | ||||||
| Present Value of future minimum lease payments | 9,003 | 1,241 | ||||||
| Less: Current obligations | 4,961 | 684 | ||||||
| Long term obligations | 4,042 | 557 | ||||||
F-25
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
7. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
Long-term investments as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Equity method investment | ||||||||||||
| Huayuan Land Port Yimutian (Datong) Logistics Supply Chain Co. (“Huayuan Datong”) | 463 | — | — | |||||||||
| Gongqingcheng Xitian Investment Co. (“Gongqingcheng”) | 659 | — | — | |||||||||
| Total Equity method investment | 1,122 | — | — | |||||||||
| Investment in equity securities using measurement alternative | ||||||||||||
| Guangdong Jinbo Co., Ltd | 500 | — | — | |||||||||
| Less: Provision for impairment | (500 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Total Investment in equity securities using measurement alternative | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Total Long-term investments | 1,122 | — | — | |||||||||
In March 2023, Yimutian Xinnong and a third-party company jointly set up Huayuan Datong by paying cash consideration of RMB500. The Group holds 50% equity interests in Huayuan Datong and accounts for the investment using the equity method as the Group obtained significant influence by the rights to nominate two board members out of five. The Group recognized its share of loss of the equity method investment, in the amount of RMB37 for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of the investment was RMB463. In 2024, the Group terminated its investment and recalled the invested capital.
In September 2023, Yimutian Xinnong and a third-party jointly set up Gongqingcheng by paying cash consideration of RMB660. The Group holds 30% equity interests in Gongqingcheng. The Group has significant influence over the Gongqingcheng and therefore accounts for its equity interests as an equity method investment. The Group recognized its share of loss of the equity method investment in the amount of RMB1 for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the carrying amount of the investment was RMB659. In 2024, the company discontinued its investment and anticipates the recovery of the invested capital in 2025.
In May 2022, the Group entered into an equity purchase agreement, pursuant to which, the Group purchased 10% shares of Guangdong Jinbo Co., Ltd., a private-owned company at the consideration of RMB500. The Group accounted for this investment as equity investment without readily determinable fair value and are measured at cost, minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer, as it is an equity security of privately owned company. As of December 31, 2023, the Group performed an impairment test using discounted cash flow approach. As the projected cash flow of the investment is negative, the Group recognized full impairment for the investment.
8. OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Other non-current assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Deposits | 2,043 | 2,043 | 282 | |||||||||
| Others | 1,164 | 1,113 | 153 | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,207 | 3,156 | 435 | |||||||||
F-26
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
9. SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Guangdong Yueken Microcredit Co., Ltd | 4,330 | 5,000 | 689 | |||||||||
| China CITIC Bank Loan | — | 5,000 | 689 | |||||||||
| Short-term borrowings | 4,330 | 10,000 | 1,378 | |||||||||
In 2023, Guangxi Yimutian Xinnong Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangxi Yimutian), a subsidiary of the WFOE, obtained a number of one-year loans in the aggregate amount of RMB4,330 from Guangdong Yueken Microcredit Co., Ltd bearing a simple interest of 12% per annum. Guangxi Yimutian fully repaid the borrowings in 2024.
In 2024, Guangxi Yimutian Xinnong Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangxi Yimutian), a subsidiary of the WFOE, obtained a number of one-year loans in the aggregate amount of RMB5,000 from Guangdong Yueken Microcredit Co., Ltd bearing a simple interest of 12% per annum. In April 2025, Guangxi Yimutian repaid the loan RMB3,000.
On February 7, 2024, Yimutian Xinnong obtained a 12-month short-term credit bank borrowing from China CITIC Bank in amounts of RMB5,000 bearing interest of 3.55% per annum. In February 2025, Yimutian Xinnong repaid the China CITIC loan of RMB5,000.
10. ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Accrued payroll and welfare | 39,354 | 34,781 | 4,793 | |||||||||
| Deposits received from merchants | 18,149 | 16,339 | 2,252 | |||||||||
| Cash collected on behalf of merchants | 14,712 | 11,731 | 1,617 | |||||||||
| Accrued IPO cost | 12,382 | 12,382 | 1,706 | |||||||||
| VAT and other surcharges payable | 3,663 | 3,508 | 483 | |||||||||
| Others | 11,953 | 10,483 | 1,444 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 100,213 | 89,224 | 12,295 | |||||||||
11. FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Exchangeable Notes (i) | 20,681 | 20,990 | 2,892 | |||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,681 | 20,990 | 2,892 | |||||||||
(i) Exchangeable Notes
In September 2022, the Company entered into an exchangeable note agreement with Investor B. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company issued an exchangeable note for USD2.8 million (equivalent to RMB20,128) with a simple interest rate of 7% per annum to Investor B, which was entitled to convert the entire or part of the outstanding principal of the exchangeable note at 90% of the per share price into the same class of shares issued in the new round financing. The exchangeable note shall be due and payable one year after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. The interests of the note will be exempted if the investor converts the note. In September 2023, the maturity date was extended to September 8, 2024. In September 2024, the maturity date was further extended to September 8, 2025. According to the valuation report, the change in fair value of financial liabilities for the years 2023 and 2024 were RMB631, RMB197 million and nil million respectively.
F-27
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
12. SHAREHOLDER LOANS, AT AMORTIZED COST
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Onshore Shareholder Loans, current (i) | 65,021 | 64,021 | 8,822 | |||||||||
| Onshore Shareholder Loans, non-current (i) | 122,534 | 122,534 | 16,886 | |||||||||
| Other Shareholder Loans (ii) | 41,156 | 62,088 | 8,556 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 228,711 | 248,643 | 34,264 | |||||||||
| (i) | Onshore Shareholder Loans |
The Company’s onshore entities entered into shareholder loans agreements with certain preferred shareholders. These preferred shareholders subscribed the Company’s preferred shares and were entitled to all of the preferred shareholders’ rights. Prior to paying the consideration of preferred shares to the Company, they made shareholder loans to the Company’s onshore entities in the same amount of the consideration for preferred shares. Such shareholder loans are referred as “Onshore Shareholder Loans”.
In December 2016, the Company issued 124,523,393 shares of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor for US$5 million (equivalent to RMB30,634). One of the Company’s PRC onshore entities entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB30,634 bears no interest. The principal shall be due and payable at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and 9 months after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. In 2023, the Company and the investor agreed to extend the maturity date of the loan, and the loan is due at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and December 31, 2024. In 2024, the maturity date was further extended to December 31, 2025. In December 2023, the Company’s PRC onshore entities repaid RMB613 to the investor. As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s PRC onshore entities repaid RMB1,000 to the investor.
In February 2018, the Company issued 154,278,293 shares of Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor with the total amount of US$5.5 million (equivalent to RMB35,000). One of the Company’s PRC onshore entities entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB35,000 bears no interests. The principal shall be due and payable at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and 23 months after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. In 2023, the Company and the investor agreed to extend the maturity date of the loan, and the loan is due at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and December 31, 2024. In 2024, the maturity date was further extended to December 31, 2025.
In December 2023, the Company issued 280,352,854 shares of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor upon exercise of Series B ODI Convertible Loan (Note 11) with the total amount of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). As agreed with the investor, the Company’s PRC onshore entity shall repay the principal at the earlier of the following two dates: (1) July 31, 2025, and (2) five working days before the end of the lock-up period specified by applicable laws and regulations and exchange rules following the initial public offering.
The Company measured Onshore Shareholder Loans at amortized cost. Onshore Shareholder Loans activities for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 are presented below:
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| As of January 1, 2023 | 72,508 | 9,992 | ||||||
| Increased upon exercise of warrant | 122,534 | 16,886 | ||||||
| Reclassified to Other Shareholder Loans | (6,874 | ) | (947 | ) | ||||
| Repayment | (613 | ) | (85 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | 187,555 | 25,846 | ||||||
| Repayment | (1,000 | ) | (138 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 186,555 | 25,708 | ||||||
F-28
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
12. SHAREHOLDER LOANS, AT AMORTIZED COST (cont.)
| (ii) | Other Shareholder Loans |
The Group borrowed interest free loans from its Founder and certain investors.
The principal of Series C ODI Convertible Loan issued by the Company’s onshore entity was RMB42,055 (Note 11). Upon the investor’s exercise of the warrant and the Company issued preferred shares to the investor, the Company’s onshore entity partially repaid Series C ODI Convertible loan of RMB27,027 and entered into a new interest free shareholder loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB15,028, which is due on demand. In 2023 and 2024, the Company’s onshore entity repaid RMB2,000 and RMB500 to the investor, respectively.
In 2021, the Group also borrowed interest free loans of RMB1,153 from its Founder and US$150 (equivalent to RMB993) from a preferred shareholder. In 2023, the Group borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB14,203 from its Founder and repaid RMB4,580 to its Founder. Such loans are due on demand. In 2024, the Group borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB28,322 from its Founder.
In 2023, the Group also borrowed interest free loans of RMB6,874 from an entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. The Group repaid RMB6,874 in 2024.
Other Shareholder Loans activities for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 are presented below:
| As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| As of January 1, 2023 | 26,641 | 3,672 | ||||||
| Borrowed | 14,203 | 1,957 | ||||||
| Repayment | (6,580 | ) | (907 | ) | ||||
| Reclassified from Onshore Shareholder Loans | 6,874 | 947 | ||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | 18 | 2 | ||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | 41,156 | 5,671 | ||||||
| Borrowed | 28,322 | 3,903 | ||||||
| Repayment | (7,374 | ) | (1,016 | ) | ||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | (16 | ) | (2 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 62,088 | 8,556 | ||||||
13. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| IT Service Fee | 3,168 | 4,245 | 585 | |||||||||
| Others | 99 | 153 | 22 | |||||||||
| Accounts payable | 3,267 | 4,398 | 607 | |||||||||
F-29
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
14. CONTRACT LIABILITIES
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | ||||||||||||
| Membership fee | 62,966 | 55,708 | 7,677 | |||||||||
| Value-add service fee | 13,793 | 14,509 | 1,999 | |||||||||
| Government project | 3,705 | 3,757 | 518 | |||||||||
| Tian Bi | 17,049 | 13,247 | 1,825 | |||||||||
| Others | 780 | 882 | 122 | |||||||||
| Total contract liabilities, current | 98,293 | 88,103 | 12,141 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | ||||||||||||
| Membership fee | 13,058 | 11,430 | 1,575 | |||||||||
| Value-add service fee | 972 | 793 | 109 | |||||||||
| Total contract liabilities, non-current | 14,030 | 12,223 | 1,684 | |||||||||
15. MEZZANINE EQUITY
Series A, Series B, Series C, Series C-1, Series C-2 and Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares (collectively “Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares”)
Form May 2014 to December 2016, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 387,781,378 Series A redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series A Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated cash consideration of US$3.5 million (equivalent to RMB21,593).
From February 2015 to April 2017, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 423,548,558 Series B redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series B Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$34.1 million (equivalent to RMB213,329). In December 2023, the Company issued 280,352,854 Series B Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Series B ODI Convertible Loan held by an investor for an aggregated consideration of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). RMB134,455 and RMB134,455 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
From December 2016 to April 2017, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 517,022,352 Series C redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series C Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$11 million, of which RMB30,021 and RMB29,026 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
In February 2018, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreement with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 357,323,044 Series C-1 redeemable convertible preferred shares
(“Series C-1 Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$15 million (equivalent to RMB94,608), of which RMB38,955 and RMB38,955 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. In September 2019, an investor transferred 63,435,937 shares of Series C-1 Preferred Shares to another investor for an aggregated consideration of US$5 million (equivalent to RMB35,365), and the Company redesignated all transferred shares into a same number of Series C-2 Preferred Shares. The Company did not receive any proceeds from this transaction. The Company considered that the re-designation of Series C-1 Preferred Shares to Series C-2 Preferred Shares in substance, was the same as repurchase and cancellation of the Series C-1 Preferred Shares and simultaneously issuance of Series C-2 Preferred Shares. The difference between the fair value of Series C-2 and the carrying amount of the Series C-1 Preferred Shares was accounted for as deemed dividend to the preferred shareholder and recorded to accumulated deficit.
F-30
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
15. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
From December 2018 to August 2020, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 22,4881,374 Series C-2 redeemable convertible Preferred Shares (“Series C-2 Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$17.4 million (equivalent to RMB115,693).
In May 2021, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 95,032,955 Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series D Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$15 million (equivalent to RMB106,825). In June 2021, the Company issued additional 287,192 Series D Preferred Shares for nil consideration to then existing Series D preferred shareholders. The Company treated it as deemed dividend to the shareholders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares.
In October 2021, the Company entered into a share repurchase agreement with an investor, pursuant to which the Company repurchased 76,123,125 Series C Preferred Shares for an aggregated consideration of US$6,000 (equivalent to RMB38,633). The difference of RMB28,818 between the repurchase consideration over the carrying amount of RMB9,815 of the Series C Preferred Shares was accounted for as deemed dividends to the preferred shareholder and recorded to accumulated deficit. Upon the Company’s repurchase of Series C Preferred Shares, there was a subscription receivable from such investor in the amount of US$5,500 (equivalent to RMB35,483) in connection with the issuance of Series C-1 Preferred Shares. The Company and the investor entered into a supplemental agreement that US$5,500 (equivalent to RMB35,483) was offset between repurchase consideration payable and subscription receivable. The remaining repurchase consideration payable of US$500 (equivalent to RMB3,541 and RMB3,436, as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) was recorded in amount due to related parties.
In December 2023, the Company issued 4,124,313 Series C-2 redeemable convertible preferred shares to existing Series C-2 Preferred shareholders for nil consideration and 2,435,067 Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares to existing Series D Preferred shareholders for nil consideration. Concurrently, issuance price per share of Series C-2 Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares were amended accordingly, which resulted in the aggregated issuance price of each investor remained unchanged.
The rights, preferences and privileges of the Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares are as follows:
Redemption Rights
Upon the issuance of Series D Preferred Shares on May 8, 2021, the redemption term of all Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares were modified to be the same as Series D Preferred Shares, pursuant to which they were redeemable at the option of the shareholders of the respective series Preferred Shares in the event that (A) the Company fails to complete the qualified IPO or a trade sale in which the valuation of the Company is no less than US$800,000,000 before December 31, 2025 except that if the Company has submitted an application to competent Governmental Authorities for IPO filings prior to December 31, 2025 (including the submission of the IPO prospectus) but due to any material adverse legal, regulatory, market or policy changes of China in which case the Board of Directors decide to postpone the qualified IPO and the Trade Sale, the foregoing deadline for the qualified IPO and the trade sale shall be automatically postponed to December 31, 2026, (B) the validity or enforcement of the VIE agreements is materially and adversely affected due to change of any applicable Laws, as a consequence of which, the Company loses control over, or the ability to consolidate the financial statements, of direct or indirect subsidiaries and/or controlled entities, and there is no alternative arrangement under the applicable Laws for the Company to maintain or restore such control or ability, and (C) any material breach of the transaction documents to which the holder(s) of respective series Preferred Shares are parties by the Group, the Founder, any ordinary shareholders and any ordinary shareholders holding Company prior to the qualified IPO, which results in substantial hurdle to the launch of the qualified IPO.
F-31
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
15. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
The redemption preference from high priority to low priority is as follows in sequence: Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares and then the Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares as the same class.
For Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares, the redemption price shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the respective issuance price, plus an eight percent (8%) compounded per annum return of the respective issuance price over the period from the respective closing date to the date of payment in full of the respective redemption price.
Conversion Rights
Each redeemable convertible preferred share shall be convertible, at the option of the shareholders, at any time after the issuance date of preferred shares according to a conversion ratio, subject to adjustments for dilution, including but not limited to stock splits and stock dividends. The conversion price shall initially be the applicable issuance price, resulting in an initial conversion ratio for the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares of 1:1.
Each Redeemable Convertible Preferred Share shall be converted, based on the then-effective applicable conversion price, without the payment of any additional consideration, into ordinary shares in the event that (i) the closing of the IPO, or (ii) the date upon which the Company receives the written request from the majority respective series preferred shareholders.
Voting Rights
Each preferred shareholder shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis.
Dividend Rights
No dividends or other distributions shall be declared, paid, set aside or made, whether in cash, in property, or in any other shares of the Company, with respect to any other class or series of shares of the Company, unless and until the dividends of preferred shares with higher priority of preference has been likewise declared, paid, set aside or made (calculated on an as-converted basis).
Liquidation Preferences
In the event of any liquidation including deemed liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary, shareholders of Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable issuance price, plus all dividends declared and unpaid on such redeemable convertible preferred shares.
Liquidation preference is as follows in sequence: Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares and Series C Preferred Shares, then the Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares as the same class.
F-32
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
15. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
If there are any assets or funds remaining after the aggregate amount has been distributed or paid in full to the applicable holders of the Preferred Shares, the remaining assets and funds of the Company available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among all shareholders according to the relative number of the Shares held by such shareholders.
Accounting for the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares
The Company has classified the redeemable convertible preferred shares as mezzanine equity as these preferred shares are redeemable upon the occurrence of an event not solely within the control of the Company.
The conversion option of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares is not bifurcated because the conversion option is clearly and closely related to the host equity instrument. The contingent redemption option of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares is not bifurcated because the underlying ordinary shares are not net settable since the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares were neither publicly traded nor readily convertible into cash.
The Company recorded the initial carrying amount of the redeemable convertible preferred shares at the fair value at the date of issuance. The Company accreted the carrying value of the preferred shares to their maximum redemption price at the end of each reporting period. The change in redemption value is recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, against additional paid-in capital (“APIC”). Once APIC has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.
Modification of the Preferred Shares
The Company assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its preferred shares is an extinguishment or a modification using the fair value approach. If the fair value of the preferred shares immediately after the amendment changes by more than 10 percent from the fair value of the preferred shares immediately before the amendment, the amendment is considered an extinguishment. An amendment that does not meet this criterion is a modification. When preferred shares are extinguished, the Company recognizes the modified or exchanged preferred shares at fair value and derecognizes the carrying amount of the old preferred shares with the difference recorded in accumulated deficit. When preferred shares are modified, the Company accounted for the modification by analogy to the modification guidance contained in ASC 718-20, Compensation — Stock Compensation, and the increase of the fair value immediately after the amendment is treated as a deemed dividend to the holders of the preferred shares. Modifications that result in a decrease in the fair value of the redeemable convertible preferred shares are not recognized.
For the modification of Series C-2 and Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares in 2023, as the fair value of the Preferred Shares immediately after the amendment did not change by more than 10% from their fair value immediately before the amendment, the Company accounts for modification that result in an increase to the fair value of the modified Preferred Shares as deemed dividends.
16. ORDINARY SHARES
The number of authorized shares is 5,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00001 per share. The authorized shares of the Company were consisted of 2,713,770,293 ordinary shares and 2,286,229,707 preferred shares as of December 31, 2023 and 2,713,770,293 ordinary shares and 2,286,229,707 preferred shares as of December 31, 2024.
In December 2023, the Company issued 63,600,043 ordinary shares to founding shareholders for nil consideration (Note 17).
The number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding were 460,147,059 and 460,147,059 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
F-33
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
17. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
The Company’s shareholders and Board of Directors approved of 2015 Share Incentive Plan (the “Option Plan”) in order to provide incentives and rewards to the Company’s directors, employees and consultant of the Company. Share options under the Option Plan are generally three types of vesting schedule, which are: (i) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest semi-annually over the next three years; (ii) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest quarterly over the next three years; (iii) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest monthly over the next three years. The option holders can only exercise their vested options after 90 days following the completion of IPO or a sale of all or substantially all assets or equity interests of the Company, subject to compliance of applicable requirements under laws and regulations in the PRC. The Company did not recognize any share-based compensation expense on the share options since the IPO performance condition is deemed to be not probable. As of December 31, 2024, the Company authorized 815,130,483 share options under the Option Plan.
The following table sets forth the share options activity for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024:
| Number of shares | Weighted average exercise price | Weighted average remaining contractual years | Aggregate intrinsic value | |||||||||||||
| US$ | ||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at January 1, 2023 | 626,913,072 | 0.01 | 5.51 | 61,844 | ||||||||||||
| Granted | 2,387,500 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | 451,333 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2023 | 628,849,239 | 0.01 | 4.54 | 64,852 | ||||||||||||
| Granted | — | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | 10,593,374 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2024 | 618,498,590 | 0.01 | 3.48 | 63,779 | ||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, no share options were exercisable, since their exercisability was subject to the completion of an initial public offering of the Company. The weighted average grant date fair value of the share options for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 were US$0.11 and US$0.11 per share, respectively.
The fair value of the options is estimated on the dates of grant using the binomial option pricing model with the following key assumptions used:
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||
| Risk-free rate of return (per annum) | 4.75% – 5.93% | |||
| Volatility | 54.5% – 54.7% | |||
| Expected dividend yield | — | |||
| Exercise multiple | 2.2 | |||
| Fair value of underlying ordinary share | US$0.11 | |||
| Expected Term | 10 years | |||
The risk-free interest rate was estimated based on the yield to maturity of U.S. treasury bonds denominated in USD for a term consistent with the expected term of the Company’s options in effect at the option valuation date. The expected volatility was estimated based on the historical volatility of comparable peer public companies with a time horizon close to the contract life of the Company’s options. The expected exercise multiple was estimated as the average ratio of the stock price to the exercise price of when employees would decide to voluntarily exercise their vested options. Expected dividend yield is zero as the Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its shares, and the Company does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future.
F-34
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
17. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (cont.)
Since the exercisability is dependent upon completion of an initial public offering of the Company, no compensation expense relating to the options was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024. The Company will recognize compensation expenses relating to options vested cumulatively upon the completion of an initial public offering of the Company.
On December 10, 2023, the Company issued 63,600,043 ordinary shares to founding shareholders for nil consideration. The Company accounted for such issuance as share awards granted to the Company’s management and directors, which were vested immediately. Based on the fair value per share at issuance date, the Company recognized RMB51,436 of share-based compensation expense related to these shares in general and administration expenses on the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in December 2023. The fair value of ordinary shares at issuance date is US$0.11 per share.
In determining the fair value of ordinary shares, the Company applied the income approach based on its discounted future cash flow using its best estimate as at the grant date using retrospective valuation. The major assumptions used in calculating include discount rate, comparable companies, discount for lack of marketability and revenue growth rates with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm.
18. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT
The following tables present the fair value hierarchy for those assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2023 and 2024:
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 | Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1) | Significant observable inputs (Level 2) | Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) | |||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||
| Financial assets at fair value through | ||||||||||||
| Exchangeable Notes | — | — | 20,681 | |||||||||
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2024 | Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1) | Significant observable inputs (Level 2) | Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) | |||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||
| Financial assets at fair value through | ||||||||||||
| Exchangeable Notes | — | — | 20,990 | |||||||||
The reconciliation from the opening balances to the closing balances of financial liabilities for recurring fair value measurements categorized as level 3 of the fair value hierarchy for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 are presented in Note 11. The impairment of long-term investments is measured at fair value using unobservable inputs and categorized in Level 3, which is presented in Note 7.
Financial Liabilities are measured at fair value using unobservable inputs and categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
F-35
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
18. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT (cont.)
The fair values of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes were estimated with the following key assumptions:
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||
| Risk-free rate of return (per annum) | 6.19% – 6.24% | |||
| Expected Volatility | 59.21% | |||
| Expected dividend yield | 0% | |||
| Expected Term | 0.69 years | |||
| Applied bond yield | 14.49% | |||
| Yield for value of credit risk | 13.91% | |||
| Fair value of underlying ordinary shares/preferred shares | US$0.11 – US$0.14 | |||
The estimated fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes estimated by management with the assistance of an independent valuation firm. The Company estimated the fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes based on a probability-weighted analysis and the value of the conversion option as determined by the binomial option pricing model simulating the equity value movement which provide the calculation basis of the financial liabilities fair value. The inputs used in the analysis were classified as Level 3 inputs within the fair value hierarchy due to the lack of observable market data and activity. The determination of the fair value of the Company’s preferred shares and ordinary shares requires complex and subjective judgments to be made regarding the cash flow forecasts and the weighted average cost of capital and the discount for lack of marketability applied to the projected cash flows. If different estimates and assumptions had been used, the fair values of the preferred shares and ordinary shares could be significantly different, and the fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes may materially differ from the recognized amount.
The risk-free rate of return was estimated based on the yield of US Treasury Strip with a maturity life equal to the remaining maturity life of the financial liabilities as of the valuation date. The expected volatility was estimated based on the historical volatility of comparable peer public companies with a time horizon close to the expected term of the Company’s financial liabilities. Expected dividend yield is zero as the Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its shares, and the Company does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future. Expected term is the remaining life of the financial liabilities.
The Company did not transfer any financial assets or liabilities in or out of Level 3 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
19. CHANGE IN FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
Change in fair value of financial liabilities amounted to RMB3,728 and nil in 2023 and 2024, respectively. We measured financial liabilities, which included overseas direct investment (ODI) convertible loans and exchangeable notes, at their fair value at each reporting period end and upon conversion.
In September 2022, the Company entered into an exchangeable note agreement with Investor B. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company issued an exchangeable note for USD2.8 million (equivalent to RMB20,128) with a simple interest rate of 7% per annum to Investor B, which was entitled to convert the entire or part of the outstanding principal of the exchangeable note at 90% of the per share price into the same class of shares issued in the new round financing. The exchangeable note shall be due and payable one year after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. The interests of the note will be exempted if the investor converts the note. In September 2023, the maturity date was extended to September 8, 2024. In September 2024, the maturity date was further extended to September 8, 2025. According to the valuation report, the change in fair value of financial liabilities for the years 2023 and 2024 were RMB197 and nil respectively.
F-36
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
19. CHANGE IN FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL LIABILITIES (cont.)
In December 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 280,352,854 shares of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor with the total amount of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). Concurrently, the WFOE entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB122,534 with a simple interest rate of 5% per annum. The principal and accrued interest shall be due and payable four years after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. The interests of the loan will be exempted if the investor completes the ODI registration and exercises the warrant. In November 2023, the investor redesignated its wholly owned subsidiary as the new warrant holder who completed the ODI registration and agreed with the Company that if the warrant is exercised, the Company’s PRC onshore entity shall repay the principal at the earlier of the following two dates: (1) July 31, 2025, and (2) five working days before the end of the lock-up period specified by applicable laws and regulations and exchange rules following the initial public offering. The consideration for exercising the warrants shall be paid by the investors concurrently when any portion of the principal of the loan is repaid. The new warrant holder exercised the warrant with no consideration paid and the Company issued Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares in December 2023. According to the valuation report, the change in fair value of financial liabilities for the years 2023 and 2024 were RMB3,531 and nil respectively.
The fair values of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes were estimated with the following key assumptions with no change for the year ended December 31, 2024:
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||||
| Risk-free rate of return (per annum) | 6.19% – 6.24% | |||
| Expected Volatility | 59.21% | |||
| Expected dividend yield | 0% | |||
| Expected Term | 0.69 years | |||
| Applied bond yield | 14.49% | |||
| Yield for value of credit risk | 13.91% | |||
| Fair value of underlying ordinary shares/preferred shares | US$0.11 – US$0.14 | |||
20. LOSS FROM DERECOGNITION OF FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
In December 2016, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 280,352,854 shares of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor with the total amount of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). Concurrently, the WFOE entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB122,534 with a simple interest rate of 5% per annum. The principal and accrued interest shall be due and payable four years after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. The interests of the loan will be exempted if the investor completes the ODI registration and exercises the warrant. In November 2023, the investor redesignated its wholly owned subsidiary as the new warrant holder who completed the ODI registration and agreed with the Company that if the warrant is exercised, the Company’s PRC onshore entity shall repay the principal at the earlier of the following two dates: (1) July 31, 2025, and (2) five working days before the end of the lock-up period specified by applicable laws and regulations and exchange rules following the initial public offering. The consideration for exercising the warrants shall be paid by the investors concurrently when any portion of the principal of the loan is repaid. The new warrant holder exercised the warrant with no consideration paid and the Company issued Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares in December 2023. Upon the conversion of ODI convertible loans and exchangeable notes, we recognized loss of RMB RMB1,953 and nil from derecognition of financial liabilities in 2023 and 2024, respectively, which represented the cumulative amount of the gain or loss previously recorded in other comprehensive loss resulted from changes in instrument-specific credit risk of the ODI convertible loans and the exchangeable notes. In December 2023, the Company issued 280,352,854 Series B Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Series B ODI Convertible Loan held by an investor for an aggregated consideration of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534).
F-37
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
21. INCOME TAX
(a) Income tax
Cayman Islands
Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company’s subsidiary is not subject to tax on income or capital gain. Additionally, the Cayman Islands does not impose a withholding tax on payments of dividends to shareholders.
Hong Kong S.A.R.
Under the current Hong Kong S.A.R. Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Company’s Hong Kong S.A.R. subsidiary is subject to Hong Kong S.A.R. profits tax at the rate of 16.5% on its taxable income generated from the operations in Hong Kong S.A.R.. Payments of dividends by the Hong Kong S.A.R. subsidiary to the Company is not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong S.A.R.. A two-tiered profits tax rates regime was introduced in 2018 where the first HK$2 million of assessable profits earned by a company will be taxed at half of the current tax rate (8.25%) whilst the remaining profits will continue to be taxed at 16.5%. There is an anti- fragmentation measure where each group will have to nominate only one company in the group to benefit from the progressive rates. No provision for Hong Kong profits tax has been made in the financial statements as the subsidiary in Hong Kong has no assessable profits for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024.
PRC, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R.
The Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries are subject to the PRC Corporate Income Tax Law (“CIT Law”) at the statutory income tax rate of 25%, unless otherwise specified. According to the CIT Law, entities that qualify as “high-and-new technology enterprises” (“HNTE”) are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15%, and entities that qualify as “small enterprises with low profits’ are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 20%.
Beijing Yimutian and Yimutian Xinnong were qualified as a High and New Technology Enterprise (“HNTE”), since 2018 and is eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate from 2018 to 2020. In December 2021, Beijing Yimutian, and Yimutian Xinnong renewed the certificate with a validity term of three years from 2023 to 2024. From year 2023 to year 2024, Beijing Douniu became eligible as HNTE enabling it to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15%. All of them renewed the certificate with a validity term of three years from 2024 to 2026.
The components of loss before income taxes are as follows:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| PRC, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R | (90,140 | ) | (34,899 | ) | (4,809 | ) | ||||||
| Hong Kong S.A.R | (11 | ) | (40 | ) | (5 | ) | ||||||
| Cayman Islands | (15,469 | ) | (40 | ) | (5 | ) | ||||||
| Total | (105,620 | ) | (34,979 | ) | (4,819 | ) | ||||||
F-38
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
21. INCOME TAX (cont.)
Reconciliation of the differences between PRC statutory income tax rate and the Group’s effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 are as follows:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
| RMB | RMB | |||||||
| PRC Statutory income tax rate | 25.0 | % | 25.0 | % | ||||
| Increase (decrease) in effective income tax rate resulting from: | ||||||||
| Tax rate differential for non-PRC entities | (3.1 | ) | (8.5 | ) | ||||
| Preferential tax rate | (8.4 | ) | (8.4 | ) | ||||
| Changes in tax rate | 0.5 | — | ||||||
| Research and development expenses additional deduction | 9.6 | 8.9 | ||||||
| Other non-deductible expenses | (12.4 | ) | (0.2 | ) | ||||
| Change in valuation allowance | (11.2 | ) | (16.8 | ) | ||||
| Effective income tax rate | — | — | ||||||
(b) Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Deferred income tax assets: | ||||||||||||
| Net operating loss carry forwards | 226,344 | 222,129 | 30,610 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses | 4,103 | — | — | |||||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 340 | 113 | 16 | |||||||||
| Lease liabilities | 3,010 | 2,251 | 310 | |||||||||
| Others | 43 | — | — | |||||||||
| Deferred income tax assets | 233,840 | 224,493 | 30,936 | |||||||||
| Less: valuation allowance | (230,830 | ) | (222,243 | ) | (30,626 | ) | ||||||
| Deferred income tax assets, net | 3,010 | 2,251 | 310 | |||||||||
| Deferred income tax liabilities: | (3,010 | ) | (2,251 | ) | (310 | ) | ||||||
| Operating lease right of use assets | (3,010 | ) | (2,251 | ) | (310 | ) | ||||||
| Total deferred income tax liabilities | — | — | — | |||||||||
As of December 31, 2024, the Group had net operating loss carry forwards of RMB888,514, primarily attributable to the PRC subsidiaries, consolidated VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries. For HNTEs, the loss carried forward will expire during the period from year 2024 to year 2033. For the other PRC companies, the loss carried forward will expire during the period from year 2024 to year 2028.
| As of December 31, | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| 2025 | 209,205 | 28,829 | ||||||
| 2026 | 70,925 | 9,774 | ||||||
| 2027 | 56,806 | 7,828 | ||||||
| 2028 | 57,409 | 7,911 | ||||||
| Thereafter | 494,169 | 68,098 | ||||||
| Total | 888,514 | 122,440 | ||||||
F-39
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
22. SEGMENT INFORMATION
The Company operates as a single reportable segment. The chief operating decision maker reviews financial performance and allocates resources on a consolidated basis, using a single measure of operating profit and a total expense amount. No disaggregated expense categories are regularly reviewed by the CODM. As such, the Company has not identified any segment expense categories that meet the criteria for disclosure under ASC 280, as amended by ASU 2023-07.
23. NET LOSS PER SHARE
The following table sets forth the basic and diluted net loss per share computation and provides a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator for the years presented:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders | (181,132 | ) | (123,177 | ) | (16,973 | ) | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for basic and diluted net loss per share calculation | (0.45 | ) | (0.27 | ) | (0.04 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss per ordinary share: | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | 400,206,197 | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | |||||||||
24. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Group had the following balances with related parties:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 11,311 | 3,436 | 473 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 21,526 | 13,079 | 1,802 | |||||||||
Amounts due from related parties represent interest free loans the Group provided to a preferred shareholder and certain entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. All the loans were due on demand. In 2019, the Group provided interest free loans of RMB12,925 to certain entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. In December 2023 and 2024, the Company received the repayment of RMB5,000 and RMB1,500. The remaining balance was agreed to be settled by shareholders under an agreement signed in 2024. In June 2021, the Company provided an interest free loan to a preferred shareholder of US$0.5 million (equivalent to RMB3,084). As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, the amount due from the preferred shareholder was RMB3,386 and RMB3,436, respectively.
Amounts due to related parties included (i) the payables related to cash collected on behalf of the Company’s equity investee of RMB17,985 and RMB9,485. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, the Company received the repayment of RMB8,500, and (ii) the payables related to the repurchase the Company’s preferred shares of RMB3,541 and RMB3,594 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively (Note 15).
In addition to the above transactions and balances, related party transactions also include exchangeable note issued to the Founder as described in Note 11 and Other Shareholder Loans provided by the Founder and certain investors as described in Note 12.
F-40
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
25. REVENUE INFORMATION
The Group’s revenues consist of the following:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Digital Agricultural Commerce Services: | ||||||||||||
| Membership services | 99,924 | 95,589 | 13,173 | |||||||||
| Value-added services | 65,850 | 52,712 | 7,264 | |||||||||
| Transaction services | 5,147 | 4,305 | 593 | |||||||||
| Total Digital Agricultural Commerce Services | 170,921 | 152,606 | 21,030 | |||||||||
| Other Digital Agricultural Solutions | 16,602 | 8,715 | 1,201 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 187,523 | 161,321 | 22,231 | |||||||||
Timing of recognition
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Revenue from services transferred to customers at a point in time | 51,917 | 41,996 | 5,787 | |||||||||
| Revenue from services transferred to customers over time | 135,606 | 119,325 | 16,444 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 187,523 | 161,321 | 22,231 | |||||||||
Under the requirements of ASC 606-10-50-8, the changes in contract liabilities are presented as follows:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| As of January 1, 2023 | 88,906 | 12,252 | ||||||
| Addition | 169,811 | 23,401 | ||||||
| Recognized as revenue | (135,606 | ) | (18,687 | ) | ||||
| Recognized tax amount allocated | (7,626 | ) | (1,051 | ) | ||||
| Refund | (3,162 | ) | (436 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | 112,323 | 15,479 | ||||||
| Addition | 115,511 | 15,918 | ||||||
| Recognized as revenue | (119,325 | ) | (16,443 | ) | ||||
| Recognized tax amount allocated | (7,385 | ) | (1,018 | ) | ||||
| Refund | (798 | ) | (110 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 100,326 | 13,826 | ||||||
For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024, all of the Group’s revenues were generated in the PRC.
26. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Group is subject to a number of legal proceedings that generally arise in the ordinary course of its business. The Group does not believe that any currently pending legal proceeding to which the Group is a party will have a material adverse effect on the financial statements.
27. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Group has performed an evaluation of subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there are no events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-41
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
28. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The following condensed parent company financial information of Yimutian Inc. has been prepared using the same accounting policies as set out in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2023 and 2024, there were no material contingencies, significant provisions of long-term obligations, mandatory dividend or redemption requirements of redeemable stocks or guarantees of Yimutian Inc., except for those which have been separately disclosed in the consolidated financial statements.
For the purpose of the Company’s stand-alone financial statements, its investments in subsidiaries were reported using the equity method of accounting. The Company’s share of loss from its subsidiaries was reported as a share of loss of subsidiaries in the accompanying parent company only financial statements. Ordinarily, under the equity method, an investor in an equity method investee would cease to recognize its share of the losses of an investee once the carrying value of the investment has been reduced to nil absent an undertaking by the investor to provide continuing support and fund losses. For the purpose of the parent only financial information, the Company has continued to reflect its share, based on its proportionate interest, of the losses of its subsidiaries regardless of the carrying value of the investment in the amounts due to related parties even though the Company is not obligated to provide continuing support or fund losses.
(a) Condensed Balance Sheets
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 496 | 129 | 18 | |||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,386 | 3,436 | 473 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from WFOE | 30,558 | 31,014 | 4,274 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 10,798 | 10,960 | 1,510 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 45,238 | 45,539 | 6,275 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 45,238 | 45,539 | 6,275 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,681 | 20,990 | 2,892 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 1,062 | 1,078 | 149 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 3,541 | 3,594 | 495 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to VIE | 5,394 | 5,394 | 743 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 15,224 | 15,531 | 2,140 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 45,902 | 46,587 | 6,419 | |||||||||
| Investments in subsidiaries | 429,598 | 433,592 | 59,751 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 429,598 | 433,592 | 59,751 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 475,500 | 480,179 | 66,171 | |||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||||||
| Mezzanine equity: | ||||||||||||
| Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 387,781,378 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB51,874 and RMB56,098 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 51,874 | 56,098 | 7,731 | |||||||||
F-42
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
28. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (cont.)
| As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 703,901,412 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB750,062 and RMB787,739 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 750,062 | 787,739 | 108,553 | |||||||||
| Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 517,022,352 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB171,731 and RMB181,992 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 171,731 | 181,992 | 25,079 | |||||||||
| Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 357,323,044 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB142,090 and RMB153,660 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 142,090 | 153,660 | 21,175 | |||||||||
| Series C-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 220,757,061 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB175,577 and RMB189,873 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 175,577 | 189,873 | 26,165 | |||||||||
| Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 95,320,147 shares authorized as at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2024, Redemption value of RMB125,866 and RMB136,115 as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 125,866 | 136,115 | 18,757 | |||||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (134,455 | ) | (134,455 | ) | (18,528 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (30,021 | ) | (29,026 | ) | (4,000 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (38,955 | ) | (38,955 | ) | (5,368 | ) | ||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,213,769 | 1,303,041 | 179,564 | |||||||||
| SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 2,713,770,293 shares authorized, 460,147,059 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively) | 31 | 31 | 4 | |||||||||
| Additional paid – in capital | 47,006 | 47,006 | 6,478 | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (98,963 | ) | (99,395 | ) | (13,697 | ) | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,592,359 | ) | (1,715,536 | ) | (236,407 | ) | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (1,644,285 | ) | (1,767,894 | ) | (243,622 | ) | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 254 | 30,213 | 4,163 | |||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,644,031 | ) | (1,737,681 | ) | (239,459 | ) | ||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 45,238 | 45,539 | 6,275 | |||||||||
F-43
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted)
28. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (cont.)
(b) Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Loss
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | (9,753 | ) | (40 | ) | (5 | ) | ||||||
| Share of losses from subsidiaries and VIEs | (90,140 | ) | (34,860 | ) | (4,804 | ) | ||||||
| Changes in fair value of financial liabilities | (3,728 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| loss from derecognition of financial liabilities | (1,989 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Loss before income tax | (105,610 | ) | (34,900 | ) | (4,808 | ) | ||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc. | ||||||||||||
| Deemed dividend to a Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholder | (2,872 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Deemed dividend to Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shareholders | (915 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (71,735 | ) | (88,277 | ) | (12,165 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (181,132 | ) | (123,177 | ) | (16,973 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc. | (105,610 | ) | (34,900 | ) | (4,808 | ) | ||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | (21,566 | ) | (432 | ) | (60 | ) | ||||||
| Total comprehensive loss | (127,176 | ) | (35,332 | ) | (4,868 | ) | ||||||
(c) Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (1,685 | ) | (31,354 | ) | (4,321 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (3,231 | ) | 149 | 21 | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 5,425 | 30,995 | 4,271 | |||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash | (202 | ) | (157 | ) | (21 | ) | ||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash | 307 | (367 | ) | (50 | ) | |||||||
| Cash at the beginning of the year | 189 | 496 | 68 | |||||||||
| Cash at the end of the year | 496 | 129 | 18 | |||||||||
F-44
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 2,772 | 1,658 | 231 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 733 | 541 | 76 | |||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,436 | 3,422 | 478 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 40,040 | 38,915 | 5,432 | |||||||||
| Inventory | 237 | 876 | 122 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 47,218 | 45,412 | 6,339 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment | 1,060 | 1,035 | 144 | |||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 9,589 | 6,433 | 898 | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,156 | 2,693 | 376 | |||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 13,805 | 10,161 | 1,418 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 61,023 | 55,573 | 7,757 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 4,398 | 5,990 | 834 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | 88,103 | 85,875 | 11,988 | |||||||||
| Bank loans | 10,000 | 9,700 | 1,354 | |||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,990 | 20,903 | 2,918 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 248,643 | 266,479 | 37,199 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 13,079 | 3,579 | 500 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 89,224 | 95,500 | 13,331 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 4,961 | 3,152 | 440 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 479,398 | 491,178 | 68,564 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | 12,223 | 12,205 | 1,704 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 4,042 | 1,523 | 213 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 16,265 | 13,728 | 1,917 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 495,663 | 504,906 | 70,481 | |||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies | - | - | - | |||||||||
| Mezzanine equity: | ||||||||||||
| Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 387,781,378 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB56,098 and RMB58,301 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 56,098 | 58,301 | 8,139 | |||||||||
| Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 703,901,412 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB787,739 and RMB807,393 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 787,739 | 807,393 | 112,708 | |||||||||
| Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 517,022,352 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB181,992 and RMB187,344 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 181,992 | 187,344 | 26,152 | |||||||||
F-45
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS — (Continued)
As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 357,323,044 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB153,660 and RMB 159,695 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 153,660 | 159,695 | 22,293 | |||||||||
| Series C-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 220,757,061 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB189,873 and RMB197,331 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 189,873 | 197,331 | 27,546 | |||||||||
| Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 95,320,147 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB136,115 and RMB141,461 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 136,115 | 141,461 | 19,747 | |||||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (134,455 | ) | (134,455 | ) | (18,769 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (29,026 | ) | (28,955 | ) | (4,042 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (38,955 | ) | (38,955 | ) | (5,438 | ) | ||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,303,041 | 1,349,160 | 188,336 | |||||||||
| SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 5,000,000,000 shares authorized, 460,147,059 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 31 | 31 | 4 | |||||||||
| Additional paid – in capital | 47,006 | 47,006 | 6,562 | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (99,395 | ) | (99,238 | ) | (13,853 | ) | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,715,536 | ) | (1,775,912 | ) | (247,908 | ) | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (1,767,894 | ) | (1,828,113 | ) | (255,195 | ) | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 30,213 | 29,620 | 4,135 | |||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,737,681 | ) | (1,798,493 | ) | (251,060 | ) | ||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 61,023 | 55,573 | 7,757 | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-46
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2025
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Revenues | 80,857 | 66,415 | 9,271 | |||||||||
| Cost of revenues | (21,400 | ) | (13,058 | ) | (1,823 | ) | ||||||
| Gross profit | 59,457 | 53,357 | 7,448 | |||||||||
| Operating Expenses | ||||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | (36,439 | ) | (34,652 | ) | (4,837 | ) | ||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (24,743 | ) | (22,966 | ) | (3,206 | ) | ||||||
| Research and development expenses | (15,376 | ) | (14,607 | ) | (2,039 | ) | ||||||
| Other income, net | 149 | 4,168 | 582 | |||||||||
| Operating loss | (16,952 | ) | (14,700 | ) | (2,052 | ) | ||||||
| Interest income | 6 | 2 | - | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (470 | ) | (223 | ) | (31 | ) | ||||||
| Loss before income taxes and share of loss of equity | (17,416 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | ||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net loss | (17,416 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests | (1 | ) | 593 | 83 | ||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc | (17,417 | ) | (14,328 | ) | (2,000 | ) | ||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (42,677 | ) | (46,048 | ) | (6,428 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (60,094 | ) | (60,376 | ) | (8,428 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | (17,416 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | ||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment for parent company, net of nil income taxes | (158 | ) | 157 | 22 | ||||||||
| Total comprehensive loss | (17,574 | ) | (14,764 | ) | (2,061 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | (0.13 | ) | (0.13 | ) | (0.02 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding used in computing net loss per ordinary share | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-47
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2025
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
| Attributable to owners of the parent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares | Additional | Accumulated other | Total shareholders’ deficit to | Non- | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number
of shares(1) | Amount | paid-in capital | comprehensive income (loss) | Accumulated deficit | ordinary shareholders | controlling interests | shareholders’ deficit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2024 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (98,963 | ) | (1,592,359 | ) | (1,644,285 | ) | 254 | (1,644,031 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (17,417 | ) | (17,417 | ) | 1 | (17,416 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares | — | — | — | — | (42,677 | ) | (42,677 | ) | — | (42,677 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | (158 | ) | — | (158 | ) | — | (158 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of June 30, 2024 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (99,121 | ) | (1,652,453 | ) | (1,704,537 | ) | 255 | (1,704,282 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attributable to owners of the parent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares | Additional | Accumulated other | Total shareholders’ deficit to or | Non- | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number
of shares(1) | Amount | paid-in capital | comprehensive income (loss) | Accumulated deficit | dinary shareholders | controlling interests | shareholders’ deficit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2025 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (99,395 | ) | (1,715,536 | ) | (1,767,894 | ) | 30,213 | (1,737,681 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | (14,328 | ) | (14,328 | ) | (593 | ) | (14,921 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares | — | — | — | — | (46,048 | ) | (46,048 | ) | — | (46,048 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of nil income taxes | — | — | — | 157 | — | 157 | — | 157 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of June 30, 2025 | 460,147,059 | 31 | 47,006 | (99,238 | ) | (1,775,912 | ) | (1,828,113 | ) | 29,620 | (1,798,493 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of June 30, 2025 in US | — | 4 | 6,562 | (13,853 | ) | (247,908 | ) | (255,195 | ) | 4,135 | (251,060 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-48
YIMUTIAN INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 and 2025
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | (17,416 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | ||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 683 | 685 | 96 | |||||||||
| Allowance for credit losses | 266 | 26 | 4 | |||||||||
| (Gain) Loss on disposal of property and equipment | (9 | ) | 4 | 1 | ||||||||
| Share-based compensation expense | ||||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | (2,444 | ) | 192 | 27 | ||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | (6,013 | ) | 1,099 | 153 | ||||||||
| Other non-current assets | (772 | ) | 463 | 65 | ||||||||
| Inventory | (59 | ) | (639 | ) | (89 | ) | ||||||
| Accounts payable | 3,085 | 1,592 | 222 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities | (5,760 | ) | (2,246 | ) | (314 | ) | ||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 5,741 | 6,276 | 876 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | (507 | ) | (1,172 | ) | (164 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (23,205 | ) | (8,641 | ) | (1,206 | ) | ||||||
| Investing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Cash paid for purchase of property and equipment | (167 | ) | (664 | ) | (93 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (167 | ) | (664 | ) | (93 | ) | ||||||
| Financing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from short-term borrowings | 9,500 | 6,500 | 907 | |||||||||
| Repayment for short-term borrowings | — | (6,800 | ) | (949 | ) | |||||||
| Proceeds from shareholder loans | 10,698 | 21,422 | 2,990 | |||||||||
| Repayment for shareholder loans | (2,000 | ) | (3,582 | ) | (500 | ) | ||||||
| Amounts due to related parties, net | (3,477 | ) | (9,485 | ) | (1,324 | ) | ||||||
| Loans provided to related parties | (84 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Loan repaid by a related party | 7,925 | — | — | |||||||||
| Proceeds from Settlement of Series C Preferred Shares subscription receivable | — | 71 | 10 | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 22,562 | 8,126 | 1,134 | |||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | (51 | ) | 65 | 9 | ||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (861 | ) | (1,114 | ) | (156 | ) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 3,829 | 2,772 | 387 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 2,968 | 1,658 | 231 | |||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | ||||||||||||
| Interest paid | 470 | 223 | 31 | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-49
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION
Description of business
Yimutian Inc. (“the Company”), through its wholly-owned subsidiaries and consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) (collectively referred to as “the Group”), is principally engaged in the provision of integrated platform services for agricultural product transaction in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”).
Organization
The Group operates its online business in the PRC through Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Yimutian” or the “WFOE”), Beijing Yimutian New Agriculture Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Yimutian Xinnong”), which was established on August 1, 2011 and Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Douniu”), which was established on September 10, 2021, (collectively the “VIEs”), in order to comply with the PRC laws and regulations which prohibit or restrict control of companies involved in the provision of value-added telecommunication services by foreign investors. The VIEs hold the necessary licenses to carry out the internet value-added businesses in China. The equity interests of Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu are legally held by Mr. Deng Jinhong and certain individuals who act as nominee equity holders of the VIEs on behalf of WFOE, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary. A series of contractual agreements, including Powers of Attorney, Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements, Equity Pledge Agreements, Exclusive Option Agreements, Letter of Confirmation and Undertaking and Spouse Consent Letters (collectively, the “VIE Agreements”), were entered among WFOE, VIEs and its nominee equity holders. Through the VIE Agreements, the nominee equity holders of the VIEs have granted all their legal rights including voting rights and disposition rights of their equity interests in the VIEs to WFOE.
Pursuant to the VIE Agreements, the Company is able to exercise effective control over, enjoys substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIEs, and has an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law at the lowest price possible. The Company’s management concluded that Yimutian Xinnong and Beijing Douniu are VIEs and WFOE is its primary beneficiary. As such, the consolidated financial statements of the VIEs are included in the consolidated financial statements of the Company.
The principal terms of the VIE Agreements are described below.
1) Powers of Attorney
Pursuant to the powers of attorney executed by the equity holders of the VIEs, each of them irrevocably authorizes the WFOE, or any person designated by the WFOE, to act on their respective behalf as proxy attorney, to the extent permitted by law, to exercise all rights of shareholders concerning all the equity interest held by each of them in the VIEs, including without limitation, the right to (i) propose, convene and attend shareholders’ meetings and sign relevant resolutions, (ii) exercise all shareholder’s rights under laws of Chinese Mainland and the articles of association of the VIEs, such as the voting right, nomination right and appointment right, (iii) receive dividends and sell, transfer, pledge or dispose of all the equity held in part or in whole in the VIEs. The powers of attorney remain irrevocably effective as long as such equity holders remain as the equity holders of the VIEs.
2) Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive business cooperation agreements, among the WFOE and the VIEs, the WFOE has the exclusive right to provide the VIEs with comprehensive technological support and consulting services, including but not limited to software licensing, technology research and development, staff training and technology consultations. Without the WFOE’s prior written consent, the VIEs may not accept the same or similar service contemplated by the agreement provided by any third party during the term of the agreement. The VIEs agreed to pay the WFOE service fees, the amount of which will be subject to adjustment by the WFOE. The exclusive business cooperation agreement remains effective indefinitely except agreed otherwise or terminated by the WFOE in writing. The Exclusive Business Cooperation Agreement between Beijing Yimutian and Xinnong will be in effect until July 31, 2031 which represents the end of operation term of Xinnong, and agreement between Beijing Yimutian and Douniu will be effect until May 13, 2044 which represents the end of operation term of Beijing Yimutian.
F-50
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
3) Equity Pledge Agreements
Pursuant to the equity pledge agreements among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective equity holders, the equity holders of the VIEs pledged all of their equity interests in the VIEs to the WFOE to guarantee the performance of the obligations by such equity holders and by the VIEs under the exclusive option agreements, the exclusive business cooperation agreements and the powers of attorney. In the event of a breach by the VIEs or any of their respective equity holders of the obligations under these contractual arrangements, the WFOE, as pledgee, will have the right to enforce the pledge. The equity holders of the VIEs also covenant that, without the prior written consent of the WFOE, they will not dispose of the pledged equity, create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity. The agreement will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements. The equity holders of the VIEs completed all the registration of the equity pledge contemplated under the equity pledge agreements with the competent authorities in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of mainland China in December 2024.
4) Exclusive Option Agreements
Pursuant to the exclusive option agreements entered among the WFOE, the VIEs and their respective equity holders, each of the equity holders of the VIEs has irrevocably granted the WFOE, or any person or persons designated by the WFOE, an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity in the VIEs. The WFOE or person(s) designated by the WFOE may exercise such options to purchase equity in the VIEs at the lowest price permitted under laws of Chinese mainland. The VIEs and their respective equity holders covenant that, without the WFOE’s prior written consent, they will not, among other things, (i) amend the VIEs’ articles of association, (ii) increase or decrease the VIEs’ registered capital or change its structure of registered capital, and (iii) sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of any assets of the VIEs’ that is more than US$50,000. The equity holders of the VIEs covenant that they will not create any pledge or encumbrance on their equity in the VIEs, other than those created under the equity pledge agreements as part of the contractual arrangements. The Exclusive Option Agreements will be terminated when the entire equity interests in the VIEs have been transferred to the Company or its designee(s) pursuant to the agreements.
5) Letters of Confirmation and Undertaking
Pursuant to the letters of confirmation and undertaking executed by the equity holders of the VIEs, each of them, among other things, (i) confirms that his/her spouse does not have the right to claim any interests in the respective equity of the VIEs (together with any other interests therein) or exert influence on the day-to-day management and voting matters of the respective equity of the VIEs; undertakes that (ii) in the event of his/her divorce, he/she will take all actions that the WFOE deems necessary to safeguard the execution of the contractual arrangement; (iii) he/she will not participate in, engage in, or merge with any business that competes with the WFOE or hold any interest from such business; (iv) he/she will not cause any conflict of interest between the WFOE and the VIEs or himself/herself; and (v) in the event of such conflict of interest, he/she will act in accordance with the WFOE’s instruction to eliminate such conflict of interest. The letters will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements.
F-51
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
6) Spouse Consent Letters
Pursuant to the spousal consent letters executed by the spouses of the applicable individual equity holders of the VIEs, each of them unconditionally and irrevocably agreed that the equity in the WFOE held by and registered in the name of such shareholder be disposed of in accordance with the exclusive business cooperation agreements, the exclusive option agreements, the equity pledge agreements, the powers of attorney, and the letters of confirmation and undertaking, and that such equity holders may perform, amend or terminate such agreements without his or her spouse’s consent. In addition, each of them agrees not to assert any rights over the equity interest in the VIEs held by his or her respective spouses. In the event that any of them obtains any equity interest in the VIEs held by their respective spouses for any reason, such spouses agree to be bound by similar obligations and agree to enter into similar contractual arrangements. The letters will remain in effect until the fulfillment of all the obligations under other VIE agreements.
Risks in relation to VIE structure
In the opinion of the Company’s management, based on the legal opinion obtained from the Company’s PRC legal counsel, the VIE Agreements have resulted in the Company having the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the VIEs, including appointing key management, setting up operating policies, exerting financial controls and transferring profit or assets out of the VIE at its discretion. The Company considers that it has the right to receive all the benefits and assets of the VIEs. As the VIEs were established as a limited liability company under the PRC law, its creditors do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company for the liabilities of the VIEs, and the Company does not have the obligation to assume the liabilities of the VIEs.
The Company has determined that the VIE Agreements are in compliance with PRC laws and are legally enforceable.
The Company’s ability to control the VIEs also depends on the rights provided to the Company under the Powers of Attorney to vote on all matters requiring equity holders’ approval in the respective VIEs. As noted above, the Company believes these Powers of Attorney are legally enforceable but yet they may not be as effective as direct equity ownership. In addition, if the corporate structure of the Group or the contractual arrangements between Beijing Yimutian the VIEs and its respective equity holders were found to be in violation of any existing PRC laws and regulations, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities could:
| ● | revoke the business licenses and/or operating licenses of the WFOE and VIEs; |
| ● | discontinue or place restrictions or onerous conditions on the operations through transactions between the WFOE and VIEs; |
| ● | impose fines, confiscate the income from WFOE or the VIEs, or impose other requirements with which the Company or the VIEs may not be able to comply; |
| ● | require the Company to restructure the ownership structure or operations, including terminating the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and deregistering the equity pledges of the VIEs, which in turn would affect the Company’s ability to consolidate, derive economic interests from, or exert effective control over the VIEs; |
| ● | restrict or prohibit the Company use of the proceeds of overseas offering or other offshore financing activities to fund the business and operations in China and the Company’ right to collect revenues; and |
| ● | take other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to the business. |
The imposition of any of the above restrictions or actions may result in a material and adverse effect on the Group’s ability to conduct its business. In addition, if the imposition of any of these restrictions causes the Company to lose the right to direct the activities of the VIEs or the right to receive its economic benefits, the Company would no longer be able to consolidate the VIEs. The Company’s management believes that the likelihood to lose the Company’s current ownership structure or the contractual arrangements with the VIE is remote based on the current facts and circumstances.
F-52
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
There is no VIE in which the Company has a variable interest but is not the primary beneficiary. Currently there is no contractual arrangement that could require the Company to provide additional financial support to the VIEs.
The following consolidated assets and liabilities information of the Group’s VIEs as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, and consolidated revenues, net loss and cash flow information for the six months ended June 30,2024 and 2025, have been included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. All intercompany transactions and balances with the Company and its subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 1,537 | 704 | 98 | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 730 | 541 | 76 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from parent company* | 5,394 | 5,394 | 753 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from subsidiaries* | 10,898 | 11,571 | 1,615 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 23,190 | 22,931 | 3,201 | |||||||||
| Inventory | 27 | 715 | 100 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 41,776 | 41,856 | 5,843 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 1,021 | 480 | 67 | |||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 6,450 | 3,930 | 549 | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 2,782 | 2,364 | 330 | |||||||||
| Total non-current assets | 10,253 | 6,774 | 946 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 52,029 | 48,630 | 6,789 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES | ||||||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 4,077 | 5,487 | 766 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | 87,989 | 85,875 | 11,988 | |||||||||
| Short-term borrowings | 5,000 | 5,500 | 768 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 35,000 | 35,000 | 4,886 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to parent company** | 50,884 | 50,884 | 7,103 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to WFOE** | 75,840 | 86,473 | 12,071 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to subsidiaries** | 28,900 | 29,164 | 4,071 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 46,172 | 46,420 | 6,480 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 3,614 | 2,160 | 302 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 337,476 | 346,963 | 48,435 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | 12,223 | 12,205 | 1,704 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 2,458 | 528 | 74 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 14,681 | 12,733 | 1,778 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 352,157 | 359,696 | 50,213 | |||||||||
| * | Intercompany receivable to parent company and Intercompany receivable from subsidiaries amounts are eliminated upon consolidation. |
| ** | Intercompany payable to parent company, Intercompany payable to WFOE and Intercompany payable to subsidiaries amounts are eliminated upon consolidation. |
F-53
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION (cont.)
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Revenues | 80,550 | 69,225 | 9,663 | |||||||||
| Net (income) loss | (8,914 | ) | (10,940 | ) | (1,527 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (9,294 | ) | (1,322 | ) | (185 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (167 | ) | (11 | ) | (2 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | 8,500 | 500 | 70 | |||||||||
| Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (961 | ) | (833 | ) | (117 | ) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year | 3,231 | 1,537 | 215 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 2,270 | 704 | 98 | |||||||||
The unrecognized revenue-producing assets that are held by the VIEs primarily consist of ICP license, trademarks, patents, know-how and customer relationships. None of the assets of the VIEs can be used only to settle obligations of VIEs. None of the assets of the VIEs has been pledged or collateralized. The creditors of the VIE do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company or its consolidated subsidiaries.
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(a) Basis of presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) assuming the Group will continue as a going concern. The going concern assumption contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. However, substantial doubt about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern exists.
Pursuant to the terms of redeemable convertible preferred share agreements (Note 14), if the Company fails to complete the qualified initial public offering (“IPO”) or a trade sale in which the valuation of the Company is no less than US$800,000,000 before December 31, 2025, the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders have the rights to request the Company to redeem all of the redeemable convertible preferred shares. The aggregate redemption amount for all redeemable convertible preferred shares as of June 30, 2025, is approximately RMB1,551,525 (US$216,585). The completion of a qualified IPO or a trade sale is not within the control of the Company. In addition, the Group experienced recuring operating losses. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the Group had net cash used in operating activities of RMB8,641 (US$1,206). As of June 30, 2025, the Group had net current liabilities (current liabilities less current assets) of RMB455,766 (US$62,225). The Group will require additional liquidity to continue its operations over the next 12 months. On August 19, 2025, the Company was listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “YMT” at an offering price of $4.1 per share.
The Group is evaluating strategies to obtain the required additional funding for future operations and extension of the redemption period of redeemable convertible preferred shares. These strategies may include, but are not limited to, obtaining equity financing, issuing debt or entering into other financing arrangements, obtaining agreements with the existing investors to extend the due dates for outstanding debt and reaching agreements with the redeemable convertible preferred shareholders to extend the redemption dates. In addition, the Group plans to diversify revenue streams and implement cost saving measures to grow revenues and decrease expenses. However, the Group may be unable to access further equity or debt financing when needed. As such, there can be no assurance that the Group will be able to obtain additional liquidity when needed or under acceptable terms, if at all.
The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the carrying amounts and classification of assets, liabilities, and reported expenses that may be necessary if the Group were unable to continue as a going concern.
F-54
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(b) Principles of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company, its subsidiaries, the VIEs in which the Group, through its WFOE, has a controlling financial interest, and the VIEs’ subsidiaries.
All intercompany transactions and balances among the Group, its subsidiaries, the VIEs, and the VIEs’ subsidiaries are consolidated when the Company has a controlling financial interest, generally through ownership of a majority of the voting interests. Entities in which the Company holds less than a majority of the voting interests are consolidated if the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity (VIE), in accordance with ASC 810, consolidation.
(c) Non-controlling interests
For the Group’s non-wholly owned subsidiaries, a non-controlling interest is recognized to reflect the portion of equity that is not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the Group. Non-controlling interests are classified as a separate line item in the equity section of the Group’s consolidated balance sheets and have been separately disclosed in the Group’s consolidated statements of comprehensive loss to distinguish the interests from that of the Group.
(d) Use of estimates
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date, and the reported revenues and expenses during the reported periods in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Accounting estimates include, but not limited to, the allowance for credit losses, depreciable lives and recoverability of property and equipment, the realization of deferred income tax assets, the fair values of share-based compensation awards, the fair values of redeemable convertible preferred shares and the fair values of financial liabilities. Changes in facts and circumstances may result in revised estimates. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and as such, differences may be material to the consolidated financial statements.
(e) Convenience translation
Translations of the consolidated financial statements from RMB into US$ as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 are solely for the convenience of the readers.
The exchange rate we used to convert RMB to US$ was 7.1636:1 at the balance sheet dates of June 30, 2025. The average exchange rate for the period has been used to translate revenues and expenses. The average exchange rates we used to convert RMB to US$ were 7.1636:1 for the six months ended June 30, 2025.
The US$ convenience translation is not required under U.S. GAAP and all US$ convenience translation amounts in the accompanying consolidated financial statements are unaudited.
(f) Commitments and contingencies
In the normal course of business, the Group is subject to loss contingencies, such as legal proceedings and claims arising out of its business, that cover a wide range of matters, including, among others, government investigations, shareholder lawsuits, and non-income tax matters. An accrual for a loss contingency is recognized when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. If a potential material loss contingency is not probable but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, is disclosed.
F-55
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(g) Cash
Cash consist of cash on hand and cash at bank. The Group places its cash with financial institutions with high-credit ratings and quality and believes it is not exposed to significant risk on cash and cash equivalents. The bank deposits with each financial institution in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and United States, are insured by the government authorities up to RMB500, HKD500 and US$250, respectively. The bank deposits are insured by the government authorities with amounts up to RMB981 and RMB658 (US$92) as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively. The Group has not experienced any losses in uninsured bank deposits.
(h) Property and equipment, net
Property and equipment are stated at cost less depreciation and any impairment. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:
| Electronic equipment | 3 years | |
| Office furniture and others | 3 years | |
| Leasehold improvements | Shorter of lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets |
When items are retired or otherwise disposed of, income is charged or credited for the difference between net book value and the proceeds received thereon. Ordinary maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, and replacements and betterments are capitalized and amortized over the remaining useful life.
(i) Impairment of long-lived assets
Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset or asset group may not be fully recoverable or that the useful life is shorter than the Group had originally estimated. When these events occur, the Group evaluates the impairment for the long-lived assets or asset group by comparing the carrying value of the assets to an estimate of future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the use of the assets or asset group and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets or asset group, the Group recognizes an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value of the assets. No impairment of long-lived assets was recognized for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025.
(j) Value added taxes
The Company’s PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are subject to value added tax (“VAT”). Revenue is generally subject to VAT and subsequently paid to PRC tax authorities after netting input VAT on purchases. The excess of output VAT over input VAT is reflected in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, and the excess of input VAT over output VAT is reflected in prepayments and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets.
(k) Fair value measurements
Fair value represents the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.
F-56
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”) defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. Accounting guidance establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy and requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels of inputs are:
Level 1 — Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.
Level 2 — Include other inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
Level 3 — Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity.
Accounting guidance also describes three main approaches to measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities: (1) market approach; (2) income approach and (3) cost approach. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated from market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single present value amount. The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. The cost approach is based on the amount that would currently be required to replace an asset.
Financial assets and liabilities of the Group primarily consist of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets and deposits included in other non-current assets, short-term borrowings, accounts payable, amounts due to related parties, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, financial liabilities and shareholder loans, at amortized cost. The carrying amounts of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets, short-term borrowings, accounts payable, amounts due to related parties, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and shareholder loans, at amortized cost approximate their fair values due to the short-term maturities.
The Group’s non-financial assets, such as property and equipment, equity investments without a readily determinable fair value the Group elects to use the measurement alternative to measure the investment at cost and equity method investments, would be measured at fair value only if they were determined to be impaired. On a recurring basis, financial liabilities presented in Note 10 elected fair value option were measured at fair value.
(l) Revenue recognition
The Group adopted ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) and recognizes revenue upon the transfer of control of promised services to the Group’s customers, in the amount of consideration the Group expects to receive for those services. Revenue is recorded net of value added tax (“VAT”).
Once a contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606 at contract inception, the Group identifies performance obligations in the contract. The Group recognizes revenue based on the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to each performance obligation when that performance obligation is satisfied.
Contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations. For such arrangements, the Group allocates transaction price to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. The Group generally determines relative standalone selling prices based on its standard price list, taking into consideration market conditions and its overall pricing strategy.
When another party is involved in a transaction, the Group evaluates whether it is a principal or an agent to determine whether revenue should be recorded on a gross or net basis. The Group acts as a principal if it obtains control over the goods and services before they are transferred to customers. In such case, revenue is recorded on a gross basis. If the Group does not control the goods and services before they are transferred to customers and acts as an agent, revenue is recorded on a net basis.
F-57
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The Group applied the practical expedient to expense costs as incurred for incremental costs to obtain a contract with a customer, such as sales commission, when the amortization period would have been one year or less. Other incremental costs of obtaining contracts with customers are capitalized and amortized on a systematic basis that is consistent with the transfer to the customer of the services to which the capitalized costs relate.
Digital Agricultural Commerce Services
The Group operates two online platforms, namely Yimutian and Douniu, which facilitate transactions of agricultural products from merchants to wholesale markets and business buyers. The Group earns revenue from charging service fees on merchants in respect of membership services, value-added services and transaction services provided on Yimutian and Douniu platforms. When the service fees are paid in advance, they are initially recorded as contract liabilities.
Membership services
The Group provides subscription-based membership services to merchants on the online platforms, which allow its members to enjoy certain privileges, such as hosting premium storefronts on the Group’s online platforms. The subscription periods for the membership services range from one year to four years. The Group collects the non-refundable membership service fees in advance and records as contract liabilities, of which the subscription periods within one year are recorded in the current liabilities and the subscription periods over one year are recorded in the non-current liabilities. As the members receive and consume the benefits of obtaining the privileges throughout the subscription periods, the membership fees are recognized as revenue over the subscription periods on a straight-line basis.
Value-added services
The Group provides merchants with value-added services, which include advertising services and contact privilege services.
The Group provides merchants with advertising services on the online platforms, which include display of digital advertisements and merchant certification services. For display of digital advertisements, the Group recognizes revenues from CPC (cost per click) arrangements based on the number of clicks and from CPM (cost per thousand impression) arrangements based on the number of times displayed and cost per thousand impressions. Merchant certification services, which provide merchants with certification labels, are valid ranging from one month to four years. Service fees from merchant certification services are recognized as revenue on a straight-line basis over the service period, as merchants simultaneously receive and consume the benefits from the certification services throughout the service period.
Contact privilege services enable merchants to make calls or send text messages to potential buyers via the online platforms for a fixed quantity over a period ranging from one month to four years. The Group recognizes revenue from contact privilege services at the point in time when the merchants exercise the right to make calls or send text messages or when the right expires unexercised.
The Group collects value-added service fees in advance and records as contract liabilities. The contract balance that will be recognized as revenue in the next twelve months is classified as current liabilities, and the remaining balance is classified as non-current liabilities.
Transaction services
The Group facilitates the sales transactions between merchants and buyers on Yimutian and Douniu platforms. Upon the completion of the transactions of certain agricultural products conducted on the platforms, the Group charges the merchants transaction fees.
F-58
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Transaction fee is calculated as a predetermined percentage of the purchase price of the agricultural products. Transaction fee is recognized as revenue upon the completion of the transactions when the transaction service is accepted by merchants. The Group does not control the agricultural products before they are transferred to customers. Therefore, the Group recognizes revenue on a net basis i.e. it recognizes the transaction fees as its revenue.
Other Digital Agricultural Solutions
The Group provides other digital agricultural solutions services to local agricultural production organizations, which primarily include providing industry consulting reports, brand promotion, organizing agricultural conferences and digital agricultural training programs. Revenue is recognized at the point in time when the report is delivered or when the conferences and promotion events take place. Revenue from provision of training programs is recognized over the period of the programs.
(m) Contract balances
When either party to a contract has performed, the Group presents the contract in the consolidated balance sheets as a contract asset or a contract liability, depending on the relationship between the Group’s performance and the customer’s payment. A contract asset is recorded when the Group recognizes revenue before being unconditionally entitled to the consideration under the terms in the contract. A receivable is recorded when the Group has an unconditional right to consideration. A right to consideration is unconditional if only the passage of time is required before payment of the consideration is due.
A contract liability is recorded when the customer pays non-refundable consideration before the Group recognizes the related revenue. A contract liability is also recorded if the Group has an unconditional right to receive non-refundable consideration before the Group recognizes the related revenue. In such latter cases, a corresponding receivable is recorded.
The provision of credit losses for accounts receivable is based upon the expected credit losses (“CECL”) model. The CECL model requires an estimate of the credit losses expected over the life of accounts receivable since initial recognition, and accounts receivable with similar risk characteristics are grouped together when estimating CECL In assessing the CECL, the Group considers both quantitative and qualitative information that is reasonable and supportable, including historical credit loss experience, adjusted for relevant factors impacting collectability and forward-looking information indicative of external market conditions. While the Group uses the best information available in making determination, the ultimate recovery of recorded receivables is also dependent upon future economic events and other conditions that may be beyond the Group’s control. Accounts receivable which are deemed to be uncollectible are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. There is a time lag between when the Group estimates a portion of or the entire account balances to be uncollectible and when a write off of the account balances is taken. The Group does not have any off-balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.
(n) Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues consists primarily of (i) staff cost, (ii) cloud service fees charged by cloud service providers, (iii) depreciation and (iv) other costs related to revenues.
(o) Selling and marketing expenses
Selling and marketing expenses mainly consist of (i) staff cost, and (ii) advertising and promotion expenses, and (iii) rental, depreciation and other expenses related to selling and marketing functions. The advertising and promotion expenses were RMB6,844 and RMB4,810 (US$671) for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
F-59
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(p) Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of (i) staff cost and (ii) rental, depreciation and other expenses related to research and development functions. Research and development expenses are expensed as incurred.
(q) General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of (i) share-based compensation, staff cost, rental and depreciation related to general and administrative personnel, (ii) current expected credit losses, (iii) professional service fees, and (iv) other general corporate expenses.
(r) Inventories, net
Inventories, consisting of commodities available for sale, are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Cost of inventories is mainly determined using the weighted average cost method. Adjustments are recorded to write down the cost of inventories to the estimated net realizable value due to slow-moving merchandise and damaged goods, which is dependent upon factors such as inventory aging, historical and forecasted consumer demand, and market conditions that impact pricing. The Company takes ownership, risks and rewards of the products purchased.
(s) Share-based compensation
The Company periodically grants share options to eligible employees, directors, and consultants, which are subject to both service and performance conditions.
For the share-based awards granted with only service conditions that have a graded vesting schedule, share-based compensation expenses are recognized using the straight-line method, over the requisite service period, provided that the cumulative amount of compensation cost recognized at any date at least equals the portion of the grant-date value of such award that is vested at that date. For the share-based awards granted with both a service condition and an initial public offering (“IPO”) performance condition, share-based compensation expenses are measured at the grant-date fair value and recognized on a tranche-by-tranche basis, when it is probable an IPO will be achieved. The Company elects to recognize the effect of forfeitures in compensation cost when they occur. To the extent the required vesting conditions are not met resulting in the forfeiture of the share- based awards, previously recognized compensation expense relating to those awards is reversed.
Share-based compensation in relation to the share options is estimated using the Binominal Option Pricing Model. The determination of the fair value of share options is affected by the share price of the Company’s ordinary shares as well as the assumptions regarding a number of variables, including the expected share price volatility, risk-free interest rate, exercise multiple and expected dividend yield.
(t) Employee benefits
The Company’s subsidiaries and VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries in PRC participate in a government mandated, multiemployer, defined contribution plan, pursuant to which certain retirement, medical, housing and other welfare benefits are provided to employees. PRC labor laws require the entities incorporated in the PRC to pay to the local labor bureau a monthly contribution calculated at a stated contribution rate on the salaries of qualified employees. The Group has no further commitments beyond its monthly contribution. Employee social benefits included as expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive loss amounted to RMB11,091 and RMB9,560(US$1,334) for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
F-60
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
(u) Income taxes
The Group accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method. Current income taxes are provided on the basis of income before income taxes for financial reporting purposes and adjusted for income and expense items which are not assessable or deductible for income tax purposes, in accordance with the regulations of the relevant tax jurisdictions. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and for operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax laws and rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred income tax assets if based on the weight of available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not that some portion, or all, of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred income taxes arising from a change in tax rates is recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in the period of change.
The Group applies a “more likely than not” recognition threshold in the evaluation of uncertain tax positions. The Group recognizes the benefit of a tax position in its consolidated financial statements if the tax position is “more likely than not” to prevail based on the facts and technical merits of the position. Tax positions that meet the “more likely than not” recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon settlement. Unrecognized tax benefits may be affected by changes in interpretation of laws, rulings of tax authorities, tax audits, and expiry of statutory limitations. In addition, changes in facts, circumstances and new information may require the Group to adjust the recognition and measurement estimates with regard to individual tax positions. Accordingly, unrecognized tax benefits are periodically reviewed and re-assessed. Adjustments, if required, are recorded in the Group’s consolidated financial statements in the period in which the change that necessities the adjustments occur. The ultimate outcome for a particular tax position may not be determined with certainty prior to the conclusion of a tax audit and, in certain circumstances, a tax appeal or litigation process. The Group records interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits (if any) in interest expenses and general and administrative expenses, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the Group did not have any unrecognized uncertain tax positions.
(v) Leases
The Group leases premise for offices under non-cancellable operating leases. Leases with rent provisions were recognized on a straight-line basis commencing with the beginning of the lease terms. There were no capital improvement funding and contingent rent in the lease agreements. The Group has no legal or contractual asset retirement obligations at the end of the lease terms.
The operating lease liabilities are recognized upon lease commencement for operating leases based on the present value of lease payments over the lease terms. The operating lease right-of-use assets are initially measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the operating lease liability adjusted for lease payments made at or before the lease commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred less any lease incentives received. As the rate implicit in the lease cannot be readily determined, the incremental borrowing rate at the lease commencement date is used in determining the imputed interest and present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate was determined using a portfolio approach based on the rate of interest that the Group would have to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over a similar term. The Group recognizes the single lease cost on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease terms for operating leases. The Group elected the practical expedient of the short-term lease exemption for contracts with lease terms of 12 months or less.
(w) Foreign currency translation and foreign currency risks
The Group’s reporting currency is RMB. The functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries incorporated at Cayman Islands and Hong Kong S.A.R. is the US$. The functional currency of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries is RMB.
F-61
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are remeasured into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are remeasured into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rate at the balance sheet date. The resulted exchange differences are recorded as general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
The financial statements of the Company and its subsidiary incorporated at Hong Kong S.A.R. are translated from their functional currencies into RMB. Assets and liabilities are translated into RMB using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Equity accounts other than earnings (deficits) generated in the current period are translated into RMB using the appropriate historical rates. Revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated into RMB using the average exchange rates for the relevant period. The resulted foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, and the accumulated foreign currency translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated statements of changes in shareholders’ deficit.
RMB is not a freely convertible currency. The PRC State Administration for Foreign Exchange, under the authority of the PRC government, controls the conversion of RMB to foreign currencies. The value of the RMB is subject to changes of central government policies and international economic and political developments affecting supply and demand in the China foreign exchange trading system market.
(x) Accounts receivable
Accounts receivable are recorded at invoiced amounts, net of any allowance for expected credit losses. The Company evaluates the collectibility of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors including historical experience, current economic conditions, customer creditworthiness, and the age of the receivables. The Company estimates expected credit losses using a probability-weighted model under ASC 326, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses, and records an allowance for credit losses in the same period as the related revenue is recognized. Receivables are written off when deemed uncollectible.
Allowance for credit losses
The Company estimates expected credit losses on accounts receivable using the historical loss rate method in accordance with ASC 326, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses. The model considers historical write-off trends adjusted for current economic conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that may affect collectability.
Receivables are grouped based on shared risk characteristics age of receivable, and loss rates are applied to each aging category. The Company writes off receivables when it determines they are no longer collectible.
(y) Other receivables
Other receivables consist primarily of receivable from online payment platforms, Receivables on behalf of merchants and Staff advances. These balances are recorded at amortized cost and are reviewed regularly for collectability. An allowance for credit losses is recorded as necessary, based on similar considerations as accounts receivable.
Prepayments primarily consist of consulting fee. These costs are recognized as assets and expensed over the period to which the prepaid item relates.
Other current assets consist of receivable from online payment platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants and VAT recoverable. These assets are stated at cost, which approximates fair value, and are expected to be realized within twelve months.
F-62
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Other non-current assets primarily consist of security deposits and others. These assets are recorded at cost and are classified as non-current based on the expected timing of realization, which is greater than twelve months from the balance sheet date.
The Company periodically reviews these assets for indicators of impairment in accordance with applicable guidance (e.g., ASC 360 for long-lived assets, ASC 350 for intangibles, ASC 326 for financial assets). If indicators of impairment are present, the Company evaluates recoverability by comparing the carrying amount to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows or fair value. An impairment loss is recorded if the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable value.
Concentration of credit risk
Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and restricted cash, accounts receivable, amounts due from related parties, receivable from online platforms, receivables on behalf of merchants, staff advances and deposits included in prepayments and other current assets.
Concentration of customers and suppliers
All revenues were derived from customers located in the PRC. No customer individually represents greater than 10% of total revenues of the Group for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025.
For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, no single supplier represented greater than 10% of total purchases.
(z) Statutory reserves
In accordance with the PRC Company Laws, the Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries must make appropriations from their after-tax profits as determined under the generally accepted accounting principles in the PRC (“PRC GAAP”) to non-distributable reserve funds including statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund. The appropriation to the statutory surplus fund must be 10% of the after-tax profits as determined under PRC GAAP. Appropriation is not required if the statutory surplus fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of the PRC companies. Appropriation to the discretionary surplus fund is made at the discretion of the PRC companies.
The statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund are restricted for use. They may only be applied to offset losses or increase the registered capital of the respective companies. These reserves are not allowed to be transferred to the Company by way of cash dividends, loans or advances, nor can they be distributed except for liquidation.
For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025, no appropriation was made to the statutory surplus fund and discretionary surplus fund by the Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries as these PRC companies did not earn any after-tax profits as determined under PRC GAAP.
(aa) Loss per share
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders, considering the accretions of redemption feature related to the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred shares, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares during the period using the two-class method. Under the two-class method, any net income is allocated between ordinary shares and other participating securities based on their participating rights. Net losses are not allocated to other participating securities if based on their contractual terms they are not obligated to share the losses. Contingently issuable shares are included in the computation of basic earnings per share only when there is no circumstance under which those shares would not be issued.
F-63
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders, as adjusted for the effect of dilutive ordinary equivalent shares, if any, by the weighted average number of ordinary and dilutive ordinary equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary equivalent shares consist of ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion of the preferred shares, using the if-converted method, and financial liabilities using the if-converted method, and shares issuable upon the exercise of share options using the treasury stock method. Ordinary equivalent shares are not included in the denominator of the diluted loss per share calculation when inclusion of such share would be anti-dilutive.
(ab) Segment reporting
The Group uses the management approach in determining its operating segments. The Group’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews consolidated results when making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group. For the purpose of internal reporting and management’s operation review, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer does not segregate the Group’s business by service lines. The Company operates as a single operating and reportable segment, as it offers a unified set of products and services primarily related to the provision of digital agricultural transaction services. Management has determined that the Group has one operating segment. All of the Group’s long-lived assets are located in the PRC.
(ac) Related parties
Parties, which can be a corporation or individual, are considered to be related if the Company has the ability, directly or indirectly, to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other part in making financial and operating decisions. Companies are also considered to be related if they are subject to common control or common significant influence, such as a family member or relative, shareholder, or are related corporation.
(ad) Recent accounting pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. The amendments in this Update are effective for public business entities that meet the definition of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filer, excluding entities eligible to be smaller reporting companies as defined by the SEC, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Group early adopted this guidance on January 1, 2021. There was no impact to the consolidated financial statements of adopting the new standard.
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07 (“ASU 2023-07”), Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 on a retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The Group adopted this guidance for the year beginning January 1, 2024 and the adoption of this standard does not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 (“ASU 2023-09”), Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvement to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 on a prospective basis. Early adoption is permitted. The Group is currently evaluating the impact of this accounting standard update on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
F-64
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220-40): Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (“ASU 2024-03”). This update requires, among other things, more detailed disclosure about types of expenses in commonly presented expense captions such as cost of sales and selling, general, and administrative expenses, and is intended to improve the disclosures about an entity’s expenses including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation and amortization. ASU 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
3. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, NET
Accounts receivable, net consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | 743 | 551 | 77 | |||||||||
| Less: Allowance for credit losses | (10 | ) | (10 | ) | (1 | ) | ||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 733 | 541 | 76 | |||||||||
The movement of the allowance for credit losses is as follows:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Balance at the beginning of the year | 9 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
| Additions | 277 | — | — | |||||||||
| Write off | (276 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Total | 10 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||
4. PREPAYMENTS AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Prepayments and other current assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Receivable from online payment platforms | 12,215 | 18,728 | 2,614 | |||||||||
| Receivables on behalf of merchants | 9,077 | 8,360 | 1,167 | |||||||||
| Deferred IPO cost* | 10,751 | 10,751 | 1,501 | |||||||||
| Staff advances | 1,962 | 1,883 | 263 | |||||||||
| Contract acquisition costs | 6,172 | 7,247 | 1,012 | |||||||||
| Deposit | 387 | 397 | 55 | |||||||||
| Others | 9,273 | 1,372 | 191 | |||||||||
| Less: allowance for credit losses | (9,797 | ) | (9,823 | ) | (1,371 | ) | ||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets, net | 40,040 | 38,915 | 5,432 | |||||||||
| * | Direct cost incurred by the Group attributable to its IPO of ordinary shares in the United States have been deferred and recorded as deferred IPO cost and will be offset against the gross proceeds received from such offering. In the event the IPO is terminated or abandoned, all capitalized deferred IPO cost will be expensed. |
F-65
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
4. PREPAYMENTS AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS (cont.)
The movement of the allowance for credit losses is as follows:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Balance at the beginning of the year | 9,621 | 9,797 | 1,367 | |||||||||
| Additions | 176 | 26 | 4 | |||||||||
| Total | 9,797 | 9,823 | 1,371 | |||||||||
5. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET
Property and equipment consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Electronic equipment | 2,923 | 2,924 | 408 | |||||||||
| Office furniture and others | 579 | 574 | 80 | |||||||||
| Leasehold improvements | 4,413 | 5,059 | 706 | |||||||||
| Property and equipment | 7,915 | 8,557 | 1,194 | |||||||||
| Accumulated depreciation | (6,855 | ) | (7,522 | ) | (1,050 | ) | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 1,060 | 1,035 | 144 | |||||||||
Depreciation expenses on property and equipment were allocated to the following expense items:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Selling and marketing expenses | 47 | 39 | 5 | |||||||||
| Research and development expenses | 123 | 23 | 3 | |||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 513 | 623 | 87 | |||||||||
| Total depreciation expenses | 683 | 685 | 95 | |||||||||
6. LEASE
The Group leases facilities under non-cancellable operating leases expiring on different dates. The terms of substantially all these leases are ranging from one year to three years. All the Group’s leases qualify as operating leases. Short-term leases (lease terms less than 12 months) are recognized as incurred.
| (a) | A summary of supplemental information related to operating leases as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025 as follows: |
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 9,589 | 6,433 | 898 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, current | 4,961 | 3,152 | 440 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 4,042 | 1,523 | 213 | |||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 9,003 | 4,675 | 653 | |||||||||
F-66
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
6. LEASE (cont.)
The weighted average remaining lease term as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025 were 1.48 years and 1.34 years, and the weighted average discount rate of the operating leases were 4.09% and 3.37%, respectively.
(b) The components of lease cost were as follows:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Lease cost: | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease cost | 3,151 | 2,787 | 389 | |||||||||
| Short-term lease cost | 1,248 | 1,078 | 150 | |||||||||
| Total lease cost | 4,399 | 3,865 | 539 | |||||||||
(c) Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of June 30, 2025 was as follows:
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| From June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2026 | 3,282 | 458 | ||||||
| From June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | 1,190 | 166 | ||||||
| From June 30, 2027 to June 30, 2028 | 370 | 52 | ||||||
| Total undiscounted cashflows | 4,842 | 676 | ||||||
| Less: amounts representing interest | 167 | 23 | ||||||
| Present Value of future minimum lease payments | 4,675 | 653 | ||||||
| Less: Current obligations | 3,152 | 440 | ||||||
| Long term obligations | 1,523 | 213 | ||||||
7. OTHER NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Other non-current assets consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Deposits | 2,043 | 1,833 | 256 | |||||||||
| Others | 1,113 | 860 | 120 | |||||||||
| Other non-current assets | 3,156 | 2,693 | 376 | |||||||||
8. SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Guangdong Yueken Microcredit Co., Ltd | 5,000 | 4,200 | 586 | |||||||||
| Tianjin Jincheng Bank Co., Ltd. | — | 500 | 70 | |||||||||
| China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch | — | 4,000 | 558 | |||||||||
| China CITIC Bank Loan | 5,000 | 1,000 | 140 | |||||||||
| Short-term borrowings | 10,000 | 9,700 | 1,354 | |||||||||
F-67
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
8. SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS (cont.)
In 2024, Guangxi Yimutian Xinnong Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangxi Yimutian), a subsidiary of the WFOE, obtained a number of one-year loans in the aggregate amount of RMB5,000 from Guangdong Yueken Microcredit Co., Ltd bearing a simple interest of 12% per annum. As of June 30, 2025, Guangxi Yimutian repaid the loan RMB800.
On February 7, 2024, Yimutian Xinnong obtained a 12-month short-term credit bank borrowing from China CITIC Bank in amounts of RMB5,000 bearing interest of 3.55% per annum. In February 2025, Yimutian Xinnong repaid the China CITIC loan of RMB5,000. On June 16, 2025, Yimutian Xinnong obtained a 12-month short-term credit bank borrowing from China CITIC Bank in amounts of RMB1,000 bearing interest of 3.1% per annum.
In 2025, Yimutian Xinnong obtained a 12-month short-term credit bank borrowing amount of RMB1,000 bearing interest of 14.4% per annum. As of June 30, 2025, Yimutian Xinnong repaid the loan of RMB1,000.
On June 13, 2025, Yimutian Xinnong obtained a 12-month short-term credit bank borrowing amount of RMB500 bearing interest of 14.4% per annum.
9. ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Accrued payroll and welfare | 34,781 | 35,286 | 4,926 | |||||||||
| Deposits received from merchants | 16,339 | 15,988 | 2,232 | |||||||||
| Cash collected on behalf of merchants | 11,731 | 10,255 | 1,432 | |||||||||
| Accrued IPO cost | 12,382 | 12,382 | 1,728 | |||||||||
| VAT and other surcharges payable | 3,508 | 2,931 | 409 | |||||||||
| Others | 10,483 | 18,658 | 2,604 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 89,224 | 95,500 | 13,331 | |||||||||
10. FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Exchangeable Notes (i) | 20,990 | 20,903 | 2,918 | |||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,990 | 20,903 | 2,918 | |||||||||
(i) Exchangeable Notes
In September 2022, the Company entered into an exchangeable note agreement with Investor B. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company issued an exchangeable note for USD2.8 million (equivalent to RMB20,128) with a simple interest rate of 7% per annum to Investor B, which was entitled to convert the entire or part of the outstanding principal of the exchangeable note at 90% of the per share price into the same class of shares issued in the new round financing. The exchangeable note shall be due and payable one year after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. The interests of the note will be exempted if the investor converts the note. In September 2023, the maturity date was extended to September 8, 2024. In September 2024, the maturity date was further extended to September 8, 2025. According to the valuation report, the change in fair value of financial liabilities for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025 were nil respectively.
F-68
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
11. SHAREHOLDER LOANS, AT AMORTIZED COST
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Onshore Shareholder Loans, current (i) | 64,021 | 63,950 | 8,927 | |||||||||
| Onshore Shareholder Loans, non-current (i) | 122,534 | 122,534 | 17,105 | |||||||||
| Other Shareholder Loans (ii) | 62,088 | 79,995 | 11,167 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 248,643 | 266,479 | 37,199 | |||||||||
(i) Onshore Shareholder Loans
The Company’s onshore entities entered into shareholder loans agreements with certain preferred shareholders. These preferred shareholders subscribed the Company’s preferred shares and were entitled to all of the preferred shareholders’ rights. Prior to paying the consideration of preferred shares to the Company, they made shareholder loans to the Company’s onshore entities in the same amount of the consideration for preferred shares. Such shareholder loans are referred as “Onshore Shareholder Loans”.
In December 2016, the Company issued 124,523,393 shares of Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor for US$5 million (equivalent to RMB30,634). One of the Company’s PRC onshore entities entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB30,634 bears no interest. The principal shall be due and payable at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and 9 months after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. In 2023, the Company and the investor agreed to extend the maturity date of the loan, and the loan is due at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and December 31, 2024. In 2024, the maturity date was further extended to December 31, 2025. In December 2023, the Company’s PRC onshore entities repaid RMB613 to the investor. In 2024, the Company’s PRC onshore entities repaid RMB1,000 to the investor. In 2025, the Company’s PRC onshore entities repaid RMB71 to the investor.
In February 2018, the Company issued 154,278,293 shares of Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor with the total amount of US$5.5 million (equivalent to RMB35,000). One of the Company’s PRC onshore entities entered into a loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB35,000 bears no interests. The principal shall be due and payable at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and 23 months after the issuance, which can be further extended upon mutual agreement between the Company and the investor. In 2023, the Company and the investor agreed to extend the maturity date of the loan, and the loan is due at the earlier of the investor pays the consideration of preferred shares to the Company and December 31, 2024. In 2024, the maturity date was further extended to December 31, 2025.
In December 2023, the Company issued 280,352,854 shares of Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares to an investor upon exercise of Series B ODI Convertible Loan (Note 11) with the total amount of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). As agreed with the investor, the Company’s PRC onshore entity shall repay the principal at the earlier of the following two dates: (1) July 31, 2025, and (2) five working days before the end of the lock-up period specified by applicable laws and regulations and exchange rules following the initial public offering.
The Company measured Onshore Shareholder Loans at amortized cost. Onshore Shareholder Loans activities for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025 are presented below:
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| As of January 1, 2024 | 187,555 | 26,182 | ||||||
| Repayment | (1,000 | ) | (140 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 186,555 | 26,042 | ||||||
| Repayment | (71 | ) | (10 | ) | ||||
| As of June 30, 2025 | 186,484 | 26,032 | ||||||
F-69
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
11. SHAREHOLDER LOANS, AT AMORTIZED COST (cont.)
(ii) Other Shareholder Loans
The Group borrowed interest free loans from its Founder and certain investors.
The principal of Series C ODI Convertible Loan issued by the Company’s onshore entity was RMB42,055 (Note 11). Upon the investor’s exercise of the warrant and the Company issued preferred shares to the investor, the Company’s onshore entity partially repaid Series C ODI Convertible loan of RMB27,027 and entered into a new interest free shareholder loan agreement with the investor in the amount of RMB15,028, which is due on demand. In 2023 and 2024, the Company’s onshore entity repaid RMB2,000 and RMB500 to the investor, respectively.
In 2021, the Group also borrowed interest free loans of RMB1,153 from its Founder and US$150 (equivalent to RMB993) from a preferred shareholder. In 2023, the Group borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB14,203 from its Founder and repaid RMB4,580 to its Founder. Such loans are due on demand. In 2024, the Group borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB28,322 from its Founder. As of June 30, 2025, the Group borrowed interest free loans in the total amount of RMB21,422 from its Founder and repaid RMB3,510 to its Founder.
In 2023, the Group also borrowed interest free loans of RMB6,874 from an entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. The Group repaid RMB6,874 in 2024.
Other Shareholder Loans activities for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025 are presented below:
| As of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| As of January 1, 2024 | 41,156 | 5,745 | ||||||
| Borrowed | 28,322 | 3,954 | ||||||
| Repayment | (7,374 | ) | (1,029 | ) | ||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | (16 | ) | (2 | ) | ||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 62,088 | 8,668 | ||||||
| Borrowed | 21,422 | 2,990 | ||||||
| Repayment | (3,510 | ) | (490 | ) | ||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | (5 | ) | (1 | ) | ||||
| As of June 30, 2025 | 79,995 | 11,167 | ||||||
12. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| IT Service Fee | 4,245 | 5,842 | 814 | |||||||||
| Others | 153 | 148 | 20 | |||||||||
| Accounts payable | 4,398 | 5,990 | 834 | |||||||||
F-70
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
13. CONTRACT LIABILITIES
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Contract liabilities, current | ||||||||||||
| Membership fee | 55,708 | 46,960 | 6,555 | |||||||||
| Value-add service fee | 14,509 | 19,777 | 2,761 | |||||||||
| Government project | 3,757 | 5,564 | 777 | |||||||||
| Tian Bi | 13,247 | 11,432 | 1,596 | |||||||||
| Others | 882 | 2,142 | 299 | |||||||||
| Total contract liabilities, current | 88,103 | 85,875 | 11,988 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, non-current | ||||||||||||
| Membership fee | 11,430 | 10,926 | 1,525 | |||||||||
| Value-add service fee | 793 | 1,279 | 179 | |||||||||
| Total contract liabilities, non-current | 12,223 | 12,205 | 1,704 | |||||||||
14. MEZZANINE EQUITY
Series A, Series B, Series C, Series C-1, Series C-2 and Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares (collectively “Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares”)
On August 19, 2025, the Company was listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “YMT” at an offering price of $4.1 per share.
Form May 2014 to December 2016, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 387,781,378 Series A redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series A Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated cash consideration of US$3.5 million (equivalent to RMB21,593).
From February 2015 to April 2017, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 423,548,558 Series B redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series B Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$34.1 million (equivalent to RMB213,329). In December 2023, the Company issued 280,352,854 Series B Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Series B ODI Convertible Loan held by an investor for an aggregated consideration of US$20 million (equivalent to RMB122,534). RMB134,455 and RMB134,455 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively.
From December 2016 to April 2017, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 517,022,352 Series C redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series C Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$11 million, of which RMB29,026 and RMB28,955 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively.
In February 2018, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreement with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 357,323,044 Series C-1 redeemable convertible preferred shares
(“Series C-1 Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$15 million (equivalent to RMB94,608), of which RMB38,955 and RMB38,955 was unpaid and recorded as subscription receivable as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, respectively. In September 2019, an investor transferred 63,435,937 shares of Series C-1 Preferred Shares to another investor for an aggregated consideration of US$5 million (equivalent to RMB35,365), and the Company redesignated all transferred shares into a same number of Series C-2 Preferred Shares. The Company did not receive any proceeds from this transaction. The Company considered that the re-designation of Series C-1 Preferred Shares to Series C-2 Preferred Shares in substance, was the same as repurchase and cancellation of the Series C-1 Preferred Shares and simultaneously issuance of Series C-2 Preferred Shares. The difference between the fair value of Series C-2 and the carrying amount of the Series C-1 Preferred Shares was accounted for as deemed dividend to the preferred shareholder and recorded to accumulated deficit.
F-71
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
14. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
From December 2018 to August 2020, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 22,4881,374 Series C-2 redeemable convertible Preferred Shares (“Series C-2 Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$17.4 million (equivalent to RMB115,693).
In May 2021, the Company entered into a series of share purchase agreements with a group of investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 95,032,955 Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares (“Series D Preferred Shares”) for an aggregated consideration of US$15 million (equivalent to RMB106,825). In June 2021, the Company issued additional 287,192 Series D Preferred Shares for nil consideration to then existing Series D preferred shareholders. The Company treated it as deemed dividend to the shareholders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares.
In October 2021, the Company entered into a share repurchase agreement with an investor, pursuant to which the Company repurchased 76,123,125 Series C Preferred Shares for an aggregated consideration of US$6,000 (equivalent to RMB38,633). The difference of RMB28,818 between the repurchase consideration over the carrying amount of RMB9,815 of the Series C Preferred Shares was accounted for as deemed dividends to the preferred shareholder and recorded to accumulated deficit. Upon the Company’s repurchase of Series C Preferred Shares, there was a subscription receivable from such investor in the amount of US$5,500 (equivalent to RMB35,483) in connection with the issuance of Series C-1 Preferred Shares. The Company and the investor entered into a supplemental agreement that US$5,500 (equivalent to RMB35,483) was offset between repurchase consideration payable and subscription receivable. The remaining repurchase consideration payable of US$500 (equivalent to RMB3,436 and RMB3,422, as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) was recorded in amount due to related parties.
In December 2023, the Company issued 4,124,313 Series C-2 redeemable convertible preferred shares to existing Series C-2 Preferred shareholders for nil consideration and 2,435,067 Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares to existing Series D Preferred shareholders for nil consideration. Concurrently, issuance price per share of Series C-2 Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares were amended accordingly, which resulted in the aggregated issuance price of each investor remained unchanged.
The rights, preferences and privileges of the Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares and Series D Preferred Shares are as follows:
Redemption Rights
Upon the issuance of Series D Preferred Shares on May 8, 2021, the redemption term of all Series A Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares were modified to be the same as Series D Preferred Shares, pursuant to which they were redeemable at the option of the shareholders of the respective series Preferred Shares in the event that (A) the Company fails to complete the qualified IPO or a trade sale in which the valuation of the Company is no less than US$800,000,000 before December 31, 2025 except that if the Company has submitted an application to competent Governmental Authorities for IPO filings prior to December 31, 2025 (including the submission of the IPO prospectus) but due to any material adverse legal, regulatory, market or policy changes of China in which case the Board of Directors decide to postpone the qualified IPO and the Trade Sale, the foregoing deadline for the qualified IPO and the trade sale shall be automatically postponed to December 31, 2026, (B) the validity or enforcement of the VIE agreements is materially and adversely affected due to change of any applicable Laws, as a consequence of which, the Company loses control over, or the ability to consolidate the financial statements, of direct or indirect subsidiaries and/or controlled entities, and there is no alternative arrangement under the applicable Laws for the Company to maintain or restore such control or ability, and (C) any material breach of the transaction documents to which the holder(s) of respective series Preferred Shares are parties by the Group, the Founder, any ordinary shareholders and any ordinary shareholders holding Company prior to the qualified IPO, which results in substantial hurdle to the launch of the qualified IPO.
F-72
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
14. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
The redemption preference from high priority to low priority is as follows in sequence: Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares and then the Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares as the same class.
For Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares, the redemption price shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the respective issuance price, plus an eight percent (8%) compounded per annum return of the respective issuance price over the period from the respective closing date to the date of payment in full of the respective redemption price.
Conversion Rights
Each redeemable convertible preferred share shall be convertible, at the option of the shareholders, at any time after the issuance date of preferred shares according to a conversion ratio, subject to adjustments for dilution, including but not limited to stock splits and stock dividends. The conversion price shall initially be the applicable issuance price, resulting in an initial conversion ratio for the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares of 1:1.
Each Redeemable Convertible Preferred Share shall be converted, based on the then-effective applicable conversion price, without the payment of any additional consideration, into ordinary shares in the event that (i) the closing of the IPO, or (ii) the date upon which the Company receives the written request from the majority respective series preferred shareholders.
Voting Rights
Each preferred shareholder shall be entitled to that number of votes corresponding to the number of ordinary shares on an as-converted basis.
Dividend Rights
No dividends or other distributions shall be declared, paid, set aside or made, whether in cash, in property, or in any other shares of the Company, with respect to any other class or series of shares of the Company, unless and until the dividends of preferred shares with higher priority of preference has been likewise declared, paid, set aside or made (calculated on an as-converted basis).
Liquidation Preferences
In the event of any liquidation including deemed liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary, shareholders of Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares, Series C Preferred Shares, Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable issuance price, plus all dividends declared and unpaid on such redeemable convertible preferred shares.
Liquidation preference is as follows in sequence: Series D Preferred Shares, Series C-2 Preferred Shares, Series C-1 Preferred Shares and Series C Preferred Shares, then the Series B Preferred Shares and Series A Preferred Shares as the same class.
F-73
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
14. MEZZANINE EQUITY (cont.)
If there are any assets or funds remaining after the aggregate amount has been distributed or paid in full to the applicable holders of the Preferred Shares, the remaining assets and funds of the Company available for distribution shall be distributed ratably among all shareholders according to the relative number of the Shares held by such shareholders.
Accounting for the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares
The Company has classified the redeemable convertible preferred shares as mezzanine equity as these preferred shares are redeemable upon the occurrence of an event not solely within the control of the Company.
The conversion option of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares is not bifurcated because the conversion option is clearly and closely related to the host equity instrument. The contingent redemption option of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares is not bifurcated because the underlying ordinary shares are not net settable since the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares were neither publicly traded nor readily convertible into cash.
The Company recorded the initial carrying amount of the redeemable convertible preferred shares at the fair value at the date of issuance. The Company accreted the carrying value of the preferred shares to their maximum redemption price at the end of each reporting period. The change in redemption value is recorded against retained earnings, or in the absence of retained earnings, against additional paid-in capital (“APIC”). Once APIC has been exhausted, additional charges are recorded by increasing the accumulated deficit.
Modification of the Preferred Shares
The Company assesses whether an amendment to the terms of its preferred shares is an extinguishment or a modification using the fair value approach. If the fair value of the preferred shares immediately after the amendment changes by more than 10 percent from the fair value of the preferred shares immediately before the amendment, the amendment is considered an extinguishment. An amendment that does not meet this criterion is a modification. When preferred shares are extinguished, the Company recognizes the modified or exchanged preferred shares at fair value and derecognizes the carrying amount of the old preferred shares with the difference recorded in accumulated deficit. When preferred shares are modified, the Company accounted for the modification by analogy to the modification guidance contained in ASC 718-20, Compensation — Stock Compensation, and the increase of the fair value immediately after the amendment is treated as a deemed dividend to the holders of the preferred shares. Modifications that result in a decrease in the fair value of the redeemable convertible preferred shares are not recognized.
For the modification of Series C-2 and Series D redeemable convertible preferred shares in 2023, as the fair value of the Preferred Shares immediately after the amendment did not change by more than 10% from their fair value immediately before the amendment, the Company accounts for modification that result in an increase to the fair value of the modified Preferred Shares as deemed dividends.
15. ORDINARY SHARES
The number of authorized shares is 5,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00001 per share. The authorized shares of the Company were consisted of 2,713,770,293 ordinary shares and 2,286,229,707 preferred shares as of December 31, 2024 and 2,713,770,293 ordinary shares and 2,286,229,707 preferred shares as of June 30, 2025.
In December 2023, the Company issued 63,600,043 ordinary shares to founding shareholders for nil consideration (Note 16).
The number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding were 460,147,059 and 460,147,059 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively.
F-74
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
16. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
The Company’s shareholders and Board of Directors approved of 2015 Share Incentive Plan (the “Option Plan”) in order to provide incentives and rewards to the Company’s directors, employees and consultant of the Company. Share options under the Option Plan are generally three types of vesting schedule, which are: (i) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest semi-annually over the next three years; (ii) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest quarterly over the next three years; (iii) 25% of the options vest on the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% shall equally vest monthly over the next three years. The option holders can only exercise their vested options after 90 days following the completion of IPO or a sale of all or substantially all assets or equity interests of the Company, subject to compliance of applicable requirements under laws and regulations in the PRC. The Company did not recognize any share-based compensation expense on the share options since the IPO performance condition is deemed to be not probable. As of June 30, 2025, the Company authorized 815,130,483 share options under the Option Plan.
The following table sets forth the share options activity for the six months ended June 30, 2025:
| Number of shares | Weighted average exercise price | Weighted average remaining contractual years | Aggregate intrinsic value | |||||||||||||
| US$ | ||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2024 | 618,498,590 | 0.01 | 3.48 | 63,779 | ||||||||||||
| Granted | 8,648,850 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | 1,960,886 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at June 30, 2025 (unaudited) | 623,162,314 | 0.01 | 3.10 | 64,262 | ||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, no share options were exercisable, since their exercisability was subject to the completion of an initial public offering of the Company. The weighted average grant date fair value of the share options for the years ended December 31, 2024 and three months ended June 30, 2025 were US$0.11 and US$0.11 per share, respectively.
The fair value of the options is estimated on the dates of grant using the binomial option pricing model with the following key assumptions used:
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||
| Risk-free rate of return (per annum) | 4.75% – 5.93% | |
| Volatility | 54.5% – 54.7% | |
| Expected dividend yield | — | |
| Exercise multiple | 2.2 | |
| Fair value of underlying ordinary share | US$0.11 | |
| Expected Term | 10 years |
The risk-free interest rate was estimated based on the yield to maturity of U.S. treasury bonds denominated in USD for a term consistent with the expected term of the Company’s options in effect at the option valuation date. The expected volatility was estimated based on the historical volatility of comparable peer public companies with a time horizon close to the contract life of the Company’s options. The expected exercise multiple was estimated as the average ratio of the stock price to the exercise price of when employees would decide to voluntarily exercise their vested options. Expected dividend yield is zero as the Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its shares, and the Company does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future.
F-75
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
16. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (cont.)
Since the exercisability is dependent upon completion of an initial public offering of the Company, no compensation expense relating to the options was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025. The Company will recognize compensation expenses relating to options vested cumulatively upon the completion of an initial public offering of the Company.
On December 10, 2023, the Company issued 63,600,043 ordinary shares to founding shareholders for nil consideration. The Company accounted for such issuance as share awards granted to the Company’s management and directors, which were vested immediately. Based on the fair value per share at issuance date, the Company recognized RMB51,436 of share-based compensation expense related to these shares in general and administration expenses on the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss in December 2023. The fair value of ordinary shares at issuance date is US$0.11 per share.
In determining the fair value of ordinary shares, the Company applied the income approach based on its discounted future cash flow using its best estimate as at the grant date using retrospective valuation. The major assumptions used in calculating include discount rate, comparable companies, discount for lack of marketability and revenue growth rates with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm.
17. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT
The following tables present the fair value hierarchy for those assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2025:
| For the three months Ended June 30, 2025 (unaudited) | Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1) | Significant observable inputs (Level 2) | Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) | |||||||||
| RMB | RMB | RMB | ||||||||||
| Financial assets at fair value through | ||||||||||||
| Exchangeable Notes | — | — | 20,903 | |||||||||
The reconciliation from the opening balances to the closing balances of financial liabilities for recurring fair value measurements categorized as level 3 of the fair value hierarchy for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025 are presented in Note 10.
Financial Liabilities are measured at fair value using unobservable inputs and categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.
The fair values of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes were estimated with the following key assumptions with no change for the years ended December 31, 2024 and six months ended June 30, 2025:
| As of December 31, 2023 | ||
| Risk-free rate of return (per annum) | 6.19% – 6.24% | |
| Expected Volatility | 59.21% | |
| Expected dividend yield | 0% | |
| Expected Term | 0.69 years | |
| Applied bond yield | 14.49% | |
| Yield for value of credit risk | 13.91% | |
| Fair value of underlying ordinary shares/preferred shares | US$0.11 – US$0.14 |
F-76
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
17. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT (cont.)
The estimated fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes estimated by management with the assistance of an independent valuation firm. The Company estimated the fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes based on a probability-weighted analysis and the value of the conversion option as determined by the binomial option pricing model simulating the equity value movement which provide the calculation basis of the financial liabilities fair value. The inputs used in the analysis were classified as Level 3 inputs within the fair value hierarchy due to the lack of observable market data and activity. The determination of the fair value of the Company’s preferred shares and ordinary shares requires complex and subjective judgments to be made regarding the cash flow forecasts and the weighted average cost of capital and the discount for lack of marketability applied to the projected cash flows. If different estimates and assumptions had been used, the fair values of the preferred shares and ordinary shares could be significantly different, and the fair value of the ODI Convertible Loans and Exchangeable Notes may materially differ from the recognized amount.
The risk-free rate of return was estimated based on the yield of US Treasury Strip with a maturity life equal to the remaining maturity life of the financial liabilities as of the valuation date. The expected volatility was estimated based on the historical volatility of comparable peer public companies with a time horizon close to the expected term of the Company’s financial liabilities. Expected dividend yield is zero as the Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its shares, and the Company does not anticipate any dividend payments in the foreseeable future. Expected term is the remaining life of the financial liabilities.
The Company did not transfer any financial assets or liabilities in or out of Level 3 for the June 30, 2025, respectively.
18. INCOME TAX
(a) Income tax
Cayman Islands
Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, the Company’s subsidiary is not subject to tax on income or capital gain. Additionally, the Cayman Islands does not impose a withholding tax on payments of dividends to shareholders.
Hong Kong S.A.R.
Under the current Hong Kong S.A.R. Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Company’s Hong Kong S.A.R. subsidiary is subject to Hong Kong S.A.R. profits tax at the rate of 16.5% on its taxable income generated from the operations in Hong Kong S.A.R.. Payments of dividends by the Hong Kong S.A.R. subsidiary to the Company is not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong S.A.R.. A two-tiered profits tax rates regime was introduced in 2018 where the first HK$2 million of assessable profits earned by a company will be taxed at half of the current tax rate (8.25%) whilst the remaining profits will continue to be taxed at 16.5%. There is an anti- fragmentation measure where each group will have to nominate only one company in the group to benefit from the progressive rates. No provision for Hong Kong profits tax has been made in the financial statements as the subsidiary in Hong Kong has no assessable profits for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025.
PRC, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R.
The Group’s PRC subsidiaries, VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries are subject to the PRC Corporate Income Tax Law (“CIT Law”) at the statutory income tax rate of 25%, unless otherwise specified. According to the CIT Law, entities that qualify as “high-and-new technology enterprises” (“HNTE”) are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 15%, and entities that qualify as “small enterprises with low profits’ are entitled to a preferential income tax rate of 20%.
F-77
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
18. INCOME TAX (cont.)
Beijing Yimutian and Yimutian Xinnong were qualified as a High and New Technology Enterprise (“HNTE”), since 2018 and is eligible for a 15% preferential tax rate from 2018 to 2020. In December 2021, Beijing Yimutian, and Yimutian Xinnong renewed the certificate with a validity term of three years from 2023 to 2024. From year 2023 to year 2024, Beijing Douniu became eligible as HNTE enabling it to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15%. All of them renewed the certificate with a validity term of three years from 2024 to 2026.
The components of loss before income taxes are as follows:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| PRC, excluding Hong Kong S.A.R | (17,341 | ) | (11,325 | ) | (1,581 | ) | ||||||
| Hong Kong S.A.R | (36 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Cayman Islands | (39 | ) | (3,596 | ) | (502 | ) | ||||||
| Total | (17,416 | ) | (14,921 | ) | (2,083 | ) | ||||||
Reconciliation of the differences between PRC statutory income tax rate and the Group’s effective income tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2025 are as follows:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||
| RMB | RMB | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| PRC Statutory income tax rate | 25.0 | % | 25.0 | % | ||||
| Increase (decrease) in effective income tax rate resulting from: | ||||||||
| Tax rate differential for non-PRC entities | (8.5 | ) | (8.5 | ) | ||||
| Preferential tax rate | (8.4 | ) | (8.4 | ) | ||||
| Research and development expenses additional deduction | 2.1 | 1.5 | ||||||
| Other non-deductible expenses | (0.2 | ) | (0.2 | ) | ||||
| Change in valuation allowance | (10.0 | ) | (9.4 | ) | ||||
| Effective income tax rate | — | — | ||||||
(b) Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Deferred income tax assets: | ||||||||||||
| Net operating loss carry forwards | 221,999 | 224,933 | 31,399 | |||||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 52 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||
| Lease liabilities | 2,537 | 1,169 | 163 | |||||||||
| Deferred income tax assets | 224,588 | 226,111 | 31,563 | |||||||||
| Less: valuation allowance | (227,406 | ) | (227,719 | ) | (31,338 | ) | ||||||
| Deferred income tax assets, net | 2,818 | 1,068 | 225 | |||||||||
| Deferred income tax liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Operating lease right of use assets | (2,818 | ) | (1,068 | ) | (225 | ) | ||||||
| Total deferred income tax liabilities | — | — | — | |||||||||
F-78
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
19. SEGMENT INFORMATION
The Company operates as a single reportable segment. The chief operating decision maker reviews financial performance and allocates resources on a consolidated basis, using a single measure of operating profit and a total expense amount. No disaggregated expense categories are regularly reviewed by the CODM. As such, the Company has not identified any segment expense categories that meet the criteria for disclosure under ASC 280, as amended by ASU 2023-07.
20. NET LOSS PER SHARE
The following table sets forth the basic and diluted net loss per share computation and provides a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator for the years presented:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders | (60,094 | ) | (60,376 | ) | (8,428 | ) | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for basic and diluted net loss per share calculation | (0.13 | ) | (0.13 | ) | (0.02 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss per ordinary share: | ||||||||||||
| – Basic and diluted | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | 460,147,059 | |||||||||
21. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Group had the following balances with related parties:
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,436 | 3,422 | 478 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 13,079 | 3,579 | 500 | |||||||||
Amounts due from related parties represent interest free loans the Group provided to a preferred shareholder and certain entities controlled by a preferred shareholder. All the loans were due on demand. In June 2021, the Company provided an interest free loan to a preferred shareholder of US$0.5 million (equivalent to RMB3,084). As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the amount due from the preferred shareholder was RMB3,436 and RMB3,422, respectively.
Amounts due to related parties included (i) the payables related to cash collected on behalf of the Company’s equity investee of RMB9,485 and nil. As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the Company received the repayment of RMB8,500 and RMB9,485, and (ii) the payables related to the repurchase the Company’s preferred shares of RMB3,594 and RMB3,589 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively (Note 14).
In addition to the above transactions and balances, related party transactions also include exchangeable note issued to the Founder as described in Note 11 and Other Shareholder Loans provided by the Founder and certain investors as described in Note 12.
F-79
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
22. REVENUE INFORMATION
The Group’s revenues consist of the following:
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Digital Agricultural Commerce Services: | ||||||||||||
| Membership services | 48,131 | 43,096 | 6,016 | |||||||||
| Value-added services | 26,347 | 18,970 | 2,648 | |||||||||
| Transaction services | 2,070 | 1,619 | 226 | |||||||||
| Total Digital Agricultural Commerce Services | 76,548 | 63,685 | 8,890 | |||||||||
| Other Digital Agricultural Solutions | 4,309 | 2,730 | 381 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 80,857 | 66,415 | 9,271 | |||||||||
Timing of recognition
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Revenue from services transferred to customers at a point in time | 24,896 | 18,174 | 2,537 | |||||||||
| Revenue from services transferred to customers over time | 55,961 | 48,241 | 6,734 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 80,857 | 66,415 | 9,271 | |||||||||
Under the requirements of ASC 606-10-50-8, the changes in contract liabilities are presented as follows:
| As of June 30, | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| As of December 31, 2023 | 112,323 | 15,680 | ||||||
| Addition | 53,862 | 7,519 | ||||||
| Recognized as revenue | (55,961 | ) | (7,812 | ) | ||||
| Recognized tax amount allocated | (3,358 | ) | (469 | ) | ||||
| Refund | (303 | ) | (43 | ) | ||||
| As of June 30, 2024 | 106,563 | 14,875 | ||||||
| As of June 30, | ||||||||
| RMB | USD | |||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | 100,326 | 14,005 | ||||||
| Addition | 49,206 | 6,869 | ||||||
| Recognized as revenue | (48,240 | ) | (6,734 | ) | ||||
| Recognized tax amount allocated | (2,894 | ) | (404 | ) | ||||
| Refund | (318 | ) | (44 | ) | ||||
| As of June 30, 2025 | 98,080 | 13,692 | ||||||
For the six months June 30, 2024 and 2025, all of the Group’s revenues were generated in the PRC.
F-80
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
23. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Group is subject to a number of legal proceedings that generally arise in the ordinary course of its business. The Group does not believe that any currently pending legal proceeding to which the Group is a party will have a material adverse effect on the financial statements.
24. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On August 19, 2025, the Company was listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “YMT” at an offering price of $4.1 per share.
25. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The following condensed parent company financial information of Yimutian Inc. has been prepared using the same accounting policies as set out in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, there were no material contingencies, significant provisions of long-term obligations, mandatory dividend or redemption requirements of redeemable stocks or guarantees of Yimutian Inc., except for those which have been separately disclosed in the consolidated financial statements.
The Company’s share of loss from its subsidiaries was reported as a share of loss of subsidiaries in the accompanying parent company only financial statements. Ordinarily, under the equity method, an investor in an equity method investee would cease to recognize its share of the losses of an investee once the carrying value of the investment has been reduced to nil absent an undertaking by the investor to provide continuing support and fund losses. For the purpose of the parent only financial information, the Company has continued to reflect its share, based on its proportionate interest, of the losses of its subsidiaries regardless of the carrying value of the investment in the amounts due to related parties even though the Company is not obligated to provide continuing support or fund losses.
(a) Condensed Balance Sheets
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||||||
| Cash | 129 | 707 | 99 | |||||||||
| Amounts due from related parties | 3,436 | 3,422 | 478 | |||||||||
| Intercompany receivable from WFOE | 31,014 | 30,886 | 4,312 | |||||||||
| Prepayments and other current assets | 10,960 | 11,073 | 1,546 | |||||||||
| Total current assets | 45,539 | 46,088 | 6,435 | |||||||||
| Total assets | 45,539 | 46,088 | 6,435 | |||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities | 20,990 | 20,903 | 2,918 | |||||||||
| Shareholder loans, at amortized cost | 1,078 | 1,074 | 150 | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 3,594 | 3,579 | 500 | |||||||||
| Intercompany payable to VIE | 5,394 | 5,394 | 753 | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 15,531 | 21,877 | 3,054 | |||||||||
| Total current liabilities | 46,587 | 52,827 | 7,375 | |||||||||
| Investments in subsidiaries | 433,592 | 442,594 | 61,784 | |||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | 433,592 | 442,594 | 61,784 | |||||||||
| Total liabilities | 480,179 | 495,421 | 69,159 | |||||||||
F-81
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
25. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (cont.)
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies | ||||||||||||
| Mezzanine equity: | ||||||||||||
| Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 387,781,378 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB56,098 and RMB58,301 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 56,098 | 58,301 | 8,139 | |||||||||
| Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 703,901,412 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB787,739 and RMB807,393 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 787,739 | 807,393 | 112,708 | |||||||||
| Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 517,022,352 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB181,992 and RMB187,344 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 181,992 | 187,344 | 26,152 | |||||||||
| Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 357,323,044 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB153,660 and RMB 159,695 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 153,660 | 159,695 | 22,293 | |||||||||
| Series C-2 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 220,757,061 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB189,873 and RMB197,331 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 189,873 | 197,331 | 27,546 | |||||||||
| Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares (US$0.00001 par value: 95,320,147 shares authorized as at December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, Redemption value of RMB136,115 and RMB141,461 as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 136,115 | 141,461 | 19,747 | |||||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series B Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (134,455 | ) | (134,455 | ) | (18,769 | ) | ||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (29,026 | ) | (28,955 | ) | (4,042 | ) | ||||||
| As of December 31, 2024 | As of June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Subscription receivable from Series C-1 Redeemable Convertible Preferred Shares | (38,955 | ) | (38,955 | ) | (5,438 | ) | ||||||
| Total mezzanine equity | 1,303,041 | 1,349,160 | 188,336 | |||||||||
| SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 5,000,000,000 shares authorized, 460,147,059 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and June 30, 2025, respectively) | 31 | 31 | 4 | |||||||||
| Additional paid – in capital | 47,006 | 47,006 | 6,562 | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (99,395 | ) | (99,238 | ) | (13,853 | ) | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,715,536 | ) | (1,775,912 | ) | (247,908 | ) | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (1,767,894 | ) | (1,828,113 | ) | (255,195 | ) | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | 30,213 | 29,620 | 4,135 | |||||||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit | (1,737,681 | ) | (1,798,493 | ) | (251,060 | ) | ||||||
| Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ deficit | 45,539 | 46,088 | 6,434 | |||||||||
F-82
YIMUTIAN INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(all amounts in thousands, except share and per share data, or as otherwise noted) (Unaudited)
25. PARENT COMPANY ONLY CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (cont.)
(b) Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Loss
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | (36 | ) | (3,596 | ) | (501 | ) | ||||||
| Share of losses from subsidiaries and VIEs | (17,381 | ) | (10,732 | ) | (1,498 | ) | ||||||
| Loss before income tax | (17,417 | ) | (14,328 | ) | (1,999 | ) | ||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc. | ||||||||||||
| Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred shares to redemption value | (42,677 | ) | (46,048 | ) | (6,428 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of Yimutian Inc. | (60,094 | ) | (60,376 | ) | (8,427 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to Yimutian Inc. | (17,417 | ) | (14,328 | ) | (1,999 | ) | ||||||
| Other comprehensive loss | (158 | ) | 157 | 22 | ||||||||
| Total comprehensive loss | (17,575 | ) | (14,171 | ) | (1,977 | ) | ||||||
(c) Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
| For the six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||
| RMB | RMB | USD | ||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | (40 | ) | 427 | 60 | ||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | — | — | — | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | — | 71 | 10 | |||||||||
| Effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash | (43 | ) | 80 | 11 | ||||||||
| Net (decrease) increase in cash | (83 | ) | 578 | 81 | ||||||||
| Cash at the beginning of the year | 496 | 129 | 18 | |||||||||
| Cash at the end of the year | 41 | 707 | 99 | |||||||||
F-83
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences or committing a crime.
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that we shall indemnify our directors and officers and the personal representatives of the same (each an indemnified person) against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such indemnified person, other than by reason of such person’s own dishonesty, willful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such indemnified person in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.
Pursuant to the indemnification agreements, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 10.3 to this registration statement, we will agree to indemnify our directors and executive officers against certain liabilities and expenses that they incur in connection with claims made by reason of their being a director or officer of our company.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 7. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
During the past three years, we have issued the following securities without registering the securities under the Securities Act. We believe that each of the following issuances was exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act regarding sales by an issuer in offshore transactions, pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act regarding transactions not involving a public offering and/or Rule 701 of the Securities Act. None of the transactions involved an underwriter.
| Purchaser | Date of Issuance | Title and Number of Securities | Consideration | |||||
| Preferred Shares | ||||||||
| Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) | December 10, 2023 | 280,352,854 Series B Preferred Shares | US$ | 20,000,000 | ||||
| Beijing Fengmu Enterprise Consulting Center (Limited Partnership) | December 10, 2023 | 124,523,393 Series C Preferred Shares | US$ | 5,000,000 | ||||
| LC Multi Strategy Fund SG VCC – LC Multi Strategy SF5 | December 10, 2023 | 36,214,579 Series C Preferred Shares | US$ | 1,000,000 | ||||
| Yimutian Holdings Limited | December 10, 2023 | 43,948,896 Ordinary Shares | N/A | |||||
| YMT 360 Holdings Limited | December 10, 2023 | 5,170,130 Ordinary Shares | N/A | |||||
II-1
| Purchaser | Date of Issuance | Title and Number of Securities | Consideration | ||||
| YMT Tech Holdings Limited | December 10, 2023 | 14,481,017 Ordinary Shares | N/A | ||||
| CGC Moonwalk Limited | December 10, 2023 | 3,326,059 Series C-2 Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Yimutian Holdings Limited | December 10, 2023 | 798,254 Series C-2 Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| China Innovation Capital General Partners Limited | December 10, 2023 | 147,580 Series D Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Ganlai Limited | December 10, 2023 | 295,159 Series D Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Geometry Ventures Limited | December 10, 2023 | 922,374 Series D Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Yimutian Holdings Limited | December 10, 2023 | 332,055 Series D Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Guangdong Evergreen Group Co., Ltd. | December 10, 2023 | 737,899 Series D Preferred Shares | N/A | ||||
| Convertible senior notes | |||||||
| An institutional investor | December 8, 2025 | A senior convertible promissory note in the original amount of $3,370,000 | $3,370,000 less applicable discounts | ||||
| Options | |||||||
| Certain directors, officers and employees | Various dates | 16,815,642 Options | Past and future services provided by these individuals to us |
Item 8. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) Exhibits
See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-3 of this registration statement.
The agreements included as exhibits to this registration statement contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties were made solely for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and (i) were not intended to be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; (ii) may have been qualified in such agreement by disclosure that was made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement; (iii) may apply contract standards of “materiality” that are different from “materiality” under the applicable securities laws; and (iv) were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement.
We acknowledge that, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing cautionary statements, we are responsible for considering whether additional specific disclosure of material information regarding material contractual provisions is required to make the statements in this registration statement not misleading.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules
Schedules have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto.
Item 9. Undertakings
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
II-2
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
| (1) | For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
| (2) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
Yimutian Inc.
Exhibit Index
II-3
| † | Portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K on the basis that the Company customarily and actually treats that information as private or confidential and the omitted information is not material. |
II-4
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-1 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China, on February 9, 2026.
| Yimutian Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Jinhong Deng | ||
| Name: | Jinhong Deng | ||
| Title: | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Mr. Jinhong Deng and Mr. Shijie Chen and each of them, individually, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead in any and all capacities, in connection with this registration statement, including to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned, this registration statement and any and all amendments thereto, including post-effective amendments and registrations filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto such attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or his substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons on February 9, 2026 in the capacities indicated:
| Signature | Title | |
| /s/ Jinhong Deng | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | |
| Jinhong Deng | (Principal Executive Officer) | |
| /s/ Min Liu | Director | |
| Min Liu | ||
| /s/ Shijie Chen | Director and Chief Financial Officer | |
| Shijie Chen | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |
| /s/ Zhijia Liu | Director | |
| Zhijia Liu | ||
| /s/ Mi Zhou | Director | |
| Mi Zhou | ||
| /s/ Yu Zhang | Director | |
| Yu Zhang | ||
| /s/ Xinghong Hua | Director | |
| Xinghong Hua | ||
| /s/ Xiaowei Wang | Director | |
| Xiaowei Wang | ||
| /s/ Junchen Sun | Director | |
| Junchen Sun |
II-5
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Yimutian Inc., has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York, New York on February 9, 2026.
| Authorized U.S. Representative | |||
| Cogency Global Inc. | |||
| By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | ||
| Name: | Colleen A. De Vries | ||
| Title: | Senior Vice-President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc. | ||
II-6
Exhibit 1.1
PLACEMENT AGENCY AGREEMENT
FT Global Capital, Inc.
1688 Meridian Avenue, Suite 700
Miami Beach, FL 33139
February [_], 2026
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter agreement (this “Agreement”) constitutes the agreement between Yimutian Inc. (the “Company”) and FT Global Capital, Inc. (“FT Global” or the “Placement Agent”) pursuant to which FT Global shall serve as the placement agent for the Company, on a reasonable “best efforts” basis, in connection with the proposed offer and sale (the “Offering”) by the Company of its Securities (as defined in Section 3 of this Agreement) (the “Services”). The Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that FT Global’s obligations hereunder are on a reasonable “best efforts” basis only and that the execution of this Agreement does not constitute a commitment by FT Global to purchase the Securities and does not ensure the successful placement of the Securities or any portion thereof or the success of FT Global with respect to securing any other financing on behalf of the Company.
| 1. | Appointment of FT Global as Placement Agent. |
On the basis of the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements of the Company herein contained, and subject to all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company hereby appoints the Placement Agent as its placement agent in connection with a distribution of its Securities (as defined below) to be offered and sold by the Company pursuant to a registration statement filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) on Form F-1 (File No. 333-[_]), and the Placement Agent agrees to act as the Company’s placement agent. Pursuant to this appointment, the Placement Agent will solicit offers for the purchase of or attempt to place all or part of the Securities of the Company in the proposed Offering. Until the final closing or upon termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 5 hereof, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, solicit or accept offers to purchase the Securities other than through the Placement Agent. The Placement Agent will use its reasonable “best efforts” to solicit offers to purchase the Securities from the Company on the terms, and subject to the conditions, set forth in the Prospectus (as defined below). The Placement Agent shall use reasonable best efforts to assist the Company in obtaining performance by each Purchaser (as defined below) whose offer to purchase Securities has been solicited by the Placement Agent, but the Placement Agent shall not, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, be obligated to disclose the identity of any potential purchaser or have any liability to the Company in the event any such purchase is not consummated for any reason. The Company acknowledges that under no circumstances will the Placement Agent be obligated to underwrite or purchase any Securities for its own account and, in soliciting purchases of the Securities, the Placement Agent shall act solely as an agent of the Company. The Services provided pursuant to this Agreement shall be on an “agency” basis and not on a “principal” basis. Following the prior written consent of the Company, the Placement Agent may retain other brokers or dealers to act as sub-agents or selected-dealers on its behalf in connection with the Offering.
The Placement Agent will solicit offers for the purchase of the Securities in the Offering at such times and in such amounts as the Placement Agent deems advisable. The Company shall have the sole right to accept offers to purchase Securities and may reject any such offer, in whole or in part. The Company and the Placement Agent shall negotiate the timing and terms of the Offering and acknowledge that the Offering and the provision of the Services related to the Offering are subject to market conditions and the receipt of all required related clearances and approvals.
| 2. | Fees; Expenses; Other Arrangements. |
A. Placement Agent’s Fee. As compensation for services rendered, the Company shall pay to the Placement Agent in cash by wire transfer in immediately available funds to an account or accounts designated by the Placement Agent an amount (the “Placement Fee”) equal to seven percent (7.0%) of the aggregate gross proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Securities, at the closing of the Offering (the “Closing” and the date on which the Closing occurs, the “Closing Date”). The Placement Agent may deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering payable to the Company on the Closing Date the Placement Fee set forth herein to be paid by the Company to the Placement Agent. In addition, the Company shall issue to the Placement Agent or its designee(s) at the Closing a [_]-year warrant to purchase such number of ADS (as defined in Section 3) equal to three percent (3%) of the ADS sold in this Offering (or underlying any convertible Securities sold in the Offering, which shall be calculated based on the maximum number of ADS that may be issued to Investors (as defined below) in the Offering, but shall exclude any ADS issuable upon exercise of the Warrants issued in the Offering) at an exercise price of $[_] per underlying warrant, which warrant shall be exercisable in full or in part at any time beginning from the date of the Offering (the "Placement Agent Warrant" and together with the Company’s ordinary shares underlying the Placement Agent Warrant, the "Placement Agent Securities"). The Placement Agent may deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering payable to the Company on the Closing Date the Placement Fee set forth herein to be paid by the Company to the Placement Agent. For the avoidance of doubt, the term of the Placement Agent Warrant shall not exceed [_] years from the commencement of sales in the Offering. The Placement Agent hereby agrees that the holder of the Placement Agent Warrant will not sell, transfer, assign, pledge or hypothecate the Placement Agent Securities, nor shall any Placement Agent Securities be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put, or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of the Placement Agent Securities for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days beginning on the date of the commencement of sales in the Offering in accordance with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA") Rule 5110(e)(1), except as provided for in FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2).
B. Offering Expenses. The Company will be responsible for and will pay all expenses relating to the Offering, including, without limitation, (a) all filing fees and expenses relating to the registration of the Securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); (b) all FINRA filing fees; (c) all fees and expenses relating to the listing of the ADS on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Exchange”); (d) the costs of all mailing and printing of the documents related to the Offering; (e) transfer and/or stamp taxes, if any, payable upon the transfer of Securities from the Company to Investors; (f) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants; (g) FT Global’s reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (such as travel expenses and due diligence expenses) actually incurred not to exceed $20,000; and (h) legal fees of FT Global’s counsel not to exceed $50,000. The FT Global’s expenses will be handled out of the flow of funds at closing. The Placement Agent may deduct from the net proceeds of the Offering payable to the Company on the Closing Date the expenses set forth herein to be paid by the Company to the Placement Agent, provided, however, that in the event that the Offering is terminated, the Company agrees to reimburse the Placement Agent for the amount of expenses and legal fees incurred, up to the maximum amounts set forth above, to the extent required by Section 5 hereof promptly after such termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the Offering is not consummated for any reason whatsoever within the time specified herein or any extensions thereof pursuant to the terms herein, the Company shall be obligated to reimburse the Placement Agent the non-accountable expense allowance not to exceed $20,000, plus the actually incurred legal expenses not to exceed $30,000, within five (5) business days of the end of the Term or termination of the Offering, whichever is earlier.
C. Tail Financing. The Placement Agent shall be entitled to fees per Section 2.A. of this Agreement with respect to any public or private offering or other financing or capital-raising transaction of any kind (“Tail Financing”) to the extent that such Tail Financing is provided to the Company by any investors that the Placement Agent has introduced to and/or contacted on behalf of the Company through an in-person, an electronic or a telephonic communication or investors that the Placement Agent had “wall-crossed” in connection with this Offering (or any entity under common management or having a common investment advisor), if such Tail Financing is consummated at any time within the 12-month period following the termination of this Agreement. Any right to the fees provided by this paragraph shall be terminated upon termination of this Agreement by the Company for “Cause,” which shall mean a material breach by the Placement Agent of this Agreement or a material failure by the Placement Agent to provide the Services as contemplated by this Agreement. Prior to ten (10) days after termination or expiration of this Agreement, the Placement Agent will provide by electronic mail a written list of such persons or entities that the Placement Agent had introduced to the Company or “wall-crossed” in connection with this Offering during the term of this Agreement, which list shall be deemed to include entities under common management or having a common investment advisor with the entities included on such list, provided, however, that such list shall be limited to thirty five (35) institutional investors.
D. The Services provided by the Placement Agent hereunder are solely for the benefit of the Company and are not intended to confer any rights upon any persons or entities not a party hereto (including, without limitation, securityholders, employees or creditors of the Company) as against the Placement Agent or its directors, officers, agents and employees.
2
| 3. | Description of the Offering. |
The Securities to be offered directly to various investors (each, an “Investor” or “Purchaser” and, collectively, the “Investors” or the “Purchasers”) pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement dated on or about the date hereof between the Company and the Investors (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) shall consist of American depository shares (“ADSs”), each ADS represents twenty-five (25) of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share (the “Shares”), certain pre-funded warrants to purchase ADSs (the “Prefunded Warrants”), and certain warrants to purchase ADSs (the “Prefunded Warrants,” “Warrants,” and collectively with the ADSs and Shares underlying the Warrant and the ADSs, the “Securities”). The purchase price for a unit consisting of [_] ADS, [_] Prefunded Warrant, and a[_] accompanying Warrant shall be $[_] (the “Purchase Price”). If the Company shall default in its obligations to deliver Securities to a Purchaser whose offer it has accepted and who has tendered payment, the Company shall indemnify and hold the Placement Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense arising from or as a result of such default by the Company under this Agreement.
| 4. | Delivery and Payment; Closing. |
Settlement of the Securities purchased by an Investor shall be made as set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement. On the Closing Date, the Securities to which the Closing relates shall be delivered through such means as the parties to the Securities Purchase Agreement may hereafter agree. The Securities shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as set forth in the Securities Purchase Agreement. The term “Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York, New York, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or mainland China.
| 5. | Term and Termination of Agreement. |
The term of this Agreement will commence upon the execution of this Agreement and will terminate on the tenth (10th) Business Day following the Offering. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, any provision in this Agreement concerning or relating to confidentiality, indemnification, contribution, advancement, the Company’s representations and warranties and the Company’s obligations to pay fees, including without limitation as set forth in Section 2.C. above, and reimburse expenses will survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement. If any condition specified in Section 8 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Placement Agent by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to a Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that those portions of this Agreement specified in Section 19 shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.
| 6. | Permitted Acts. |
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the ability of the Placement Agent, its officers, directors, employees, agents, associated persons and any individual or entity “controlling,” “controlled by,” or “under common control” with the Placement Agent (as those terms are defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) to conduct its business including without limitation the ability to pursue, investigate, analyze, invest in, or engage in investment banking, financial advisory or any other business relationship with any individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
| 7. | Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Company. |
As of the date and time of the execution of this Agreement, the Closing Date and the Initial Sale Time (as defined herein), the Company (i) makes such representations and warranties to the Placement Agent as the Company makes to the Investors pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, and (ii) further represents, warrants and covenants to the Placement Agent, other than as disclosed in the Prospectus (as defined below) or in any of its filings with the Commission that are incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement (as defined below), that:
A. Registration Matters.
i. The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-[_]) including a related prospectus, for the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Securities Act Regulations”). The registration statement has been declared effective under the Securities Act by the Commission. The “Registration Statement,” as of any time, means such registration statement as amended by any post-effective amendments thereto at such time, including the exhibits and any schedules thereto at such time, the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein at such time and the documents otherwise deemed to be a part thereof as of such time pursuant to Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”). Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act Regulations is hereinafter called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The prospectus set forth in the Registration Statement in the form first used to confirm sales of the Shares is hereinafter referred to as the “Prospectus” and the term “Preliminary Prospectus” means any preliminary form of the Prospectus, specifically related to the Securities filed with the Commission by the Company with the consent of the Placement Agent.
3
ii. All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” (or other references of like import) in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to include all such financial statements and schedules and other information incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to include the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Exchange Act Regulations”), incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, such Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, at or after the execution and delivery of this Agreement.
iii. The term “Disclosure Package” means (i) the Preliminary Prospectus, as most recently amended or supplemented immediately prior to the Initial Sale Time (as defined herein), and (ii) the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (as defined below), if any, identified in Schedule I hereto.
iv. The term “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act Regulations. The term “free writing prospectus” means any free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Regulations, used in connection with the Offering, including any documents incorporated by reference therein.
v. Any Preliminary Prospectus when filed with the Commission, and the Registration Statement as of each effective date and as of the date hereof, complied or will comply, and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus will, when they become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations; and the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus complied, and any further documents so incorporated will comply, when filed with the Commission, in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Regulations.
vi. The issuance by the Company of the Securities has been registered under the Securities Act. The Securities will be issued pursuant to the Registration Statement and will be freely transferable and freely tradable by each of the Investors without restriction, unless otherwise restricted by applicable law or regulation.
B. Stock Exchange Listing. The ADSs are approved for listing on the Exchange and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, delisting the ADSs from the Exchange, nor has the Company received any notification that the Exchange is contemplating terminating such listing.
C. No Stop Orders, etc. To the Company’s knowledge, neither the Commission nor any state regulatory authority has issued any order preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or has instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to institute, any proceedings with respect to such an order. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information.
4
D. Disclosures in Registration Statement.
i. Compliance with Securities Act and 10b-5 Representation.
(a) Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations. The Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, at the time each was or will be filed with the Commission, complied or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations. The Preliminary Prospectus delivered to the Placement Agent for use in connection with this Offering and the Prospectus was or will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(b) None of the Registration Statement, any amendment thereto, or the Preliminary Prospectus, as of 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time) on the date hereof (the “Initial Sale Time”), and at the Closing Date, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Placement Agent by the Placement Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The parties acknowledge and agree that such information provided by or on behalf of the Placement Agent consists solely of the following disclosure contained in the “Plan of Distribution” section of the Prospectus: (i) the name of the Placement Agent, and (ii) the information regarding its fees and expenses (the “Placement Agent’s Information”).
(c) The Disclosure Package, as of the Initial Sale Time and at the Closing Date, did not, does not and will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Preliminary Prospectus as of the Initial Sale Time, did not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements made or statements omitted in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company with respect to the Placement Agent by the Placement Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto. The parties acknowledge and agree that such information provided by or on behalf of any Placement Agent consists solely of the Placement Agent’s Information; and
(d) Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), or at the Closing Date, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to the Placement Agent’s Information.
5
ii. Disclosure of Agreements. The agreements and documents described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained therein. Each agreement or other instrument (however characterized or described) to which the Company is a party or by which it is or may be bound or affected and (i) that is referred to in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and (ii) is material to the Company’s business, has been duly authorized and validly executed by the Company, is in full force and effect in all material respects and is enforceable against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, the other parties thereto, in accordance with its terms, except (x) as such enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, (y) as enforceability of any indemnification or contribution provision may be limited under the federal and state securities laws, and (z) that the remedy of specific performance and injunctive and other forms of equitable relief may be subject to the equitable defenses and to the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought. None of such agreements or instruments has been assigned by the Company, and neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party is in default thereunder and, to the Company’s knowledge, no event has occurred that, with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute a default thereunder, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. To the Company’s knowledge, performance by the Company of the material provisions of such agreements or instruments will not result in a violation of any existing applicable law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any governmental agency or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its assets or businesses, including, without limitation, those relating to environmental laws and regulations.
iii. Changes After Dates in Registration Statement.
(a) No Material Adverse Change. Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except as otherwise specifically stated therein: (i) there has been no material adverse change in the financial position or results of operations of the Company, nor any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would involve a material adverse change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, assets or prospects of the Company (a “Material Adverse Change”); (ii) there have been no material transactions entered into by the Company, other than as contemplated pursuant to this Agreement; and (iii) no officer or director of the Company has resigned from any position with the Company.
(b) Recent Securities Transactions, etc. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and except as may otherwise be indicated or contemplated herein or disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company has not: (i) issued any securities (other than (i) grants under any share compensation plan and (ii) ADS issued upon the exercise or conversion of option, warrants or convertible securities described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus) or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money; or (ii) declared or paid any dividend or made any other distribution on or in respect to its capital stock.
E. Transactions Affecting Disclosure to FINRA.
i. Finder’s Fees. There are no claims, payments, arrangements, agreements or understandings relating to the payment of a finder’s, consulting or origination fee by the Company or any executive officer or director of the Company with respect to the sale of the Securities hereunder or any other arrangements, agreements or understandings of the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its stockholders.
ii. Payments Within Twelve (12) Months. Except as disclosed in the final prospectus related to the Company’s initial public offering, the Company has not made any direct or indirect payments (in cash, securities or otherwise) to: (i) any person, as a finder’s fee, consulting fee or otherwise, in consideration of such person raising capital for the Company or introducing to the Company persons who raised or provided capital to the Company; (ii) any FINRA member; or (iii) any person or entity that has any direct or indirect affiliation or association with any FINRA member, within the twelve (12) months prior to the date hereof, other than the payment to the Placement Agent as provided hereunder in connection with the Offering.
6
iii. Use of Proceeds. None of the net proceeds of the Offering will be paid by the Company to any participating FINRA member or its affiliates, except as specifically authorized herein.
iv. FINRA Affiliation. There is no (i) officer or director of the Company, (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, beneficial owner of 10% or more of any class of the Company’s securities or (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered equity securities which were acquired during the 180-day period immediately preceding the confidential submission of the Registration Statement that is an affiliate or associated person of a FINRA member participating in the Offering (as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of FINRA).
F. Integration. Neither the Company, nor any of its affiliates, nor any person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause the Offering to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of the Securities Act that would require the registration of any such securities under the Securities Act.
G. Restriction on Sales of Capital Stock. The Company, on behalf of itself and any successor entity, agrees that it will not, for a period of thirty (30) days after the date of this Agreement (the “Lock-Up Period”), without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company; (ii) file or cause to be filed any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company, other than pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8 for employee benefit plans or amendment(s) thereto. The restrictions contained in this section shall not apply to (i) the issuance by the Company of the Shares upon the exercise of stock options, warrants or the conversion of a security, in each case, that is outstanding on the date hereof or issued in the Offering, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date hereof to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (other than in connection with share splits or combinations) or to extend the term of such securities; (ii) the grant by the Company of stock options or other stock-based awards, or the issuance of shares of capital stock of the Company under any stock compensation plan of the Company in effect on the date hereof; (iii) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of the Company, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the Lock-Up Period, and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a person (or to the equityholders of a person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the current business of the Company at such time and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities; or (iv) securities issued or issuable pursuant to the securities purchase agreement entered into between the Company and JAK Agriculture Ventures I LLC on December 8, 2025.
H. Lock-Up Agreements. The Company has caused each of its officers, directors and certain beneficial owners of 5% or more of any class of the Company’s securities to deliver to the Placement Agent an executed Lock-Up Agreement, in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto (the “Lock-Up Agreement”) for a period of sixty (60) days from the Closing Date.
I. Variable Rate Transactions. From the date hereof until ninety (90) months after the Closing Date, the Company shall be prohibited from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect any issuance by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of ADSs or Shares or ADS or Share equivalents (or a combination of units thereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction. For purposes of this Agreement, “Variable Rate Transaction” shall mean a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive additional ADSs or Shares either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for the ADSs or Shares at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity securities, or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the ADSs or Shares or (ii) enters into, or effects a transaction under, any agreement, including, but not limited to, an equity line of credit, whereby the Company may issue securities at a future determined price. The Placement Agent shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the restrictions contained in this section shall not apply to securities issued or issuable pursuant to the securities purchase agreement entered into between the Company and JAK Agriculture Ventures I LLC on December 8, 2025.
7
| 8. | Conditions of the Obligations of the Placement Agent. |
The obligations of the Placement Agent hereunder shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 7 hereof, in each case as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date as though then made, to the timely performance by each of the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder on and as of such dates, and to each of the following additional conditions:
A. Regulatory Matters.
i. Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Rule 424 Information. The Registration Statement is effective on the date of this Agreement, and, on the Closing Date no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the Securities Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated by the Commission. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed by the Closing Date shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
ii. FINRA Clearance. On or before the date of this Agreement, the Placement Agent shall have received clearance from FINRA as to the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Placement Agent as described in the Registration Statement.
iii. Listing of Additional Shares. On or before the Closing Date, the Company shall have filed a notice with the Exchange with respect to the Company’s additional listing of the securities sold in the Offering.
B. Company Counsel Matters. On the Closing Date, the Placement Agent shall have received a legal opinion of Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom, LLP, the Company’s U.S. securities counsel, and favorable opinions of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, the Company’s offshore counsel, and Global Law Office, the Company’s PRC legal counsel, in each case dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Placement Agent, and in each case substantially in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent.
C. Comfort Letter. The Placement Agent shall have received letters dated the date of this Agreement and the Closing Date, each in form and substance satisfactory to the Placement Agent, from the Company’s independent public accountants, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and Prospectus.
D. Officers’ Certificate. On the Closing Date, the Placement Agent shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that, (i) such officers have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, in their opinion, the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, as of the Initial Sale Time and through the Closing Date did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and the Disclosure Package, as of the Initial Sale Time through the Closing Date, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus as of its date and as of the Closing Date, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, as of the respective date thereof and as of the Closing Date, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading; and (ii) as of the Closing Date the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein and in the Securities Purchase Agreement were and are accurate in all material respects, and that the obligations to be performed by the Company hereunder have been fully performed in all material respects.
8
E. Secretary’s Certificate. On the Closing Date, the Placement Agent shall have received from the Company a certificate of the corporate secretary of the Company, dated the Closing Date, certifying to the organizational documents of the Company, good standing in the jurisdiction of formation of the Company and board resolutions authorizing the Offering of the Securities.
F. No Material Changes. Prior to and on the Closing Date: (i) there shall have been no Material Adverse Change or development involving a prospective Material Adverse Change in the condition or prospects or the business activities, financial or otherwise, of the Company from the latest dates as of which such condition is set forth in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (ii) no action, suit or proceeding, at law or in equity, shall have been pending or threatened against the Company or any affiliates of the Company before or by any court or federal or state commission, board or other administrative agency wherein an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding may materially adversely affect the business, operations, prospects or financial condition or income of the Company, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (iii) no stop order shall have been issued under the Securities Act and no proceedings therefor shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and (iv) the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto shall contain all material statements which are required to be stated therein in accordance with the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations and shall conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Regulations, and neither the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package nor the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto shall contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
G. Delivery of Agreements.
(i) Lock-Up Agreements. On or before the Closing Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Placement Agent executed copies of the Lock-Up Agreement from each of the Company’s officers, directors and certain beneficial owners of 5% or more of any class of the Company’s securities.
(ii) Placement Agent Warrant. On the Closing Date, the Company shall have delivered to the Placement Agent an executed copy or copies of the Placement Agent Warrant(s) in such designations as requested by the Placement Agent.
H. Additional Documents. At the Closing Date, Placement Agent’s counsel shall have been furnished with such documents as they may reasonably require in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Placement Agent and Placement Agent’s counsel.
| 9. | Indemnification and Contribution; Procedures. |
A. Indemnification of the Placement Agent. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Placement Agent, its affiliates and each person controlling such Placement Agent (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act), and the directors, officers, agents and employees of the Placement Agent, its affiliates and each such controlling person (the Placement Agent, and each such entity or person hereafter is referred to as an “Indemnified Person”) from and against any losses, claims, damages, judgments, assessments, costs and other liabilities (collectively, the “Liabilities”), and shall reimburse each Indemnified Person for all reasonable and documented fees and expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Indemnified Persons, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement) (collectively, the “Expenses”) and agrees to advance payment of such Expenses as they are incurred by an Indemnified Person in investigating, preparing, pursuing or defending any actions, whether or not any Indemnified Person is a party thereto, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in (i) the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as from time to time each may be amended and supplemented); (ii) any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the Offering, including any “road show” or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically); or (iii) any document or written communication (in this Section 9, collectively called “application”) executed by the Company in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Securities under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, any state securities commission or agency, any national securities exchange; or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, the Placement Agent’s information. The Company also agrees to reimburse each Indemnified Person for all Expenses as they are incurred in connection with such Indemnified Person’s enforcement of his or its rights under this Agreement. Each Indemnified Person is an intended third party beneficiary with the same rights to enforce the indemnification that each Indemnified Person would have if he was a party to this Agreement.
9
B. Procedure. Upon receipt by an Indemnified Person of actual notice of an action against such Indemnified Person with respect to which indemnity may reasonably be expected to be sought under this Agreement, such Indemnified Person shall promptly notify the Company in writing; provided that failure by any Indemnified Person so to notify the Company shall not relieve the Company from any obligation or liability which the Company may have on account of this Section 9 or otherwise to such Indemnified Person, except to the extent (and only to the extent) that its ability to assume the defense of any such action (as contemplated in the next sentence) is actually impaired by such failure or delay. The Company shall, if requested by the Placement Agent, assume the defense of any such action (including the employment of counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent). Any Indemnified Person shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Indemnified Person unless: (i) the Company has failed promptly to assume the defense and employ counsel for the benefit of the Placement Agent and the other Indemnified Persons or (ii) such Indemnified Person shall have been advised that in the reasonable opinion of counsel that there is an actual or potential conflict of interest that prevents (or makes it imprudent for) the counsel engaged by the Company for the purpose of representing the Indemnified Person, to represent both such Indemnified Person and any other person represented or proposed to be represented by such counsel, it being understood, however, that the Company shall not be liable for the expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the Placement Agent and all Indemnified Persons who are parties to such action. The Company shall not be liable for any settlement of any action effected without its written consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld). In addition, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Placement Agent, settle, compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any pending or threatened action in respect of which advancement, reimbursement, indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not such Indemnified Person is a party thereto) unless such settlement, compromise, consent or termination (i) includes an unconditional release of each Indemnified Person, acceptable to such Indemnified Party, from all Liabilities arising out of such action for which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any Indemnified Person. The advancement, reimbursement, indemnification and contribution obligations of the Company required hereby shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation or defense, as every Liability and Expense is incurred and is due and payable, and in such amounts as fully satisfy each and every Liability and Expense as it is incurred (and in no event later than 30 days following the date of any invoice therefor).
C. Indemnification of the Company. The Placement Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and persons who control the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all Liabilities, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Disclosure Package or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in strict conformity with, the Placement Agent’s Information. In case any action shall be brought against the Company or any other person so indemnified based on any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, and in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Placement Agent, the Placement Agent shall have the rights and duties given to the Company, and the Company and each other person so indemnified shall have the rights and duties given to the Placement Agent by the provisions of Section 9.B. The Company agrees promptly to notify the Placement Agent of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against the Company or any of its officers, directors or any person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities or in connection with the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, provided, that failure by the Company so to notify the Placement Agent shall not relieve the Placement Agent from any obligation or liability which the Placement Agent may have on account of this Section 9.C. or otherwise to the Company, except to the extent the Placement Agent is materially prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure.
10
D. Contribution. In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction makes a finding that indemnity is unavailable to any indemnified person, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the Liabilities and Expenses paid or payable by such indemnified person in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect (i) the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and to the Placement Agent and any other Indemnified Person, on the other hand, of the matters contemplated by this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by the immediately preceding clause is not permitted by applicable law, not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Placement Agent and any other Indemnified Person, on the other hand, in connection with the matters as to which such Liabilities or Expenses relate, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations; provided that in no event shall the Company contribute less than the amount necessary to ensure that all Indemnified Persons, in the aggregate, are not liable for any Liabilities and Expenses in excess of the amount of commissions actually received by the Placement Agent pursuant to this Agreement. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Placement Agent on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Placement Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection (D) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (D). For purposes of this paragraph, the relative benefits to the Company, on the one hand, and to the Placement Agent on the other hand, of the matters contemplated by this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as: (a) the total value received by the Company in the Offering, whether or not such Offering is consummated, bears to (b) the commissions paid to the Placement Agent under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, no person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act shall be entitled to contribution from a party who was not guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation.
E. Limitation. The Company also agrees that no Indemnified Person shall have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort or otherwise) to the Company for or in connection with advice or services rendered or to be rendered by any Indemnified Person pursuant to this Agreement, the transactions contemplated thereby or any Indemnified Person’s actions or inactions in connection with any such advice, services or transactions, except to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction has made a finding that Liabilities (and related Expenses) of the Company have resulted primarily from such Indemnified Person’s fraud, bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with any such advice, actions, inactions or services.
F. Survival. The advancement, reimbursement, indemnity and contribution obligations set forth in this Section 9 shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any termination of, or the completion of any Indemnified Person’s services under or in connection with, this Agreement. Each Indemnified Person is an intended third-party beneficiary of this Section 9, and has the right to enforce the provisions of Section 9 as if he/she/it was a party to this Agreement.
| 10. | Limitation of FT Global’s Liability to the Company. |
FT Global and the Company further agree that neither FT Global nor any of its affiliates or any of their respective officers, directors, controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act), employees or agents shall have any liability to the Company, its security holders or creditors, or any person asserting claims on behalf of or in the right of the Company (whether direct or indirect, in contract or tort, for an act of negligence or otherwise) for any losses, fees, damages, liabilities, costs, expenses or equitable relief arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Services rendered hereunder, except for losses, fees, damages, liabilities, costs or expenses that arise out of or are based on any action of or failure to act by FT Global and that are finally judicially determined to have resulted solely from the fraud, bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct of FT Global.
11
| 11. | Limitation of Engagement to the Company. |
The Company acknowledges that FT Global has been retained only by the Company, that FT Global is providing services hereunder as an independent contractor (and not in any fiduciary or agency capacity) and that the Company’s engagement of FT Global is not deemed to be on behalf of, and is not intended to confer rights upon, any shareholder, owner or partner of the Company or any other person not a party hereto as against FT Global or any of its affiliates, or any of its or their respective officers, directors, controlling persons (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act), employees or agents. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by FT Global, no one other than the Company is authorized to rely upon any statement or conduct of FT Global in connection with this Agreement. The Company acknowledges that any recommendation or advice, written or oral, given by FT Global to the Company in connection with FT Global’s engagement is intended solely for the benefit and use of the Company’s management and directors in considering a possible Offering, and any such recommendation or advice is not on behalf of, and shall not confer any rights or remedies upon, any other person or be used or relied upon for any other purpose. FT Global shall not have the authority to make any commitment binding on the Company. The Company, in its sole discretion, shall have the right to reject any investor introduced to it by FT Global. If any purchase agreement and/or related transaction documents are entered into between the Company and the investors in the Offering, FT Global will be entitled to rely on the representations, warranties, agreements and covenants of the Company contained in any such purchase agreement and related transaction documents as if such representations, warranties, agreements and covenants were made directly to FT Global by the Company.
| 12. | Amendments and Waivers. |
No supplement, modification or waiver of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by the parties hereto. The failure of a party to exercise any right or remedy shall not be deemed or constitute a waiver of such right or remedy in the future. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision hereof (regardless of whether similar), nor shall any such waiver be deemed or constitute a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly provided.
| 13. | Confidentiality. |
In the event of the consummation or public announcement of any Offering, FT Global shall have the right to disclose its participation in such Offering, including, without limitation, the placement at its cost of “tombstone” advertisements in financial and other newspapers and journals. FT Global agrees not to use any confidential information concerning the Company provided to FT Global by the Company for any purposes other than those contemplated under this Agreement.
| 14. | Headings. |
The headings of the various sections of this Agreement have been inserted for convenience of reference only and will not be deemed to be part of this Agreement.
| 15. | Counterparts. |
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts and, if executed in more than one counterpart, the executed counterparts shall each be deemed to be an original and all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. The words “execution,” “signed” and “signature” and words of like import in this Agreement and all documents relating thereto, shall (to the extent permissible under governing documents) include images of manually executed signatures transmitted by facsimile or other electronic format (including, without limitation, “pdf,” “tif” or “jpg”) and other electronic signatures (including, without limitation, DocuSign and AdobeSign). The use of electronic signatures and electronic records (including, without limitation, any contract or other record created, generated, sent, communicated, received or stored by electronic means) shall be of the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as a manually executed signature or use of a paper-based record-keeping system to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, including, without limitation, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and any other applicable law.
12
| 16. | Severability. |
The invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
| 17. | Use of Information. |
The Company will furnish FT Global such written information as FT Global reasonably requests in connection with the performance of its services hereunder. The Company understands, acknowledges and agrees that, in performing its services hereunder, FT Global will use and rely entirely upon such information as well as publicly available information regarding the Company and other potential parties to an Offering and that FT Global does not assume responsibility for independent verification of the accuracy or completeness of any information, whether publicly available or otherwise furnished to it, concerning the Company or otherwise relevant to an Offering, including, without limitation, any financial information, forecasts or projections considered by FT Global in connection with the provision of its services.
| 18. | Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. |
The Company acknowledges and agrees that: (a) the Placement Agent has been retained solely to act as Placement Agent in connection with the sale of the Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Placement Agent has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Placement Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters; (b) the Purchase Price and other terms of the Securities set forth in this Agreement were established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Investors and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; (c) it has been advised that the Placement Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions that may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Placement Agent has no obligation to disclose such interest and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and (d) it has been advised that the Placement Agent is acting, in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, solely for the benefit of the Placement Agent, and not on behalf of the Company and that the Placement Agent may have interests that differ from those of the Company. The Company waives to the full extent permitted by applicable law any claims it may have against the Placement Agent arising from an alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the Offering.
| 19. | Survival of Indemnities, Representations, Warranties, Etc. |
The respective indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and Placement Agent, as set forth in this Agreement or made by them respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Placement Agent, the Company, the Purchasers or any person controlling any of them and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Securities. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, including without limitation any termination pursuant to Section 5, the payment, reimbursement, indemnity, contribution, advancement and limitation of liability agreements contained in Sections 2, 3, 9, 10, and 11, and the Company’s covenants, representations, and warranties set forth in this Agreement, shall not terminate and shall remain in full force and effect. The indemnity and contribution provisions contained in Section 9 shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any termination of this Agreement, (ii) any investigation made by or on behalf of any of the Placement Agent, any person who controls the Placement Agent within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or any affiliate of the Placement Agent, or by or on behalf of the Company, its directors or officers or any person who controls the Company within the meaning of either Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and (iii) the issuance and delivery of the Securities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the covenants, warranties and representations of the Company contained in this Agreement shall survive the Closing and the delivery of the Securities for a period of twelve (12) months from Closing.
13
| 20. | Governing Law. |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be fully performed therein, without regard to its choice of law provisions. Any disputes that arise under this Agreement, even after the termination of this Agreement, will be heard only in the state or federal courts located in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan. The parties hereto expressly agree to submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the foregoing courts in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan. The parties hereto expressly waive any rights they may have to contest the jurisdiction, venue or authority of any court sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan.
| 21. | Notices. |
All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed or hand delivered and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:
If to the Company:
Yimutian Inc.
6/F, Building B-6, Block A Zhongguancun
Dongsheng Technology Campus No. 66, Xixiaokou Road
Haidian District, Beijing, the People’s Republic of China, 100192
Telephone: +86 10 57086561
Attention: Shijie Chen, Chief Financial Officer
If to the Placement Agent:
FT Global Capital, Inc.
1688 Meridian Avenue, Suite 700
Miami Beach, FL 33139
786-220-6129 (Office)
786-655-8201 (Fax)
Attention: President, CEO
Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others.
| 22. | Miscellaneous. |
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of FT Global and the Company, and supersedes any prior agreements, with respect to the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such determination will not affect such provision in any other respect, and the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
| 23. | Successors. |
This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 9 hereof, and to their respective successors, and personal representatives, and, except as set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement, no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.
[SIGNATURE PAGE TO FOLLOW]
14
In acknowledgment that the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding reached by FT Global and the Company, and intending to be legally bound, please sign in the space provided below, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement as of the date executed.
| Very truly yours, | |||
| YIMUTIAN INC. | |||
| By: | |||
| Name: | |||
| Title: | |||
| Confirmed as of the date first written above: | |||
| FT GLOBAL CAPITAL, INC. | |||
| By: | |||
| Name: | Patrick Ko | ||
| Title: | President, CEO | ||
15
SCHEDULE I
Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses
16
Exhibit A
Lock-Up Agreement
17
Exhibit 4.3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page | |||
| PARTIES | |||
| RECITALS | |||
| Section 1. | Certain Definitions | 1 | |
| (a) | ADR Register | 1 | |
| (b) | ADRs; Direct Registration ADRs | 1 | |
| (c) | ADS | 1 | |
| (d) | Beneficial Owner | 1 | |
| (e) | Commission | 2 | |
| (f) | Custodian | 2 | |
| (g) | Deliver, execute, issue et al. | 2 | |
| (h) | Delivery Order | 2 | |
| (i) | Deposited Securities | 2 | |
| (j) | Direct Registration System | 2 | |
| (k) | Holder | 2 | |
| (l) | Removal Notice Date | 3 | |
| (m) | Resignation Notice Date | 3 | |
| (n) | Securities Act of 1933 | 3 | |
| (o) | Securities Exchange Act of 1934 | 3 | |
| (p) | Shares | 3 | |
| (q) | Termination Date | 3 | |
| (r) | Transfer Office | 3 | |
| (s) | Withdrawal Order | 3 | |
| Section 2. | Form of ADRs | 3 | |
| Section 3. | Deposit of Shares | 4 | |
| Section 4. | Issue of ADRs | 5 | |
| Section 5. | Distributions on Deposited Securities | 5 | |
| Section 6. | Withdrawal, Delivery and Transfer of Deposited Securities | 5 | |
| Section 7. | Substitution of ADRs | 6 | |
| Section 8. | Cancellation and Destruction of ADRs | 6 | |
| Section 9. | The Custodian | 7 | |
| Section 10. | Lists of Holders | 7 | |
| Section 11. | Depositary’s Agents | 7 | |
| Section 12. | Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary | 8 | |
| Section 13. | Compliance with Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Reporting and Other Requirements; Reports | 9 | |
| Section 14. | Additional Shares | 9 | |
| Section 15. | Indemnification | 10 | |
| Section 16. | Notices | 12 | |
| Section 17. | Counterparts | 13 | |
| Section 18. | No Third-Party Beneficiaries; Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect | 13 | |
| Section 19. | Severability | 13 | |
| Section 20. | Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction | 13 | |
| Section 21. | Agent for Service | 16 | |
| Section 22. | Waiver of Immunities | 17 | |
| Section 23. | Waiver of Jury Trial | 17 | |
| Section 24. | Amendment and Restatement of Prior Deposit Agreement | 17 | |
| TESTIMONIUM | |||
| SIGNATURES | 18 | ||
-i-
EXHIBIT A
| Page | |||
| FORM OF FACE OF ADR | |||
| Introductory Paragraph | |||
| (1) | Issuance of ADSs | A-2 | |
| (2) | Withdrawal of Deposited Securities | A-3 | |
| (3) | Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs | A-3 | |
| (4) | Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc. | A-3 | |
| (5) | Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges | A-4 | |
| (6) | Disclosure of Interests | A-5 | |
| (7) | Charges of Depositary | A-6 | |
| (8) | Available Information | A-8 | |
| (9) | Execution | A-8 | |
| Signature of Depositary | A-8 | ||
| Address of Depositary’s Office | A-8 | ||
| FORM OF REVERSE OF ADR | A-9 | ||
| (10) | Distributions on Deposited Securities; Sales | A-9 | |
| (11) | Record Dates | A-12 | |
| (12) | Voting of Deposited Securities | A-12 | |
| (13) | Changes Affecting Deposited Securities | A-15 | |
| (14) | Exoneration | A-16 | |
| (15) | Resignation and Removal of Depositary; the Custodian | A-20 | |
| (16) | Amendment | A-20 | |
| (17) | Termination | A-21 | |
| (18) | Appointment; Acknowledgements and Agreements | A-24 | |
| (19) | Waiver | A-25 | |
| (20) | Jurisdiction | A-25 | |
| (21) | Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares | A-26 | |
EXHIBIT B
EXHIBIT C
-ii-
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, dated as of August 7, 2025 (the “Deposit Agreement”), among YIMUTIAN INC., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and its successors (the “Company”), JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of the United States of America, as depositary hereunder (in such capacity, the “Depositary”), and all Holders (as defined below) and Beneficial Owners (as defined below) from time to time of American depositary receipts issued hereunder evidencing American depositary shares (“ADSs”) representing deposited Shares (as defined below). The Company hereby appoints the Depositary as depositary for the Deposited Securities (as defined below) and hereby authorizes and directs the Depositary to act in accordance with the terms set forth in this Deposit Agreement. All capitalized terms used herein have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 1 or elsewhere in this Deposit Agreement. The parties hereto agree as follows:
| 1. | Certain Definitions. |
(a) “ADR Register” is defined in paragraph (3) of the form of ADR (Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs).
(b) “ADRs” mean the American Depositary Receipts executed and delivered hereunder. ADRs may be either in physical certificated form or Direct Registration ADRs (as hereinafter defined). ADRs in physical certificated form, and the terms and conditions governing the Direct Registration ADRs, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A annexed hereto (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “form of ADR”). The term “Direct Registration ADR” means an ADR, the ownership of which is recorded on the Direct Registration System. References to “ADRs” shall include certificated ADRs and Direct Registration ADRs, unless the context otherwise requires. The form of ADR is hereby incorporated herein and made a part hereof; the provisions of the form of ADR shall be binding upon the parties hereto.
(c) Subject to paragraph (13) of the form of ADR (Changes Affecting Deposited Securities), each “ADS” evidenced by an ADR represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, the number or percentage of Shares specified in the form of ADR attached hereto as Exhibit A (as may be amended from time to time) that are on deposit with the Depositary and/or the Custodian and a pro rata share in any other Deposited Securities, subject, in each case, to the terms of this Deposit Agreement and the ADSs. The ADS(s)-to-Share(s) ratio is subject to amendment as provided in the form of ADR (which may give rise to fees contemplated in paragraph (7) thereof (Charges of Depositary)).
(d) “Beneficial Owner” means as to any ADS, any person or entity having a beneficial ownership interest in such ADS. A Beneficial Owner need not be the Holder of the ADR evidencing such ADS. If a Beneficial Owner of ADSs is not a Holder, it must rely on the Holder of the ADR(s) evidencing such ADSs in order to assert any rights or receive any benefits under this Deposit Agreement. The arrangements between a Beneficial Owner of ADSs and the Holder of the corresponding ADRs may affect the Beneficial Owner’s ability to exercise any rights it may have.
1
(e) “Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
(f) “Custodian” means the agent or agents of the Depositary (singly or collectively, as the context requires) and any additional or substitute Custodian appointed pursuant to Section 9.
(g) The terms “deliver,” “execute,” “issue,” “register,” “surrender,” “transfer” or “cancel,” when used with respect to Direct Registration ADRs, shall refer to an entry or entries or an electronic transfer or transfers in the Direct Registration System, and, when used with respect to ADRs in physical certificated form, shall refer to the physical delivery, execution, issuance, registration, surrender, transfer or cancellation of certificates representing the ADRs.
(h) “Delivery Order” is defined in Section 3.
(i) “Deposited Securities” as of any time means all Shares at such time deposited under this Deposit Agreement and any and all other Shares, securities, property and cash at such time held by the Depositary or the Custodian in respect or in lieu of such deposited Shares and other Shares, securities, property and cash. Deposited Securities are not intended to, and shall not, constitute proprietary assets of the Depositary, the Custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in Deposited Securities is intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement continue to be, vested in the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing such Deposited Securities.
(j) “Direct Registration System” means the system for the uncertificated registration of ownership of securities established by The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) and utilized by the Depositary pursuant to which the Depositary may record the ownership of ADRs without the issuance of a certificate, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the Depositary to the Holders entitled thereto. For purposes hereof, the Direct Registration System shall include access to the Profile Modification System maintained by DTC, which provides for automated transfer of ownership between DTC and the Depositary.
(k) “Holder” means the person or persons in whose name an ADR is registered on the ADR Register. For all purposes under the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, a Holder shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by the ADR(s) registered in such Holder’s name.
2
(l) “Removal Notice Date” means the earliest date on which the Company provided notice of removal to the Depositary pursuant to Section 12(b) of this Deposit Agreement.
(m) “Resignation Notice Date” means the date on which the Depositary provided notice of its resignation to the Company pursuant to Section 12(a) of this Deposit Agreement.
(n) “Securities Act of 1933” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(o) “Securities Exchange Act of 1934” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(p) “Shares” mean the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, and shall include the rights to receive Shares specified in paragraph (1) of the form of ADR (Issuance of ADSs).
(q) “Termination Date” means the date this Deposit Agreement is terminated in accordance with paragraph (17) of the form of ADR (Termination), which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be either (i) the date fixed for termination in a notice of termination as contemplated therein or (ii) a date determined by the Depositary in the case of a termination not requiring prior notice of termination as contemplated in subparagraph (a)(iii) therein.
(r) “Transfer Office” is defined in paragraph (3) of the form of ADR (Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs).
(s) “Withdrawal Order” is defined in Section 6.
| 2. | Form of ADRs. |
(a) Direct Registration ADRs. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit Agreement or in the form of ADR to the contrary, ADSs shall be evidenced by Direct Registration ADRs, unless certificated ADRs are specifically requested by the Holder.
(b) Certificated ADRs. ADRs in certificated form shall be printed or otherwise reproduced at the discretion of the Depositary in accordance with its customary practices in its American depositary receipt business, or at the request of the Company typewritten and photocopied on plain or safety paper, and shall be substantially in the form set forth in the form of ADR, with such changes as may be required by the Depositary or the Company to comply with their obligations hereunder, any applicable law, regulation or usage or to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any particular ADRs are subject. ADRs may be issued in denominations of any number of ADSs. ADRs in certificated form shall be executed by the Depositary by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary. ADRs in certificated form bearing the manual or facsimile signature of anyone who was at the time of execution a duly authorized officer of the Depositary shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding that such officer has ceased to hold such office prior to the delivery of such ADRs.
3
(c) Binding Effect. Holders of ADRs, and the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such ADRs, shall each be bound by the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and of the form of ADR, regardless of whether such ADRs are Direct Registration ADRs or certificated ADRs.
| 3. | Deposit of Shares. |
(a) Requirements. In connection with the deposit of Shares hereunder, the Depositary or the Custodian shall require a written order, in a form satisfactory to the Depositary, directing the Depositary to issue to, or upon the written order of, the person or persons designated in such order a Direct Registration ADR or ADRs evidencing the number of ADSs representing such deposited Shares (a “Delivery Order”). Shares presented for deposit shall, at the time of such deposit, be registered in the name of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as depositary for the benefit of holders of ADRs or in such other name as the Depositary shall direct. Deposited Securities shall be held by the Custodian for the account and to the order of the Depositary for the benefit of Holders of ADRs (to the extent not prohibited by law) at such place or places and in such manner as the Depositary shall determine. Notwithstanding anything else contained herein, in the form of ADR and/or in any outstanding ADSs, the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective nominees are intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of this Deposit Agreement be, the record holder(s) only of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the Holders. The Depositary, on its own behalf and on behalf of the Custodian and their respective nominees, disclaims any beneficial ownership interest in the Deposited Securities held on behalf of the Holders.
(b) Delivery of Deposited Securities. Deposited Securities may be delivered by the Custodian to any person only under the circumstances expressly contemplated in this Deposit Agreement. To the extent that the provisions of or governing the Shares make delivery of certificates therefor impracticable, Shares may be deposited hereunder by such delivery thereof as the Depositary or the Custodian may reasonably accept, including, without limitation, by causing them to be credited to an account maintained by the Custodian for such purpose with the Company or an accredited intermediary, such as a bank, acting as a registrar for the Shares, together with delivery of the documents, payments and Delivery Order referred to herein to the Custodian or the Depositary.
4
4. Issue of ADRs. At the request, risk and expense of the person depositing Shares or rights to receive Shares, the Depositary may accept such Shares and/or deposits for forwarding to the Custodian and may deliver ADRs at a place other than its office. After any such deposit of Shares, the Custodian shall notify the Depositary of such deposit and of the information contained in any related Delivery Order by letter, first class airmail postage prepaid, or by SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication as may be agreed by the Custodian and the Depositary. After receiving such notice from the Custodian, the Depositary, subject to this Deposit Agreement, shall properly issue at the Transfer Office, to or upon the order of any person named in such notice, an ADR or ADRs registered as requested and evidencing the aggregate ADSs to which such person is entitled.
5. Distributions on Deposited Securities. To the extent that the Depositary determines in its discretion that any distribution pursuant to paragraph (10) of the form of ADR (Distributions on Deposited Securities) would not be permissible by applicable law, rule or regulation, or is not otherwise practicable with respect to any or all Holders, the Depositary may in its discretion make such distribution as it so deems practicable, including the distribution of some or all of any Cash (as defined in paragraph (10) of the form of ADR), foreign currency, securities or other property (or appropriate documents evidencing the right to receive some or all of any such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property) and/or the Depositary may retain and hold some or all of such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property as Deposited Securities with respect to the applicable Holders’ ADRs (without liability for interest thereon or the investment thereof).
To the extent the Depositary determines in its discretion that it would not be permitted by applicable law, rule or regulation, or it would not otherwise be practicable, to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars and/or distribute U.S. dollars to some or all of the Holders entitled thereto, the Depositary may in its discretion distribute some or all of the foreign currency received by the Depositary as it deems permissible and practicable to, or retain and hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the Holders entitled to receive the same.
To the extent the Depositary retains and holds any Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property as permitted under this Section 5 or paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities) of the form of ADR, any and all fees, charges and expenses related to, or arising from, the holding thereof (including, but not limited to those provided in paragraph (7) of the form of ADR (Charges of Depositary)) shall be paid from such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property, or the net proceeds from the sale thereof, thereby reducing the amount so held hereunder.
6. Withdrawal, Delivery and Transfer of Deposited Securities. In connection with any surrender of an ADR for withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced thereby, in addition to the requirements of paragraph (7) of the form of ADR, the Depositary may require proper endorsement in blank of any certificated ADRs evidencing such ADSs and/or duly executed instruments of transfer of such ADSs in blank, together with the Holder’s written order directing the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities represented by such ADSs to be withdrawn and delivered to, or upon the written order of, any person designated in such order (a “Withdrawal Order”).
5
At the request, risk and expense of the Holder hereof, the Depositary may deliver such Deposited Securities (including any certificates therefor) at a place other than its office. Directions from the Depositary to the Custodian to deliver Deposited Securities shall be given by letter, first class airmail postage prepaid, or by SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication as may be agreed by the Custodian and the Depositary. Delivery of Deposited Securities may be made by the delivery of certificates (which, if required by law shall be properly endorsed or accompanied by properly executed instruments of transfer or, if such certificates may be registered, registered in the name of such Holder or as ordered by such Holder in any Withdrawal Order) or by such other means as the Depositary may deem practicable, including, without limitation, by transfer of record ownership thereof to an account designated in the Withdrawal Order maintained either by the Company or an accredited intermediary, such as a bank, acting as a registrar for the Deposited Securities.
The Company agrees to cooperate with the Depositary and to take all actions, and to instruct and cause any registrar and/or transfer agent of the Deposited Securities to take all such actions, as may be requested by the Depositary, or are otherwise necessary or required, to effectuate the withdrawal, delivery and/or transfer of the Deposited Securities, including, without limitation, providing a deed of undertaking as set forth in or substantially in the form of Exhibit B. The obligations of the Company set forth in this Section 6 shall survive the termination of Deposit Agreement until all ADSs issued by the Depositary have been cancelled.
7. Substitution of ADRs. The Depositary shall execute and deliver a new Direct Registration ADR in exchange and substitution for any mutilated certificated ADR upon cancellation thereof or in lieu of and in substitution for such destroyed, lost or stolen certificated ADR, unless the Depositary has notice that such ADR has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, upon the Holder thereof filing with the Depositary a request for such execution and delivery and a sufficient indemnity bond and satisfying any other reasonable requirements imposed by the Depositary.
8. Cancellation and Destruction of ADRs. All ADRs surrendered to the Depositary shall be cancelled by the Depositary. The Depositary is authorized to destroy ADRs in certificated form so cancelled in accordance with its customary practices.
6
| 9. | The Custodian. |
(a) Rights of the Depositary. Any Custodian in acting hereunder shall be subject to the directions of the Depositary and shall be responsible solely to it. The Depositary reserves the right to add, replace or remove a Custodian. The Depositary will give prompt notice of any such action, which will be advance notice if practicable. The Depositary may discharge any Custodian at any time upon notice to the Custodian being discharged.
(b) Rights of the Custodian. Any Custodian may resign from its duties hereunder in the manner permitted by any custodial agreement then in effect between the Depositary and the Custodian. After receiving written notice of the Custodian’s resignation, the Depositary shall endeavor to appoint a substitute custodian or custodians, if and to the extent the Depositary determines, in its sole discretion, that a new and/or substitute custodian is required. Any such new and/or substitute custodian shall be a Custodian for all purposes hereunder. Any Custodian ceasing to act hereunder as Custodian shall deliver, upon the instruction of the Depositary, all Deposited Securities held by it to a Custodian continuing to act.
(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Deposit Agreement (including the ADRs) and, subject to the further limitations set forth in clause (q) of paragraph (14) of the form of ADR (Exoneration), the Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, any act or omission to act on the part of the Custodian except to the extent that any Holder has incurred liability directly as a result of the Custodian having (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the Custodian is located.
10. Lists of Holders. The Company shall have the right to inspect transfer records of the Depositary and its agents and the ADR Register, take copies thereof and require the Depositary and its agents to supply copies of such portions of such records as the Company may request. The Depositary or its agents shall furnish to the Company promptly upon the written request of the Company, a list of the names, addresses and holdings of ADSs by all Holders as of a date within seven (7) days of the Depositary’s receipt of such request.
11. Depositary’s Agents. The Depositary may perform its obligations under this Deposit Agreement through any agent appointed by it, provided that the Depositary shall notify the Company of such appointment and shall remain responsible for the performance of such obligations as if no agent were appointed, subject to paragraph (14) of the form of ADR (Exoneration).
7
| 12. | Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary. |
(a) Resignation of the Depositary. The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary by providing written notice of its election to do so delivered to the Company. Subject to subparagraph (c) below, the Depositary’s resignation shall take effect upon the Company’s appointment of a successor depositary and such successor depositary’s acceptance of its appointment as provided in Section 12(d) below.
(b) Removal of the Depositary. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by providing no less than sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of such removal to the Depositary. Subject to subparagraph (c) below, such removal shall take effect on the later of (i) the sixtieth (60th) day after the Removal Notice Date and (ii) the Company’s appointment of a successor depositary and such successor depositary’s acceptance of its appointment as provided in Section 12(d) below.
(c) If either the Depositary provides notice of its resignation (pursuant to Section 12(a)) or the Company provides notice of the Depositary’s removal (pursuant to Section 12(b)), and a successor depositary is not appointed by the sixtieth (60th) day after the Resignation Notice Date or the Removal Notice Date, respectively, the Depositary may terminate this Deposit Agreement and the ADR in the manner set out in paragraph (17) of the form of ADR (Termination) and the provisions of said paragraph (17) shall thereafter govern the Depositary’s obligations hereunder.
(d) Appointment of Successor Depositary. If the Depositary provides notice of its resignation pursuant to Section 12(a) above or the Company provides notice of the Depositary’s removal pursuant to Section 12(b) above, the Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York. Every successor depositary shall execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor depositary, without any further act or deed, shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor. The predecessor depositary, only upon payment of all sums due to it and on the written request of the Company, shall (i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than its rights to indemnification and fees owing, each of which shall survive any such removal and/or resignation), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all right, title and interest to the Deposited Securities to such successor, and (iii) deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding ADRs. Any such successor depositary shall promptly mail notice of its appointment to such Holders. Any bank or trust company into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated, or to which the Depositary shall transfer substantially all its American depositary receipt business, shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further act.
8
| 13. | Compliance with Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Reporting and Other Requirements; Reports. |
(a) Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company represents and warrants as of the date of the Deposit Agreement that (i) the statements in paragraph (8) of the form of ADR (Available Information) attached hereto as Exhibit A or, if applicable, most recently filed with the Commission are true and correct and (ii) it is in compliance with the registration, reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Depositary (i) is relying, and may so rely, solely on the Company’s representations, warranties and agreements in this Section 13(a) and paragraph (8) of the form of ADR (Available Information), (ii) does not assume any duty or responsibility to determine if the Company is in compliance with the registration, reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and (iii) may, and is expressly authorized by the Company to, represent, warrant and certify that, based on such representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, the Company is in compliance with the registration, reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(b) Reports. On or before the first date on which the Company makes any communication available to holders of Deposited Securities or any securities regulatory authority or stock exchange, by publication or otherwise, the Company shall transmit to the Depositary a copy thereof in English or with an English translation or summary. The Company has delivered to the Depositary, the Custodian and any Transfer Office, a copy of all provisions of or governing the Shares and any other Deposited Securities issued by the Company or any affiliate of the Company and, promptly upon any change thereto, the Company shall deliver to the Depositary, the Custodian and any Transfer Office, a copy (in English or with an English translation) of such provisions as so changed. The Depositary and its agents may rely upon the Company’s delivery of all such communications, information and provisions for all purposes of this Deposit Agreement and the Depositary shall have no liability for the accuracy or completeness of any thereof.
14. Additional Shares. The Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any company controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Company shall (a) issue (i) additional Shares, (ii) rights to subscribe for Shares, (iii) securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares or (iv) rights to subscribe for any such securities or (b) deposit any Shares under this Deposit Agreement, except, in each case, under circumstances complying in all respects with the Securities Act of 1933. At the reasonable request of the Depositary where it deems necessary, the Company will furnish the Depositary with legal opinions, in forms and from counsels reasonably acceptable to the Depositary, dealing with such issues requested by the Depositary. The Depositary will not knowingly accept for deposit hereunder any Shares required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 unless a registration statement is in effect and will use reasonable efforts to comply with written instructions of the Company not to accept for deposit hereunder any Shares identified in such instructions at such times and under such circumstances as may reasonably be specified in such instructions in order to facilitate the Company’s compliance with the securities laws, rules and regulations of the United States, including, but not limited to, the Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
9
| 15. | Indemnification. |
(a) Indemnification by the Company. The Company shall indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates against any loss, liability or expense (including reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise out of acts performed or omitted, in connection with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and of the ADRs, as the same may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in accordance herewith (i) by either the Depositary or a Custodian or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, except for any liability or expense directly arising out of the negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary or its directors, officers or affiliates acting in their capacities as such hereunder, or (ii) by the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, including, without limitation, if any of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in Section 13 hereof and/or paragraph 8 of the form of ADR (Available Information) are incorrect in any respect and/or if the Company violates or breaches any of its agreements contained therein with respect to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise.
The indemnities set forth in the preceding paragraph shall also apply to any liability or expense that may arise out of any misstatement or alleged misstatement or omission or alleged omission in any registration statement, proxy statement, prospectus (or placement memorandum), preliminary prospectus (or preliminary placement memorandum) or other document or report relating to, or arising from the offer, issuance, withdrawal, sale, resale or transfer of ADSs or the deposit, withdrawal, offer, sale, resale or transfer of Shares or any other report filed or furnished by the Company with the Commission, except to the extent any such liability or expense arises out of (i) information relating to the Depositary or its agents (other than the Company), as applicable, furnished in writing by the Depositary expressly for use in any of the foregoing documents and not changed or altered by the Company or any other person (other than the Depositary) or (ii) if such information is provided, the failure by the Depositary to state a material fact therein necessary to make the information provided, in light of the circumstances under which made or provided, not misleading.
(b) Indemnification by the Depositary. Subject to the limitations provided for in Sections 9 and 15(c) below, the Depositary shall indemnify, defend and save harmless the Company against any direct loss, liability or expense (including reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) incurred by the Company in respect of this Deposit Agreement to the extent such loss, liability or expense is due to the negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
10
(c) Special or Consequential Damages and Lost Profits. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Deposit Agreement or the ADRs to the contrary, neither the Depositary nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents shall be liable to the other for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (excluding reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) or lost profits, in each case of any form (collectively, “Special Damages”) incurred by any of them, or liable to any other person or entity (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) for any Special Damages, or any fees or expenses of counsel in connection therewith, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought; provided, however, that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to legal fees and expenses in defending against any claim for Special Damages and (ii) to the extent Special Damages arise from or out of a claim brought by a third party (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary or any of its agents, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to full indemnification from the Company for all such Special Damages, and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel in connection therewith, unless such Special Damages are found to have been a direct result of the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
(d) Notification. Any person seeking indemnification hereunder (an “indemnified person”) shall notify the person from whom it is seeking indemnification (the “indemnifying person”) of the commencement of any indemnifiable action or claim as promptly as reasonably practical after such indemnified person becomes aware of such commencement (provided that the failure to make such notification shall not affect such indemnified person’s rights to indemnification under this Section 15 except and only to the limited extent the indemnifying person is materially prejudiced by such failure through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses as a result of such failure; and provided, further, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 15). No indemnifying person shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), but if settled with such indemnifying person’s written consent or if there is a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction in any such proceeding, the indemnifying person agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each indemnified person from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and reasonable legal and other out-of-pocket expenses by reason of such settlement or judgment. No indemnifying person shall, without the prior written consent of any indemnified person, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened proceedings in respect of which indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified person unless such settlement (i) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified person in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified person from all liability or claims that are the subject matter of such proceedings and (ii) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability, wrong doing or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified person.
11
(e) Survival. The obligations set forth in this Section 15 shall survive the termination of this Deposit Agreement and the succession or substitution of any indemnified person.
| 16. | Notices. |
(a) Notice to Holders. Notice to any Holder shall be deemed given when first mailed, first class postage prepaid, to the address of such Holder on the ADR Register or received by such Holder. Failure to notify a Holder or any defect in the notification to a Holder shall not affect the sufficiency of notification to other Holders or to the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by the ADRs held by such other Holders. The Depositary’s only notification obligations under this Deposit Agreement and the ADRs shall be to Holders. Notice to a Holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of this Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, to constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holder’s ADRs.
(b) Notice to the Depositary or the Company. Notice to the Depositary or the Company shall be deemed given when first received by it at the address or by electronic transmission to the e-mail address set forth in (i) or (ii), respectively, or at such other address or email address provided by the Depositary or the Company to the other, respectively, in the same manner as notices are required to be provided in this Section 16:
| (i) | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. | |
| 383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11 | ||
| New York, New York 10179 | ||
| Attention: Depositary Receipts Group | ||
| E-mail Address: DR Global CSM@jpmorgan.com |
| (ii) | Yimutian Inc. | |
| 10th floor, Block A, Building B-6 | ||
| Zongguancun Dongsheng Science and Technology Park | ||
| No. 66 Xixiaokou Road | ||
| Haidian District, Beijing | ||
| China | ||
| Attention: Shijie Chen | ||
| E-mail Address: chenshijie@ymt360.com |
12
Delivery of a notice by means of electronic messaging shall be deemed to be effective at the time of the initiation of the transmission by the sender (as shown on the sender’s records) to the email address set forth above, notwithstanding that the intended recipient retrieves the message at a later date, fails to retrieve such message, or fails to receive such notice on account of its failure to maintain the designated e-mail address, its failure to designate a substitute e-mail address or for any other reason.
17. Counterparts. This Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which shall constitute one instrument. Delivery of an executed signature page of this Deposit Agreement by facsimile or other electronic transmission (including “.pdf”, “.tif” or similar format) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof.
18. No Third-Party Beneficiaries; Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect. This Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive benefit of the Company, the Depositary, the Holders, and each and any of their respective successors hereunder, and, except to the extent specifically set forth in Section 15 of this Deposit Agreement, shall not give any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person. The Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time shall be parties to this Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the provisions hereof. A Beneficial Owner shall only be able to exercise any right or receive any benefit hereunder solely through the Holder of the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs owned by such Beneficial Owner.
19. Severability. If any provision contained in this Deposit Agreement or in the ADRs is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the remaining provisions contained herein and therein shall in no way be affected thereby.
| 20. | Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. |
(a) Governing Law. The Deposit Agreement, the ADSs and the ADRs shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the application of the conflict of law principles thereof.
(b) Claims between the Company and the Depositary. The Company irrevocably agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Company brought by the Depositary arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted in any state or federal court in New York, New York, and irrevocably waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. The Company also irrevocably agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary brought by the Company, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted only in a state or federal court in New York, New York. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the federal securities law carve- out set forth in Section 20(d) below, the Depositary may institute and/or refer any such suit, action or proceeding to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, and thereupon any arbitral decision from such suit, action or proceeding shall be deemed final and binding.
13
(c) Claims involving Holders and Beneficial Owners. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving Holders or Beneficial Owners brought by the Company or the Depositary, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein each irrevocably waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.
By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each also irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary and/or the Company brought by Holders or Beneficial Owners, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, including, without limitation, claims under the Securities Act of 1933, may be instituted only in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or in the state courts of New York County in New York if either (i) the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute or (ii) the designation of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for any particular dispute is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable). Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the federal securities law carve-out set forth in Section 20(d) below, the Depositary may institute and/or refer any such suit, action or proceeding to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement, and thereupon, any arbitral decision from such suit, action or proceeding shall be deemed final and binding.
(d) Optional Arbitration. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit Agreement to the contrary, each of the parties hereto (i.e., the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) agrees that: (i) the Depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination (each, a “Dispute”; collectively, “Disputes”) against any other party or parties hereto (including, without limitation, Disputes brought against Holders and Beneficial Owners), by having the Dispute referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below, and (ii) the Depositary may in its sole discretion require, by written notice to the relevant party or parties, that any Dispute brought by any party or parties hereto (including, without limitation, Disputes brought by Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below; provided however, notwithstanding the Depositary’s written notice under this clause (ii), to the extent there are specific federal securities law violation aspects to any claims against the Company and/or the Depositary brought by any Holder or Beneficial Owner, the federal securities law violation aspects of such claims brought by a Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary may, at the option of such Holder or Beneficial Owner, remain in federal or state court in New York, New York and all other aspects, claims, Disputes, legal suits, actions and/or proceedings brought by such Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary, including those brought along with, or in addition to, federal securities law violation claims, would be referred to arbitration in accordance herewith.
Any such arbitration shall, at the Depositary’s election, be conducted either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre serving as the appointing authority, in each case as amended by this Section 20(d), and the language of any such arbitration shall be English.
A notice of arbitration may be mailed to the Company at its address last specified for notices under this Deposit Agreement, and, if applicable, to any Holders at their addresses on the ADR Register, which notice to any such Holder, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be deemed, for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, including, without limitation, the arbitration provisions contained in this clause (d), to constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holder’s ADRs. In any case where the Depositary exercises its right to arbitrate hereunder, arbitration of the Dispute shall be mandatory and any pending litigation arising out of or related to such Dispute shall be stayed. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, and for the avoidance of doubt, the Company and all Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of ADRs issued hereunder (and any persons owning or holding interests in ADSs) agree that any federal or state court in New York, New York, shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine proceedings related to the enforcement of this arbitration provision and any arbitration award by the arbitrators contemplated and, for such purposes, irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts.
14
Each of the parties hereto (i.e., the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) agrees not to challenge the terms and enforceability of this arbitration clause, including, but not limited to, any challenge based on lack of mutuality, and each such party hereby irrevocably waives any such challenge.
The number of arbitrators shall be three, each of whom shall (x) be disinterested in the Dispute, (y) have no connection with any party thereto, and (z) be an attorney experienced in international securities transactions. The Company and the Depositary shall each appoint one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator who shall serve as chairperson of the tribunal. If a Dispute shall involve more than two parties, the parties shall attempt to align themselves in two sides (i.e., claimant and respondent), each of which shall appoint one arbitrator as if there were only two parties to such Dispute. If either or both parties fail to select an arbitrator, or if such alignment (in the event there are more than two parties) shall not have occurred, within thirty (30) days after the Depositary serves the arbitration demand or the two arbitrators fail to select a third arbitrator within thirty (30) days of the selection of the second arbitrator, the American Arbitration Association in the case of an arbitration in New York, or the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre in the case of an arbitration in Hong Kong, shall appoint the remaining arbitrator or arbitrators in accordance with its rules. The parties and the American Arbitration Association and/or the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, as the case may be, may appoint the arbitrators from among the nationals of any country, whether or not the appointing party or any other party to the arbitration is a national of that country.
The arbitrators shall have no authority to award (A) damages against any party not measured by the prevailing party’s actual damages or (B) any consequential, special or punitive damages against any party and may not, in any event, make any ruling, finding or award that does not conform to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement.
In all cases, the fees of the arbitrators and other costs incurred by the parties in connection with such arbitration shall be paid by the party (or parties) that is (or are) unsuccessful in such arbitration.
No party hereto shall be entitled to join or consolidate disputes by or against others in any arbitration, or to include in any arbitration any dispute as a representative or member of a class, or act in any arbitration in the interest of the general public or in a private attorney general capacity.
15
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything in this Deposit Agreement to the contrary, any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based on this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted by the Depositary in any competent court in the Cayman Islands, the United States and/or any other court of competent jurisdiction, or, subject to the federal securities law carve-out set forth in Section 20(d) above, by the Depositary through the commencement of an arbitration pursuant to Section 20(d) of this Deposit Agreement.
| 21. | Agent for Service. |
(a) Appointment. The Company has appointed Cogency Global Inc., 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York, 10168, as its authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent”) upon which process and papers may be served in any such suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based on this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby which may be instituted in any state or federal court in New York, New York by the Depositary or any Holder or by the Depositary exercising its rights under Section 20(d) above, and waives any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. Subject to the Company’s rights to replace the Authorized Agent with another entity in the manner required were the Authorized Agent to have resigned, such appointment shall be irrevocable.
(b) Agent for Service of Process. The Company represents and warrants that the Authorized Agent has agreed to act as said agent for service of process, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid. The Company further hereby irrevocably consents and agrees to the service of any and all legal process, summons, notices and documents in any suit, action or proceeding against the Company, by service by mail of a copy thereof upon the Authorized Agent (whether or not the appointment of such Authorized Agent shall for any reason prove to be ineffective or such Authorized Agent shall fail to accept or acknowledge such service), with a copy mailed to the Company by registered or certified air mail, postage prepaid, to its address provided in Section 16(b) hereof. The Company agrees that the failure of the Authorized Agent to give any notice of such service to it shall not impair or affect in any way the validity of such service or any judgment or award rendered in any suit, action or proceeding based thereon. If, for any reason, the Authorized Agent named above or its successor shall no longer serve as agent of the Company to receive service of process, summons, notices, papers and documents in New York, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor that is a legal entity with offices in New York, New York, so as to serve and will promptly advise the Depositary thereof.
(c) Waiver of Personal Service of Process. In the event the Company fails to continue such designation and appointment in full force and effect, the Company hereby waives personal service of process upon it and consents that any such service of process may be made by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, directed to the Company at its address last specified for notices hereunder, and service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall have been so mailed.
16
22. Waiver of Immunities. To the extent that the Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter be entitled to, or have attributed to it, any right of immunity, on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, including any arbitration, from the giving of any relief in any respect thereof, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, or from execution of judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment or arbitration award, in any jurisdiction in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or other matters under or arising out of or in connection with the Shares or Deposited Securities, the ADSs, the ADRs or this Deposit Agreement, the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to plead or claim, any such immunity and consents to such relief and enforcement.
23. Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY TO THIS DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER AND BENEFICIAL OWNER OF, AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN, ADSS OR ADRS) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, BASED ON OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs, THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY OTHER THEORY), INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY SUIT, ACTION, CLAIM OR PROCEEDING UNDER THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS. No provision of this Deposit Agreement or any ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights that a Holder or any Beneficial Owner may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
24. Amendment and Restatement of Prior Deposit Agreement. The Deposit Agreement amends and restates the Prior Deposit Agreement in its entirety to consist exclusively of the Deposit Agreement, and each Prior Receipt is hereby deemed amended and restated to substantially conform to the form of ADR set forth in Exhibit A annexed hereto, except that, to the extent any portion of such amendment and restatement imposes or increases any fees or charges different from those set forth herein (other than charges in connection with foreign exchange control regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and other such expenses), or otherwise materially prejudices any substantial existing right of Holders of Prior Receipts or Beneficial Owners of ADSs evidenced by such Prior Receipts, such portion shall not become effective as to such Holders or Beneficial Owners with respect to such Prior Receipt until thirty (30) days after such Holders shall have received notice thereof, such notice to be conclusively deemed given upon the mailing to such Holders of notice of such amendment and restatement which notice contains a provision whereby such Holders can receive a copy of the form of ADR.
[ Signature page follows ]
17
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, YIMUTIAN INC. and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.have duly executed this Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first above set forth and all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall become parties hereto upon acceptance by them of ADSs issued in accordance with the terms hereof, or upon acquisition of any beneficial interest therein.
| YIMUTIAN INC. | |||
| By: | /s/ Jinhong Deng | ||
| Name: | Jinhong Deng | ||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | ||
| JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. | |||
| By: | /s/ Gregory A. Levendis | ||
| Name: | Gregory A. Levendis | ||
| Title: | Executive Director | ||
[Signature Page to Deposit Agreement]
18
an ADR becomes a party thereto. The Deposit Agreement and this ADR (which includes the provisions set forth on the reverse hereof) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the application of the conflict of law principles thereof. All capitalized terms used herein, and not defined herein, shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Deposit Agreement.
(1) Issuance of ADSs.
(a) Issuance. This ADR is one of the ADRs issued under the Deposit Agreement. Subject to the other provisions hereof, the Depositary may so issue ADRs for delivery at the Transfer Office only against deposit of: (i) Shares in a form satisfactory to the Custodian; or (ii) rights to receive Shares from the Company or any registrar, transfer agent, clearing agent or other entity recording Share ownership or transactions. At the request, risk and expense of the person depositing Shares or rights to receive Shares, the Depositary may accept such Shares and/or deposits for forwarding to the Custodian and may deliver ADRs at a place other than its office.
(b) Lending. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend Shares or ADSs.
(c) Representations and Warranties of Depositors. Every person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement represents and warrants that:
| (i) | such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly issued and outstanding, fully paid, nonassessable and legally obtained by such person, |
| (ii) | all pre-emptive and comparable rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been validly waived or exercised, |
| (iii) | the person making such deposit is duly authorized so to do, |
| (iv) | the Shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim and |
| (v) | such Shares (A) are not “restricted securities” as such term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Restricted Securities”) unless at the time of deposit the requirements of paragraphs (c), (e), (f) and (h) of Rule 144 shall not apply and such Shares may be freely transferred and may otherwise be offered and sold freely in the United States or (B) have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933. To the extent the person depositing Shares is an “affiliate” of the Company as such term is defined in Rule 144, the person also represents and warrants that upon the sale of the ADSs, all of the provisions of Rule 144 that enable the Shares to be freely sold (in the form of ADSs) will be fully complied with and, as a result thereof, all of the ADSs issued in respect of such Shares will not be on the sale thereof, Restricted Securities. |
A-2
Such representations and warranties shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares and the issuance and cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such ADSs. If any of the representations or warranties are incorrect in any way, the Company and the Depositary may, at the cost of the breaching Holder (including, without limitation, any Holder acting on behalf of a third party) and/or Beneficial Owner, take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences of such misrepresentation.
(d) The Depositary may refuse to accept for such deposit any Shares identified by the Company in order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the securities laws, rules and regulations of the United States, including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations made thereunder.
(2) Withdrawal of Deposited Securities. Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.), (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges) and (7) (Charges of Depositary) and to the provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities (including, without limitation, the Company’s governing documents and all applicable laws, rules and regulations), upon surrender of (a) a certificated ADR in a form satisfactory to the Depositary at the Transfer Office or (b) proper instructions and documentation in the case of a Direct Registration ADR, the Holder hereof is entitled to delivery at the Custodian’s office (or from the Custodian to the extent dematerialized) of the Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADSs evidenced by this ADR. At the request, risk and expense of the Holder hereof, the Depositary may deliver such Deposited Securities (including any certificates therefor) at such other place as may have been requested by the Holder. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, the withdrawal of Deposited Securities may be restricted only for the reasons set forth in General Instruction I.A.(1) of Form F-6 (as such instructions may be amended from time to time) under the Securities Act of 1933.
(3) Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs. The Depositary or its agent will keep, at a designated transfer office (the “Transfer Office”), (a) a register (the “ADR Register”) for the registration, registration of transfer, combination and split-up of ADRs, and, in the case of Direct Registration ADRs, shall include the Direct Registration System, which at all reasonable times will be open for inspection by Holders and the Company for the purpose of communicating with Holders in the interest of the business of the Company or a matter relating to the Deposit Agreement and (b) facilities for the delivery and receipt of ADRs. The term ADR Register includes the Direct Registration System. Title to this ADR (and to the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced hereby), when properly endorsed (in the case of ADRs in certificated form) and/or upon delivery to the Depositary of proper instruments of transfer, is transferable by delivery with the same effect as in the case of negotiable instruments under the laws of the State of New York; provided that the Depositary, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the person in whose name this ADR is registered on the ADR Register as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes and neither the Depositary nor the Company will have any obligation or be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or any ADR to any Beneficial Owner, unless such Beneficial Owner is the Holder hereof. Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer, etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges), this ADR is transferable on the ADR Register and may be split into other ADRs or combined with other ADRs into one ADR, evidencing the aggregate number of ADSs surrendered for split-up or combination, by the Holder hereof or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this ADR at the Transfer Office properly endorsed (in the case of ADRs in certificated form) or upon delivery to the Depositary of proper instruments of transfer and duly stamped as may be required by applicable law; provided that the Depositary may close the ADR Register (and/or any portion thereof) at any time or from time to time when deemed expedient by it. At the request of a Holder, the Depositary shall, for the purpose of substituting a certificated ADR with a Direct Registration ADR, or vice versa, execute and deliver a certificated ADR or a Direct Registration ADR, as the case may be, for any authorized number of ADSs requested, evidencing the same aggregate number of ADSs as those evidenced by the certificated ADR or Direct Registration ADR, as the case may be, substituted.
(4) Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer, etc. Prior to the issue, registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of any ADR, the delivery of any distribution in respect thereof, or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, and from time to time in the case of clause (b)(ii) of this paragraph (4), the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian may require:
(a) payment with respect thereto of (i) any stock transfer or other tax or other governmental charge, (ii) any stock transfer or registration fees in effect for the registration of transfers of Shares or other Deposited Securities upon any applicable register and (iii) any applicable charges as provided in paragraph (7) (Charges of Depositary) of this ADR;
(b) the production of proof satisfactory to it of (i) the identity of any signatory and genuineness of any signature and (ii) such other information, including without limitation, information as to citizenship, residence, exchange control approval, beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, any securities, compliance with applicable law, regulations, provisions of or governing Deposited Securities and terms of the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, as it may deem necessary or proper; and
A-3
(c) compliance with such regulations as the Depositary may establish consistent with the Deposit Agreement or as the Depositary believes are required, necessary or advisable in order to comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
The issuance of ADRs, the acceptance of deposits of Shares, the registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of ADRs or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the withdrawal and delivery of Deposited Securities may be suspended, generally or in particular instances, when the ADR Register or any register for Deposited Securities is closed or when any such action is deemed required, necessary or advisable by the Depositary for any reason.
(5) Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges.
(a) Liability for Taxes. If any tax or other governmental charges (including any penalties and/or interest) shall become payable by or on behalf of the Custodian or the Depositary with respect to this ADR, any Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced hereby or any distribution thereon, including, without limitation, any Chinese enterprise income tax owed if the Circular Guoshuifa [2009] No. 82 issued by the Chinese State Administration of Taxation (SAT) or any other circular, edict, order or ruling, as issued and as from time to time amended, is applied or otherwise, such tax or other governmental charge shall be paid by the Holder hereof to the Depositary and by holding or owning, or having held or owned, this ADR or any ADSs evidenced hereby, the Holder and all Beneficial Owners hereof and thereof, and all prior Holders and Beneficial Owners hereof and thereof, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the Depositary and its agents in respect of such tax or other governmental charge.
Neither the Depositary, nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents, shall be liable to Holders or Beneficial Owners of the ADSs and ADRs for failure of any of them to comply with applicable tax laws, rules and/or regulations.
Notwithstanding the Depositary’s right to seek payment from current and former Holders and Beneficial Owners, the Holder(s) and Beneficial Owner(s) hereof (and all prior Holder(s) and Beneficial Owner(s) hereof) acknowledge and agree that the Depositary has no obligation to seek payment of amounts owing under this paragraph (5) from any current or former Beneficial Owner.
The Depositary may refuse to effect any registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination hereof or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), any withdrawal of such Deposited Securities until such payment is made.
A-4
The Depositary may also deduct from any distributions on or in respect of Deposited Securities, or may sell by public or private sale for the account of the Holder hereof any part or all of such Deposited Securities, and may apply such deduction or the proceeds of any such sale in payment of such tax or other governmental charge, the Holder hereof remaining liable for any deficiency, and shall reduce the number of ADSs evidenced hereby to reflect any such sales of Shares. In connection with any distribution to Holders, the Company will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the Company; and the Depositary and the Custodian will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the Depositary or the Custodian.
If the Depositary determines that any distribution in property other than cash (including Shares or rights) on Deposited Securities is subject to any tax that the Depositary or the Custodian is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such property in such amounts and in such manner as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay such taxes, by public or private sale, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale or the balance of any such property after deduction of such taxes to the Holders entitled thereto.
(b) Indemnification Related to Taxes. Each Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian and any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained which obligations shall survive any transfer or surrender of ADSs or the termination of the Deposit Agreement.
(6) Disclosure of Interests.
(a) General. To the extent that the provisions of or governing any Deposited Securities may require disclosure of or impose limits on beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, Deposited Securities, other Shares and other securities and may provide for blocking transfer, voting or other rights to enforce such disclosure or limits, Holders and Beneficial Owners agree to comply with all such disclosure requirements and ownership limitations and to comply with any reasonable Company instructions in respect thereof.
(b) Jurisdiction Specific. Any summary of the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands and of the terms of the Company’s constituent documents has been provided by the Company solely for the convenience of Holders, Beneficial Owners and the Depositary. While such summaries are believed by the Company to be accurate as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, they are (i) summaries and as such may not include all aspects of the materials summarized as applicable to a Holder or Beneficial Owner, and (ii) provided by the Company as of the date of the Deposit Agreement. The Holder or Beneficial Owner acknowledges that these laws and regulations and the Company’s constituent documents may change after the date of the Deposit Agreement. Neither the Depositary nor the Company has any obligation to update any such summaries.
A-5
(7) Charges of Depositary.
(a) Rights of the Depositary. The Depositary may charge, and collect from, (i) each person to whom ADSs are issued, including, without limitation, issuances against deposits of Shares, issuances in respect of Share Distributions, Rights and Other Distributions (as such terms are defined in paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities)), issuances pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company, or issuances pursuant to a merger, exchange of securities or any other transaction or event affecting the ADSs or the Deposited Securities, and (ii) each person surrendering ADSs for withdrawal of Deposited Securities or whose ADSs are cancelled or reduced for any other reason, a fee of up to U.S.$5.00 for each 100 ADSs (or portion thereof) issued, delivered, reduced, cancelled or surrendered, or upon which a Share Distribution or elective distribution is made or offered (as the case may be). The Depositary may sell (by public or private sale) sufficient securities and property received in respect of Share Distributions, Rights and Other Distributions prior to such deposit to pay such charge.
(b) Additional Fees, Charges and Expenses by the Depositary. The following additional fees, charges and expenses shall also be incurred by the Holders, the Beneficial Owners, by any party depositing or withdrawing Shares or by any party surrendering ADSs and/or to whom ADSs are issued (including, without limitation, issuances pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company or an exchange of stock regarding the ADSs or the Deposited Securities or a distribution of ADSs pursuant to paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities)), whichever is applicable:
| (i) | a fee of up to U.S.$0.05 per ADS held for any Cash distribution made, or for any elective cash/stock dividend offered, pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, |
| (ii) | a fee of up to U.S.$0.05 per ADS held for the direct or indirect distribution of securities (other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs pursuant to paragraph (10) hereof) or the net cash proceeds from the public or private sale of any such securities, regardless of whether any such distribution and/or sale is made by, for, or received from, or (in each case) on behalf of, the Depositary, the Company and/or any third party (which fee may be assessed against Holders as of a record date set by the Depositary), |
| (iii) | an aggregate fee of up to U.S.$0.05 per ADS per calendar year (or portion thereof) for services performed by the Depositary in administering the ADRs (which fee may be charged on a periodic basis during each calendar year and shall be assessed against Holders as of the record date or record dates set by the Depositary during each calendar year and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing such Holders or by deducting such charge from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions), and |
| (iv) | an amount for the reimbursement of such charges and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary and/or any of its agents (including, without limitation, the Custodian, as well as charges and expenses incurred on behalf of Holders in connection with compliance with foreign exchange control regulations or any law or regulation relating to foreign investment) in connection with the servicing of the Shares or other Deposited Securities, the sale of securities (including, without limitation, Deposited Securities), the delivery of Deposited Securities or otherwise in connection with the Depositary’s or its Custodian’s compliance with applicable law, rule or regulation (which charges and expenses may be assessed on a proportionate basis against Holders as of the record date or dates set by the Depositary and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing such Holders or by deducting such charge or expense from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions). |
(c) Other Obligations, Fees, Charges and Expenses. The Company will pay all other fees, charges and expenses of the Depositary and any agent of the Depositary (except the Custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between the Company and the Depositary, except:
| (i) | stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges (which are payable by Holders or persons depositing Shares); |
| (ii) | a transaction fee per cancellation request (including any cancellation request made through SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication) as disclosed on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of www.adr.com (as updated by the Depositary from time to time, “ADR.com”) and any applicable delivery expenses (which are payable by such persons or Holders); and |
A-6
| (iii) | transfer or registration expenses for the registration or transfer of Deposited Securities on any applicable register in connection with the deposit or withdrawal of Deposited Securities (which are payable by persons depositing Shares or Holders withdrawing Deposited Securities). |
(d) Foreign Exchange Related Matters. To facilitate the administration of various depositary receipt transactions, including disbursement of dividends or other cash distributions and other corporate actions, the Depositary may engage the foreign exchange desk within JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) and/or its affiliates in order to enter into spot foreign exchange transactions to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars (“FX Transactions”). For certain currencies, FX Transactions are entered into with the Bank or an affiliate, as the case may be, acting in a principal capacity. For other currencies, FX Transactions are routed directly to and managed by an unaffiliated local custodian (or other third-party local liquidity provider), and neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates is a party to such FX Transactions.
The foreign exchange rate applied to an FX Transaction will be either (i) a published benchmark rate, or (ii) a rate determined by a third-party local liquidity provider, in each case plus or minus a spread, as applicable. The Depositary will disclose which foreign exchange rate and spread, if any, apply to such currency on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of ADR.com. Such applicable foreign exchange rate and spread may (and neither the Depositary, the Bank nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to ensure that such rate does not) differ from rates and spreads at which comparable transactions are entered into with other customers or the range of foreign exchange rates and spreads at which the Bank or any of its affiliates enters into foreign exchange transactions in the relevant currency pair on the date of the FX Transaction. Additionally, the timing of execution of an FX Transaction varies according to local market dynamics, which may include regulatory requirements, market hours and liquidity in the foreign exchange market or other factors. Furthermore, the Bank and its affiliates may manage the associated risks of their position in the market in a manner they deem appropriate without regard to the impact of such activities on the Company, the Depositary, Holders or Beneficial Owners. The spread applied does not reflect any gains or losses that may be earned or incurred by the Bank and its affiliates as a result of risk management or other hedging related activity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent the Company provides U.S. dollars to the Depositary, neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates will execute an FX Transaction as set forth herein. In such case, the Depositary will distribute the U.S. dollars received from the Company.
A-7
Further details relating to the applicable foreign exchange rate, the applicable spread and the execution of FX Transactions will be provided by the Depositary on ADR.com. The Company, Holders and Beneficial Owners each acknowledge and agree that the terms applicable to FX Transactions disclosed from time to time on ADR.com will apply to any FX Transaction executed pursuant to the Deposit Agreement.
(e) The right of the Depositary to charge and receive payment of fees, charges and expenses as provided above shall survive the termination of the Deposit Agreement. Upon the resignation or removal of the Depositary, such right shall extend for those fees, charges and expenses incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or removal.
(f) Disclosure of Potential Depositary Payments. The Depositary anticipates reimbursing the Company for certain expenses incurred by the Company that are related to the establishment and maintenance of the ADR program upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary may agree from time to time. The Depositary may make available to the Company a set amount or a portion of the Depositary fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary may agree from time to time.
(g) Under certain limited circumstances the Depositary may reduce or waive certain fees, charges and expenses provided herein and in the Deposit Agreement, including, without limitation, those described in this paragraph (7) that would normally be charged on ADSs issued to or at the direction of, or otherwise held by, the Company and/ or certain Holders and Beneficial Owners and holders and beneficial owners of Shares of the Company.
(8) Available Information. The Deposit Agreement, the provisions of or governing Deposited Securities and any written communications from the Company, which are both received by the Custodian or its nominee as a holder of Deposited Securities and made generally available to the holders of Deposited Securities, are available for inspection by Holders at the offices of the Depositary in the United States, on the Commission’s Internet Website or upon request to the Depositary (which request may be refused by the Depositary at its discretion). The Depositary will distribute copies of such communications (or English translations or summaries thereof) to Holders when furnished by the Company.
The Company is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and accordingly files certain reports with the Commission. These reports can be inspected and retrieved by Holders and Beneficial Owners through the EDGAR system on the Commission’s Internet Website located as of the date of the Deposit Agreement at www.sec.gov and can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission, located (as of the date of the Deposit Agreement) at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Each Holder and Beneficial Owner of an ADR and/or interest therein by so holding or owning an ADR and/or an interest therein, acknowledges and agrees that the Depositary (i) is relying, and may so rely, solely on the Company’s representations, warranties and agreements in Section 13(a) of the Deposit Agreement and this paragraph (8) of the form of ADR (Available Information), (ii) does not assume any duty or responsibility to determine if the Company is in compliance with the registration, reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and (iii) may, and is expressly authorized by each Holder and Beneficial Owner of an ADR and/or an interest therein to, represent, warrant and certify that, based on such representations, warranties and agreements of the Company, the Company is in compliance with the registration, reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(9) Execution. This ADR shall not be valid for any purpose unless executed by the Depositary by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary.
| Dated: | ||
| JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Depositary | ||
| By | ||
| Authorized Officer | ||
The Depositary’s office is located at 383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11, New York, New York 10179.
A-8
[FORM OF REVERSE OF ADR]
(10) Distributions on Deposited Securities; Sales. Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and other Charges), to the extent practicable, the Depositary will distribute to each Holder entitled thereto on the record date set by the Depositary therefor at such Holder’s address shown on the ADR Register, in proportion to the number of Deposited Securities (on which the following distributions on Deposited Securities are received by the Custodian) represented by ADSs evidenced by such Holder’s ADRs:
(a) Cash. Any U.S. dollars available to the Depositary resulting from a cash dividend or other cash distribution or the net proceeds of sales of any other distribution or portion thereof authorized in this paragraph (10) (“Cash”), on an averaged or other practicable basis, subject to (i) appropriate adjustments for taxes withheld, (ii) such distribution being permissible or practicable with respect to certain Holders, and (iii) deduction of the Depositary’s and/or its agents’ fees and expenses in (1) converting any foreign currency to U.S. dollars by sale or in such other manner as the Depositary may determine to the extent that it determines that such conversion may be made on a reasonable basis, (2) transferring foreign currency or U.S. dollars to the United States by such means as the Depositary may determine to the extent that it determines that such transfer may be made on a reasonable basis, (3) obtaining any approval or license of any governmental authority required for such conversion or transfer, which is obtainable at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time and (4) making any sale by public or private means in any commercially reasonable manner.
To the extent that any of the Deposited Securities is not or shall not be entitled, by reason of its date of issuance, or otherwise, to receive the full amount of such cash dividend, distribution, or net proceeds of sales, the Depositary shall make appropriate adjustments in the amounts distributed to the Holders issued in respect of such Deposited Securities. To the extent the Company or the Depositary shall be required to withhold and does withhold from any cash dividend, distribution or net proceeds from sales in respect of any Deposited Securities an amount on account of taxes, the amount distributed on the ADSs issued in respect of such Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly.
To the extent the Depositary determines in its discretion that it would not be permitted by applicable law, rule or regulation, or it would not otherwise be practicable, to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars and/or distribute such U.S. dollars to any or all of the Holders entitled thereto, the Depositary may in its discretion distribute some or all of the foreign currency received by the Depositary as it deems permissible and practicable to, or retain and hold such foreign currency uninvested and without liability for interest thereon for the respective accounts of, the Holders entitled to receive the same.
A-9
(b) Shares. (i) Additional ADRs evidencing whole ADSs representing any Shares available to the Depositary resulting from a dividend or free distribution on Deposited Securities consisting of Shares (a “Share Distribution”) and (ii) U.S. dollars available to it resulting from the net proceeds of public or private sales of Shares received in a Share Distribution, which Shares would give rise to fractional ADSs if additional ADRs were issued therefor, as in the case of Cash.
(c) Rights. (i) Warrants or other instruments in the discretion of the Depositary representing rights to acquire additional ADRs in respect of any rights to subscribe for additional Shares or rights of any nature available to the Depositary as a result of a distribution on Deposited Securities (“Rights”), to the extent that the Company timely furnishes to the Depositary evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that the Depositary may lawfully distribute the same (the Company has no obligation to so furnish such evidence), or (ii) to the extent the Company does not so furnish such evidence and sales of Rights are practicable, any U.S. dollars available to the Depositary from the net proceeds of the public or private sales of Rights as in the case of Cash, or (iii) to the extent the Company does not so furnish such evidence and/or such sales cannot practicably be accomplished by reason of the non-transferability of the Rights, limited markets therefor, their short duration or otherwise, nothing (and any Rights may lapse).
(d) Other Distributions. (i) Securities or property available to the Depositary resulting from any distribution on Deposited Securities other than Cash, Share Distributions and Rights (“Other Distributions”), by any means that the Depositary may deem equitable and practicable, or (ii) to the extent the Depositary deems distribution of such securities or property not to be equitable and practicable, any U.S. dollars available to the Depositary from the net proceeds of public or private sales of Other Distributions as in the case of Cash.
(e) To the extent that the Depositary determines in its discretion that any distribution pursuant to this paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities) would not be permissible by applicable law, rule or regulation, or is not otherwise practicable with respect to any or all Holders, the Depositary may in its discretion make such distribution as it so deems permissible and practicable, including the distribution of some or all of any Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property (or appropriate documents evidencing the right to receive some or all of any such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property), and/or the Depositary may retain and hold some or all of such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property as Deposited Securities with respect to the applicable Holders’ ADRs (without liability for interest thereon or the investment thereof).
(f) To the extent the Depositary retains and holds any Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property as permitted under this paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities), any and all fees, charges and expenses related to, or arising from, the holding thereof (including, but not limited to those provided in paragraph (7) of this form of ADR (Charges of Depositary)) shall be paid from such Cash, foreign currency, securities or other property, or the net proceeds from the sale thereof, thereby reducing the amount so held hereunder.
A-10
(g) Sales. In all instances where the Deposit Agreement or the form of ADR refers to a “sale” (or words of similar import) of securities or property, the Depositary may, but shall not be obligated, to effect any such sale unless the securities to be sold are listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange or there is a public market for the property to be sold. To the extent the securities are not so listed and publicly traded or there is no public market for the property so distributed by the Company:
| (i) | the Depositary shall, in the event the Deposit Agreement is terminated and the Depositary holds Deposited Securities that are not listed and publicly traded or property for which there is no public market after the Termination Date, act in accordance with paragraph (17)(b) of the form of ADR in respect of such securities and property; and |
| (ii) | in the event the Depositary or its Custodian receives (A) an Other Distribution under paragraph (10) consisting of securities or property that are not distributed by the Depositary pursuant to this paragraph (10) or (B) a distribution of Rights that falls under subparagraph (10)(c)(iii) above, the Depositary will not terminate the Deposit Agreement under paragraph (17)(a)(ii)(D) of the form of ADR but, in lieu of termination, the Depositary will, in the case of an Other Distribution, be deemed to have sold the aggregate number of securities and/or property so received for nominal value and shall have no obligation to distribute such securities or any proceeds from the deemed sale thereof to the Holders and, in the case of Rights that fall under subparagraph (10)(c)(iii) above, allow such Rights to lapse. |
Furthermore, in the event the Depositary endeavors to make a sale of Shares, other securities or property, such securities and/or property may be sold in a block sale or single lot transaction.
The Depositary reserves the right to utilize a division, branch or affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. to direct, manage and/or execute any public and/or private sale of securities and/or property hereunder. Such division, branch and/or affiliate may charge the Depositary a fee in connection with such sales, which fee is considered an expense of the Depositary contemplated above and/or under paragraph (7) (Charges of Depositary). All purchases and sales of securities will be handled by the Depositary in accordance with its then current policies, which are currently set forth on the “Disclosures” page (or successor page) of ADR.com, the location and contents of which the Depositary shall be solely responsible for.
A-11
(h) Any U.S. dollars available will be paid via wire transfer and/or distributed by checks drawn on a bank in the United States for whole dollars and cents. Fractional cents will be withheld without liability and dealt with by the Depositary in accordance with its then current practices.
(11) Record Dates. The Depositary may, after consultation with the Company if practicable, fix a record date (which, to the extent applicable, shall be as near as practicable to any corresponding record date set by the Company) for the determination of the Holders who shall be responsible for the fee assessed by the Depositary for administration of the ADR program and for any expenses provided for in paragraph (7) hereof as well as for the determination of the Holders who shall be entitled to receive any distribution on or in respect of Deposited Securities, to give instructions for the exercise of any voting rights, to receive any notice or to act in respect of other matters and only such Holders shall be so entitled or obligated.
(12) Voting of Deposited Securities.
(a) Notice of Any Meeting or Solicitation. As soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Shares are entitled to vote, or of solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall fix the ADS record date in accordance with paragraph (11) above provided that if the Depositary receives a written request from the Company in a timely manner and at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of such vote or meeting, the Depositary shall, at the Company’s expense, distribute to Holders a notice (the “Voting Notice”) stating (i) final information particular to such vote and meeting and any solicitation materials, (ii) that each Holder on the record date set by the Depositary will, subject to any applicable provisions of the laws of the Cayman Islands, be entitled to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such Holder’s ADRs and (iii) the manner in which such instructions may be given or deemed given in accordance with paragraph 12(b)(ii) below, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company. Each Holder shall be solely responsible for the forwarding of Voting Notices to the Beneficial Owners of ADSs registered in such Holder’s name. There is no guarantee that Holders and Beneficial Owners generally or any Holder or Beneficial Owner in particular will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable such Holder or Beneficial Owner to return any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
A-12
(b) Voting of Deposited Securities.
| (i) | Following actual receipt by the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting of Holders’ instructions (including, without limitation, instructions of any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC), the Depositary shall, in the manner and on or before the time established by the Depositary for such purpose, endeavor to vote or cause to be voted the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such Holders’ ADRs in accordance with such instructions insofar as practicable and permitted under the provisions of or governing Deposited Securities. The Depositary will not itself exercise any voting discretion in respect of any Deposited Securities. |
| (ii) | To the extent that (A) the Depositary has been provided with at least thirty-five (35) days’ notice of the proposed meeting from the Company, (B) the Voting Notice will be received by all Holders and Beneficial Owners no less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting and/or the cut-off date for the solicitation of consents, and (C) the Depositary does not receive instructions on a particular agenda item from a Holder (including, without limitation, any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC) in a timely manner, such Holder shall be deemed, and the Depositary is instructed to deem such Holder, to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy for such agenda item(s) to a person designated by the Company to vote the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs for which actual instructions were not so given by all such Holders on such agenda item(s), provided that no such instruction shall be deemed given and no discretionary proxy shall be given unless (1) the Company informs the Depositary in writing that (a) it wishes such proxy to be given with respect to such agenda item(s), (b) there is no substantial opposition existing with respect to such agenda item(s) and (c) such agenda item(s), if approved, would not materially or adversely affect the rights of holders of Shares, and (2) the Depositary has obtained an opinion of counsel, in form and substance satisfactory to the Depositary, confirming that (i) the granting of such discretionary proxy does not subject the Depositary to any reporting obligations in the Cayman Islands, (ii) the granting of such proxy will not result in a violation of the laws, rules, regulations or permits of the Cayman Islands, (iii) the voting arrangement and deemed instruction as contemplated herein will be given effect under the laws, rules and regulations of the Cayman Islands, and (iv) the granting of such discretionary proxy will not under any circumstances result in the Shares represented by the ADSs being treated as assets of the Depositary under the laws, rules or regulations of the Cayman Islands. |
A-13
| (iii) | The Depositary may from time to time access information available to it to consider whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist, or request additional information from the Company in respect thereto. By taking any such action, the Depositary shall not in any way be deemed or inferred to have been required, or have had any duty or responsibility (contractual or otherwise), to monitor or inquire whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above existed. In addition to the limitations provided for in paragraph (14) hereof, Holders and Beneficial Owners are advised and agree that (a) the Depositary will rely fully and exclusively on the Company to inform the Depositary of any of the circumstances set forth in (1) of subsection (ii) above, and (b) neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall be obliged to inquire or investigate whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist and/or whether the Company complied with its obligation to timely inform the Depositary of such circumstances. Neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall incur any liability to Holders or Beneficial Owners (i) as a result of the Company’s failure to determine that any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist or its failure to timely notify the Depositary of any such circumstances or (ii) if any agenda item which is approved at a meeting has, or is claimed to have, a material or adverse effect on the rights of holders of Shares. Because there is no guarantee that Holders and Beneficial Owners will receive the notices described above with sufficient time to enable such Holders or Beneficial Owners to return any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner, Holders and Beneficial Owners may be deemed to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company in such circumstances, and neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall incur any liability to Holders or Beneficial Owners in such circumstances. |
(c) Alternative Methods of Distributing Materials. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by any law, rule or regulation or by the rules, regulations or requirements of the stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of or solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, distribute to the Holders a notice that provides Holders with or otherwise publicizes to Holders instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request (i.e., by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials). Holders are strongly encouraged to forward their voting instructions as soon as possible. Voting instructions will not be deemed received until such time as the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting has received such instructions, notwithstanding that such instructions may have been physically received by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Depositary, prior to such time.
A-14
(d) Manner of Voting. The Depositary has been advised by the Company that under Cayman Islands law and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, each as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, voting at any meeting of shareholders of the Company is by show of hands unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the results of the show of hands or on the withdrawal of any other demand for a poll) demanded. In the event that voting on any resolution or matter is conducted on a show of hands basis in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Depositary will refrain from voting and the voting instructions received by the Depositary from Holders shall lapse. The Depositary will not demand a poll or join in demanding a poll, whether or not requested to do so by Holders of ADSs.
(13) Changes Affecting Deposited Securities.
(a) Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges), the Depositary may, in its discretion, and shall if reasonably requested by the Company, amend this ADR or distribute additional or amended ADRs (with or without calling this ADR for exchange) or cash, securities or property on the record date set by the Depositary therefor to reflect any change in par value, split-up, consolidation, cancellation or other reclassification of Deposited Securities, any Share Distribution or Other Distribution not distributed to Holders or any cash, securities or property available to the Depositary in respect of Deposited Securities from (and the Depositary is hereby authorized to surrender any Deposited Securities to any person and, irrespective of whether such Deposited Securities are surrendered or otherwise cancelled by operation of law, rule, regulation or otherwise, to sell by public or private sale any property received in connection with) any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, liquidation, receivership, bankruptcy or sale of all or substantially all the assets of the Company.
(b) To the extent the Depositary does not so amend this ADR or make a distribution to Holders to reflect any of the foregoing, or the net proceeds thereof, whatever cash, securities or property results from any of the foregoing shall constitute Deposited Securities and each ADS evidenced by this ADR shall automatically represent its pro rata interest in the Deposited Securities as then constituted.
A-15
(c) Promptly upon the occurrence of any of the aforementioned changes affecting Deposited Securities, the Company shall notify the Depositary in writing of such occurrence and as soon as practicable after receipt of such notice from the Company, may instruct the Depositary to give notice thereof, at the Company’s expense, to Holders in accordance with the provisions hereof. Upon receipt of such instruction, the Depositary shall give notice to the Holders in accordance with the terms thereof, as soon as reasonably practicable.
(14) Exoneration.
(a) Force Majeure, Limitations on Liability and Obligations. The Depositary, the Company, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates and each of them shall:
| (i) | incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) (A) if any present or future law, rule, regulation, fiat, order or decree of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, the United States or any other country or jurisdiction, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system, the provisions of or governing any Deposited Securities, any present or future provision of the Company’s charter, any act of God, war, terrorism, epidemic, pandemic, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, extraordinary market conditions, work stoppage, strike, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions, cyber, ransomware or malware attack, computer failure or circumstance beyond its direct and immediate control shall prevent or delay, or shall cause any of them to be subject to any civil or criminal penalty in connection with, any act which the Deposit Agreement or this ADR provides shall be done or performed by it or them (including, without limitation, voting pursuant to paragraph (12) hereof), or (B) by reason of any non-performance or delay, caused as aforesaid, in the performance of any act or things which by the terms of the Deposit Agreement it is provided shall or may be done or performed or any exercise or failure to exercise any discretion given it in the Deposit Agreement or this ADR (including, without limitation, any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable); |
| (ii) | in the case of the Depositary and its agents, incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) except to perform its obligations to the extent they are specifically set forth in this ADR and the Deposit Agreement without gross negligence or willful misconduct and the Depositary shall not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to Holders or Beneficial Owners; |
A-16
| (iii) | in the case of the Depositary and its agents, be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities, the ADSs or this ADR; |
| (iv) | in the case of the Company and its agents hereunder be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities, the ADSs or this ADR, which in its opinion may involve it in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as often as may be required; and |
| (v) | not be liable (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) for any action or inaction by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from any legal counsel, any accountant, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder, or any other person believed by it to be competent to give such advice or information and/or, in the case of the Depositary, the Company, provided that the foregoing shall not apply to the Company’s indemnification obligations under Section 15 of the Deposit Agreement. |
(b) Insolvency, Liability, etc., of Custodian, Securities Depository, Clearing Agency or Settlement System. The Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, the insolvency of any Custodian that is not a branch or affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Deposit Agreement (including the ADRs) and, subject to the further limitations set forth in clause (q) of this paragraph (14), the Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, any act or omission to act on the part of the Custodian except to the extent that any Holder has incurred liability directly as a result of the Custodian having (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the Custodian is located.
The Depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions made by, or the insolvency of, any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system.
A-17
(c) The Depositary, its agents and the Company may rely and shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request, direction, instruction or document believed by them to be genuine and to have been signed, presented or given by the proper party or parties.
(d) The Depositary shall be under no obligation to inform Holders or Beneficial Owners about the requirements of the laws, rules or regulations or any changes therein or thereto of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, the United States or any other country or jurisdiction or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system.
(e) The Depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, for the manner in which any voting instructions are given or deemed to be given in accordance with paragraph 12(b) hereof, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company, for the manner in which any vote is cast, including, without limitation, any vote cast by a person to whom the Depositary is instructed or deemed to have been instructed to grant a discretionary proxy pursuant to paragraph (12)(b) hereof, or for the effect of any such vote.
(f) The Depositary shall endeavor to effect any sale of securities or other property and any conversion of currency, securities or other property, in each case as is referred to or contemplated in the Deposit Agreement or the form of ADR, in accordance with the Depositary’s normal practices and procedures under the circumstances applicable to such sale or conversion, but shall have no liability (in the absence of its own willful default or gross negligence or that of its agents, officers, directors or employees) with respect to the terms of any such sale or conversion, including the price at which such sale or conversion is effected, or if such sale or conversion shall not be practicable, or shall not be believed, deemed or determined to be practicable by the Depositary. Specifically, the Depositary shall not have any liability for the price received in connection with any public or private sale of securities (including, without limitation, for any sale made at a nominal price), the timing thereof or any delay in action or omission to act nor shall it be responsible for any error or delay in action, omission to act, default or negligence on the part of the party so retained in connection with any such sale or proposed sale.
(g) The Depositary shall not incur any liability in connection with or arising from any failure, inability or refusal by the Company or any other party (including any share registrar, transfer agent or other agent appointed by the Company or the Depositary or any other party) to process any transfer, delivery or distribution of cash, Shares, other securities or other property, including without limitation upon the termination of the Deposit Agreement, or otherwise to comply with any provisions of the Deposit Agreement that are applicable to it.
A-18
(h) The Depositary may rely upon instructions from the Company or its counsel in respect of any approval or license required for any currency conversion, transfer or distribution.
(i) The Depositary and its agents may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its affiliates and in ADRs.
(j) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in the Deposit Agreement or an ADR, the Depositary and its agents may fully respond to any and all demands or requests for information maintained by or on its behalf in connection with the Deposit Agreement, any Holder or Holders, any ADR or ADRs or otherwise related hereto or thereto to the extent such information is requested or required by or pursuant to any lawful authority, including without limitation laws, rules, regulations, administrative or judicial process, banking, securities or other regulators.
(k) None of the Depositary, the Custodian or the Company, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates shall be liable for the failure by any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of credits or refunds of non-U.S. tax paid against such Holder’s or Beneficial Owner’s income tax liability.
(l) The Depositary is under no obligation to provide the Holders and Beneficial Owners, or any of them, with any information about the tax status of the Company. None of the Depositary, the Custodian or the Company, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, shall incur any liability for any tax or tax consequences that may be incurred by Holders or Beneficial Owners on account of their ownership or disposition of the ADRs or ADSs.
(m) The Depositary shall not incur any liability for the content of any information submitted to it by or on behalf of the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement or for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company.
(n) Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the Depositary and the Custodian(s) may use third-party delivery services and providers of information regarding matters such as, but not limited to, pricing, proxy voting, corporate actions, class action litigation and other services in connection herewith and the Deposit Agreement, and use local agents to provide services such as, but not limited to, attendance at any meetings of security holders of issuers. Although the Depositary and the Custodian will use reasonable care (and cause their agents to use reasonable care) in the selection and retention of such third-party providers and local agents, they will not be responsible for any errors or omissions made by them in providing the relevant information or services.
A-19
(o) The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary.
(p) The Company has agreed to indemnify the Depositary and its agents under certain circumstances and the Depositary has agreed to indemnify the Company under certain circumstances.
(q) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR to the contrary, neither the Depositary nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents shall be liable to the other for any indirect Special Damages in any form incurred by any of them, or liable to any other person or entity (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) for any Special Damages, or any fees or expenses of counsel in connection therewith, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought; provided, however, that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to legal fees and expenses in defending against any claim for Special Damages and (ii) to the extent Special Damages arise from or out of a claim brought by a third party (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary or any of its agents, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to full indemnification from the Company for all such Special Damages, and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel in connection therewith, unless such Special Damages are found to have been a direct result of the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
(r) No provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights which Holders or Beneficial Owners may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
(15) Resignation and Removal of Depositary; the Custodian.
(a) Resignation. The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary by providing written notice of its election to do so delivered to the Company. Subject to subparagraph (c) below, the Depositary’s resignation shall take effect upon the Company’s appointment of a successor depositary and such successor depositary’s acceptance of its appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
(b) Removal. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by providing no less than sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of such removal to the Depositary. Subject to subparagraph (c) below, such removal shall take effect on the later of (i) the sixtieth (60th) day after the Removal Notice Date and (ii) the Company’s appointment of a successor depositary and such successor depositary’s acceptance of its appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
(c) If either the Depositary provides notice of its resignation (pursuant to subparagraph (a) above) or the Company provides notice of the Depositary’s removal (pursuant to subparagraph (b) above), and a successor depositary is not appointed by the sixtieth (60th) day after the Resignation Notice Date or the Removal Notice Date, respectively, the Depositary may terminate the Deposit Agreement and the ADR in the manner set out in paragraph (17) (Termination) of this ADR and the provisions of said paragraph (17) shall thereafter govern the Depositary’s obligations under the Deposit Agreement and the form of ADR.
(d) The Custodian. The Depositary may appoint substitute or additional Custodians and the term “Custodian” refers to each Custodian or all Custodians as the context requires.
(16) Amendment. Subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the ADRs and the Deposit Agreement may be amended by the Company and the Depositary, provided that any amendment that imposes or increases any fees on a per ADS basis, charges or expenses (other than stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges, transfer or registration fees, the transaction fee per cancellation request (including any cancellation request made through SWIFT, facsimile transmission or any other method of communication) described in paragraph (7)(c)(ii) (Charges of Depositary) of the form of ADR, applicable delivery expenses or other such fees, charges or expenses), or that shall otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall become effective thirty (30) days after notice of such amendment shall have been given to the Holders. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment to the Deposit Agreement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADR or interest therein, to consent and agree to such amendment and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended thereby. In no event shall any amendment impair the right of the Holder of any ADR to surrender such ADR and receive the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law.
Any amendments or supplements that (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933 or (b) the ADSs or Shares to be traded solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners.
A-20
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement or the form of ADR to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and the ADR at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance.
Notice of any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or the form of ADRs shall not need to describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice invalid, provided, however, that, in each such case, the notice given to the Holders identifies a means for Holders and Beneficial Owners to retrieve or receive the text of such amendment (i.e., upon retrieval from the Commission’s, the Depositary’s or the Company’s website or upon request from the Depositary).
(17) Termination.
(a) Termination by the Depositary and the Company.
| (i) | The Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate the Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders at least thirty (30) days prior to the Termination Date. |
| (ii) | The Depositary may also terminate the Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders at least thirty(30) days prior to the Termination Date if (A) sixty (60) days shall have expired after the Resignation Notice Date and a successor Depositary shall not be operating under the Deposit Agreement, (B) sixty (60) days shall have expired after the Removal Notice Date and a successor Depositary shall not be operating under the Deposit Agreement, (C) the Company is bankrupt, in liquidation proceedings or insolvent, (D) the ADRs are delisted from a “national securities exchange” (that has registered with the Commission under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), (E) the Company effects (or will effect) a redemption of all or substantially all of the Deposited Securities, or a cash or share distribution representing a return of all or substantially all of the value of the Deposited Securities, (F) there are no Deposited Securities with respect to ADSs remaining, including if the Deposited Securities are cancelled, or the Deposited Securities have been deemed to have no value, or (G) there occurs a merger, consolidation, sale of assets or other transaction as a result of which securities or other property are delivered in exchange for or in lieu of Deposited Securities. |
A-21
| (iii) | Additionally, the Depositary may immediately terminate the Deposit Agreement, without prior notice to the Company, any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any other person if (A) required by any law, rule or regulation relating to sanctions by any governmental authority or body, (B) the Depositary would be subject to liability under or pursuant to any law, rule or regulation, or (C) required by any governmental authority or body, in each case as determined by the Depositary in its reasonable discretion. |
(b) Depositary’s Obligations.
| (i) | After the Termination Date, the Depositary and its agents will perform no further acts under the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, except to receive and hold (or sell) distributions on Deposited Securities, deliver Deposited Securities being withdrawn and to take such actions as provided in the next two paragraphs, in each case subject to payment to the Depositary of the applicable fees and expenses provided in paragraph (7) of this form of ADR (Charges of Depositary). |
| (ii) | After the Termination Date, if the Deposited Securities are listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange and the Depositary believes that it is able, permissible and practicable to sell the Deposited Securities without undue effort, then, the Depositary may endeavor to publicly or privately sell (as long as it may lawfully do so) the Deposited Securities, which sale may be effected in a block sale/single lot transaction and, after the settlement of such sale(s), to the extent legally permissible and practicable, distribute or hold in an account (which may be a segregated or unsegregated account) the net proceeds of such sale(s), less any amounts owing to the Depositary (including, without limitation, cancellation fees), together with any other cash then held by it under the Deposit Agreement, in trust, without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Holders entitled thereto. If the Depositary sells the Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall be discharged from all, and cease to have any, obligations under the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs after making such sale, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash. |
A-22
| (iii) | However, if the Deposited Securities are not listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange after the Termination Date, or if, for any reason, the Depositary does not sell the Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall use its reasonable efforts to ensure that the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible and that neither DTC nor any of its nominees shall thereafter be a Holder. At such time as the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible and/or neither DTC nor any of its nominees is a Holder, to the extent the Company is not, to the Depositary’s knowledge, insolvent or in bankruptcy or liquidation, the Depositary shall: |
| (A) | cancel this ADR and all other outstanding ADRs, |
| (B) | request DTC to provide the Depositary with information on those holding ADSs through DTC and, upon receipt thereof, revise the ADR Register to reflect the information provided by DTC, |
| (C) | instruct its Custodian to deliver all Deposited Securities to the Company, a subsidiary or affiliate or registered office provider of the Company (the subsidiary or affiliate or registered office provider being the “Company Representative”) or an independent trust company engaged by the Company (the “Trustee”) to hold those Deposited Securities in trust for the beneficial owners of the ADRs if the Company is not permitted to hold any of the Deposited Securities under applicable law and/or the Company has directed the Depositary to deliver such Deposited Securities to a Company Representative or Trustee along with a stock transfer form and/or such other instruments of transfer covering such Deposited Securities as are needed under applicable law, and set forth in or substantially in the form of Exhibit C (and any applicable share certificate or indemnity for lost share certificate), in either case referring to the names set forth on the ADR Register, and |
| (D) | provide the Company with a copy of the ADR Register (which copy may be sent by email or by any means permitted under the notice provisions of the Deposit Agreement). |
Upon receipt of any instrument of transfer covering such Deposited Securities, any applicable share certificate or indemnity for lost share certificate and the ADR Register, the Company shall: (I) approve the transfer of the Deposited Securities previously represented by their ADRs to the persons listed on the ADR Register (as applicable), (II) procure the relevant updates to the register of members of the Company to reflect the transfer of the Deposited Securities previously represented by their ADRs to the persons listed on the ADR Register (as applicable) and (III) provide the Depositary with a certified copy of the updated register of members of the Company.
A-23
To the extent the Depositary reasonably believes that the Company is insolvent, or if the Company is in receivership, has filed for bankruptcy and/or is otherwise in restructuring, administration or liquidation, and in any such case the Deposited Securities are not listed and publicly traded on a securities exchange after the Termination Date, or if, for any reason, the Depositary believes it is not able to or cannot practicably sell the Deposited Securities promptly and without undue effort, the Deposited Securities shall be deemed to have no value (and such Holders shall be deemed to have instructed the Depositary that the Deposited Securities have no value). The Depositary may, but shall not be obligated to, and the Holders irrevocably consent and agree that the Depositary may instruct its Custodian to deliver all Deposited Securities to the Company (acting, as applicable by its administrator, receiver, administrative receiver, liquidator, provisional liquidator, restructuring officer, interim restructuring officer, trustee, controller or other entity overseeing the bankruptcy, insolvency, administration, restructuring or liquidation process) and notify the Company that the Deposited Securities are surrendered for no consideration. The Company shall, subject to applicable law, promptly accept the surrender of the Deposited Securities for no consideration and deliver to the Depositary a written notice confirming (A) the acceptance of the surrender of the Deposited Securities for no consideration and (B) the cancellation of such Deposited Securities. Promptly after notifying the Company that the Deposited Securities are surrendered for no consideration and irrespective of whether the Company has complied with the immediately preceding sentence, the Depositary shall notify Holders that their ADSs have been cancelled with no consideration being payable to Holders.
Upon the Depositary’s compliance with the provisions of this subparagraph (17)(b)(iii), the Depositary and its agents shall be discharged from all, and cease to have any, obligations under the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs.
(c) Company’s Obligations. After the Termination Date, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement except for its obligations under this paragraph (17) and its obligations to the Depositary and its agents.
(d) Establishment of Unsponsored ADR Program. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in connection with any termination pursuant to this paragraph (17), the Depositary may, in its sole discretion and without notice to the Company, establish an unsponsored American depositary share program (on such terms as the Depositary may determine) for the Shares and make available to Holders a means to withdraw the Shares represented by the ADSs issued under the Deposit Agreement and to direct the deposit of such Shares into such unsponsored American depositary share program, subject, in each case, to receipt by the Depositary, at its discretion, of the fees, charges and expenses provided for in paragraph (7) hereof and the fees, charges and expenses applicable to the unsponsored American depositary share program.
(18) Appointment; Acknowledgements and Agreements. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs or ADRs (or any interest in any of them) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and bound by the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), (b) appoint the Depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all actions contemplated in the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with applicable law and to take such action as the Depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness thereof, and (c) acknowledge and agree that (i) nothing in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR shall give rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties thereto, nor establish a fiduciary or similar relationship among such parties, (ii) the Depositary, its divisions, branches and affiliates, and their respective agents, may from time to time be in the possession of non-public information about the Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners and/or their respective affiliates, (iii) the Depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may at any time have multiple banking relationships with the Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners and/or the affiliates of any of them, (iv) the Depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may, from time to time, be engaged in transactions in which parties adverse to the Company or the Holders or Beneficial Owners and/or their respective affiliates may have interests, (v) nothing contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s) shall (A) preclude the Depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates from engaging in any such transactions or establishing or maintaining any such relationships, or (B) obligate the Depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates to disclose any such transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment received in any such transactions or relationships, (vi) the Depositary shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any information held by any branch, division or affiliate of the Depositary and (vii) notice to a Holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, to constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holder’s ADRs. For all purposes under the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, the Holder hereof shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by this ADR.
A-24
(19) Waiver. EACH PARTY TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER AND BENEFICIAL OWNER OF, AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN, ADSS OR ADRS) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, BASED ON OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs, THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY OTHER THEORY), INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY SUIT, ACTION, CLAIM OR PROCEEDING UNDER THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS. No provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights that a Holder or any Beneficial Owner may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
(20) Jurisdiction. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving Holders or Beneficial Owners brought by the Company or the Depositary, arising out of or based upon the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, may be instituted in a federal or state court in New York, New York, and by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein each irrevocably waives any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.
By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each also irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary and/or the Company brought by Holders or Beneficial Owners, arising out of or based upon the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, including, without limitation, claims under the Securities Act of 1933, may be instituted only in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or in the state courts of New York County in New York if either (i) the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute or (ii) the designation of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive forum for any particular dispute is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable).
Notwithstanding the above or anything in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the Deposit Agreement each of the parties thereto (i.e., the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) have agreed that: (i) the Depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination (each, a “Dispute”; collectively, “Disputes”) against any other party or parties (including, without limitation, Disputes brought against Holders and Beneficial Owners), by having the Dispute referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below, and (ii) the Depositary may in its sole discretion require, by written notice to the relevant party or parties, that any Dispute brought by any party or parties to the Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, Disputes brought by Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out in the Deposit Agreement; provided however, notwithstanding the Depositary’s written notice under this clause (ii), to the extent there are specific federal securities law violation aspects to any claims against the Company and/or the Depositary brought by any Holder or Beneficial Owner, the federal securities law violation aspects of such claims brought by a Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary may, at the option of such Holder or Beneficial Owner, remain in state or federal court in New York, New York and all other aspects, claims, Disputes, legal suits, actions and/or proceedings brought by such Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary, including those brought along with, or in addition to, federal securities law violation claims, would be referred to arbitration in accordance herewith. Any such arbitration shall, at the Depositary’s election, be conducted either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre serving as the appointing authority, in each case as amended by Section 20(d) of the Deposit Agreement, and the language of any such arbitration shall be English, in each case as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
A-25
Notwithstanding anything contained herein or in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, and for the avoidance of doubt, the Company and all Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of ADRs issued hereunder (and any persons owning or holding interests in ADSs) agree that any federal or state court in New York, New York, shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine proceedings related to the enforcement of this arbitration provision and any arbitration award by the arbitrators contemplated and, for such purposes, irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. Each of the parties hereto and to the Deposit Agreement (i.e., the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) agrees not to challenge the terms and enforceability of the arbitration clause contained herein and in the Deposit Agreement, including, but not limited to, any challenge based on lack of mutuality, and each such party hereby irrevocably waives any such challenge.
(21) Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares. Whenever the Company intends to distribute a dividend payable at the election of the holders of Shares in cash or in additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed distribution stating whether or not it wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders. Upon receipt of notice indicating that the Company wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such elective distribution available to the Holders. The Depositary shall make such elective distribution available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely requested that the elective distribution is available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable and (iii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 14 of the Deposit Agreement including, without limitation, any legal opinions of counsel in any applicable jurisdiction that the Depositary in its reasonable discretion may request, at the expense of the Company. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the Depositary shall, to the extent permitted by law, distribute to the Holders, on the basis of the same determination as is made in the local market in respect of the Shares for which no election is made, either (x) cash or (y) additional ADSs representing such additional Shares. If the above conditions are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish a record date and establish procedures to enable Holders to elect the receipt of the proposed dividend in cash or in additional ADSs. The Company shall assist the Depositary in establishing such procedures to the extent necessary. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make available to Holders a method to receive the elective dividend in Shares (rather than ADSs). There can be no assurance that Holders or Beneficial Owners generally, or any Holder and/or Beneficial Owner in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Shares.
A-26
EXHIBIT B
DEED OF UNDERTAKING FROM YIMUTIAN INC. (THE “COMPANY”)
| To: | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Depositary”) | |
| 383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11 | ||
| New York, New York 10179 | ||
| Attention: Depositary Receipts Group | ||
| E-mail: DR Global CSM@jpmorgan.com | ||
| Date: | [Date] |
Yimutian Inc. (the “Company” or “we”) refer to the Deposit Agreement, dated as of August 7, 2025 between, among others, the Company and the Depositary (the “Deposit Agreement”). Capitalized words and expressions used in this deed poll that are not expressly defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Deposit Agreement.
The Company hereby irrevocably and unconditionally undertakes to instruct its registered office provider to register in the register of members of the Company any and all share transfers submitted by the Depositary to the Company, including without limitation, any share transfer instructions submitted by the Depositary after the Termination Date.
The Company shall promptly deliver to the Depositary a certified copy of the updated register of members that reflects any share transfers submitted by the Depositary to the Company in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
This deed poll and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
THIS DEED POLL has been executed as a deed and is delivered on the day and year first above written.
B-1
| EXECUTED AS A DEED for and on behalf of Yimutian Inc. | ) | |||
| by: | ) | |||
| ) | Duly Authorised Signatory | |||
| ) | ||||
| ) | Name: | |||
| ) | ||||
| ) | Title: | |||
| in the presence of: | ||
| Signature of Witness | ||
| Name: | ||
| address: | ||
B-2
EXHIBIT C
SHARE TRANSFER FORM
Dated [Date]
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the “Transferor”), for good and valuable consideration received by the Transferor from the parties listed in the schedule attached hereto (the “Transferees”), hereby transfers to the Transferees the shares as set out opposite their name in the table contained in the Schedule hereto (the “Shares”).
| SIGNED for and on behalf of TRANSFEROR: | ) | |||
| ) | ||||
| ) | Duly Authorised Signatory | |||
| ) | ||||
| ) | Name: | |||
| ) | ||||
| ) | Title: | |||
C-1
SCHEDULE TO EXHIBIT C
TRANSFEREES
| Name | Address | Number of shares | ||||
| [●] | [●] | [●] [Class A Ordinary shares of a nominal or par value of [●] each] |
C-2
Exhibit 4.5
WARRANT TO PURCHASE CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES REPRESENTED BY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
Yimutian, Inc.
| Warrant ADSs: [●] | Initial Exercise Date: [●], 2026 |
| Issue Date: [●], 2026 |
THIS WARRANT TO PURCHASE ORDINARY SHARES REPRESENTED BY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES (the “Warrant”) certifies that, for value received, [●] or its assigns (the “Holder”) is entitled, upon the terms and subject to the limitations on exercise and the conditions hereinafter set forth, at any time on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or prior to 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on [●], 2031 (the “Termination Date”) but not thereafter, to subscribe for and purchase from Yimutian, Inc., a Cayman Islands company (the “Company”), up to [●] Class A ordinary shares (as subject to adjustment hereunder, the “Warrant Shares”) represented by [●] American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), with each ADS representing 25 Ordinary Shares (the “ADS Ratio”) (the ADSs issuable hereunder, the “Warrant ADSs”). The purchase price of one (1) Warrant ADS shall be equal to the Exercise Price, as defined in Section 2(b).
Section 1. Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Warrant or in the Securities Purchase Agreement dated [●], 2026 among the Company and the purchasers signatory thereto, the following terms have the meanings indicated in this Section 1:
“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person, as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
“Bid Price” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the ADSs are then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the bid price of the ADSs for the time in question (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the ADSs are then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b) if OTCQB or OTCQX is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the ADSs for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable, (c) if the ADSs are not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the ADSs are then reported on the Pink Open Market (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per ADSs so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of an ADSs as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the Holders of a majority in interest of the Warrants then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.
“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.
“Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee” or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in The City of New York generally are open for use by customers on such day.
“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Deposit Agreement” means the Deposit Agreement dated as of [●], among the Company, [●] as Depositary and the owners and holders of ADSs from time to time, as such agreement may be amended or supplemented.
“Depositary” means [●], as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“VWAP” means, for any date, the price determined by the first of the following clauses that applies: (a) if the ADSs are then listed or quoted on a Trading Market, the daily volume weighted average price of the ADSs for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on the Trading Market on which the ADSs are then listed or quoted as reported by Bloomberg L.P. (based on a Trading Day from 9:30 a.m. (New York City time) to 4:02 p.m. (New York City time)), (b) if OTCQB or OTCQX is not a Trading Market, the volume weighted average price of the ADSs for such date (or the nearest preceding date) on OTCQB or OTCQX as applicable, (c) if the ADSs are not then listed or quoted for trading on OTCQB or OTCQX and if prices for the ADSs are then reported on the Pink Open Market (or a similar organization or agency succeeding to its functions of reporting prices), the most recent bid price per ADS so reported, or (d) in all other cases, the fair market value of an ADS as determined by an independent appraiser selected in good faith by the holders of a majority in interest of the Warrants then outstanding and reasonably acceptable to the Company, the fees and expenses of which shall be paid by the Company.
“Warrants” means this Warrant and other ADS purchase warrants issued by the Company pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements.
Section 2. Exercise.
a) Exercise of Warrant. Exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, at any time or times on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or before the Termination Date by delivery to the Company of a duly executed PDF copy submitted by e-mail (or e-mail attachment) of the Notice of Exercise substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Notice of Exercise”). Within the earlier of (i) one (1) Trading Day and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period (as defined in Section 2(d)(i) herein) following the date of exercise as aforesaid, the Holder shall deliver the aggregate Exercise Price (and in doing so, subscribe) for the Warrant ADSs specified in the applicable Notice of Exercise by wire transfer or cashier’s check drawn on a United States bank unless the cashless exercise procedure specified in Section 2(c) below is specified in the applicable Notice of Exercise. No ink-original Notice of Exercise shall be required, nor shall any medallion guarantee (or other type of guarantee or notarization) of any Notice of Exercise be required. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company until the Holder has purchased all of the Warrant ADSs available hereunder and the Warrant has been exercised in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company for cancellation within three (3) Trading Days of the date on which the final Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company. Partial exercises of this Warrant resulting in purchases of a portion of the total number of Warrant ADSs available hereunder shall have the effect of lowering the outstanding number of Warrant ADSs purchasable hereunder in an amount equal to the applicable number of Warrant ADSs purchased. The Holder and the Company shall maintain records showing the number of Warrant ADSs purchased and the date of such purchases. The Company shall deliver any objection to any Notice of Exercise within one (1) Business Day of receipt of such notice. The Holder and any assignee, by acceptance of this Warrant, acknowledge and agree that, by reason of the provisions of this paragraph, following the purchase of a portion of the Warrant ADSs hereunder, the number of Warrant ADSs available for purchase hereunder at any given time may be less than the amount stated on the face hereof.
b) Exercise Price. The exercise price per Warrant ADS shall be $[●], subject to adjustment hereunder (the “Exercise Price”).
c) Cashless Exercise. If at any time after the Issue Date there is no effective registration statement registering, or the prospectus contained therein is not available for the issuance of the Warrant ADSs to the Holder, then this Warrant may also be exercised, in whole or in part, at such time by means of a “cashless exercise” in which the Holder shall be entitled to receive a number of Warrant ADSs equal to the quotient obtained by dividing [(A-B) (X)] by (A), where:
(A) = as applicable: (i) the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise if such Notice of Exercise is (1) both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof on a day that is not a Trading Day or (2) both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof on a Trading Day prior to the opening of “regular trading hours” (as defined in Rule 600(b) of Regulation NMS promulgated under the federal securities laws) on such Trading Day, (ii) at the option of the Holder, either (y) the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise or (z) the Bid Price of the ADSs on the principal Trading Market as reported by Bloomberg L.P. as of the time of the Holder’s execution of the applicable Notice of Exercise if such Notice of Exercise is executed during “regular trading hours” on a Trading Day and is delivered within two (2) hours thereafter (including until two (2) hours after the close of “regular trading hours” on a Trading Day) pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof or (iii) the VWAP on the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise if the date of such Notice of Exercise is a Trading Day and such Notice of Exercise is both executed and delivered pursuant to Section 2(a) hereof after the close of “regular trading hours” on such Trading Day;
(B) = the Exercise Price of this Warrant, as adjusted hereunder; and
(X) = the number of Warrant ADSs that would be issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise.
If Warrant ADSs are issued in such a cashless exercise, the parties acknowledge and agree that in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, the Warrant ADSs shall take on the registered characteristics of the Warrants being exercised. The Company agrees not to take any position contrary to this Section 2(c).
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, on the Termination Date, this Warrant shall be automatically exercised via cashless exercise pursuant to this Section 2(c).
2
d) Mechanics of Exercise.
i. Delivery of Warrant ADSs Upon Exercise. The Company shall cause the Warrant ADSs purchased hereunder to be transmitted by the Depository to the Holder by crediting the account of the Holder’s or its designee’s balance account with The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit or Withdrawal at Custodian system (“DWAC”) if the Company is then a participant in such system and either (A) there is an effective registration statement permitting the issuance of the Warrant ADSs to or resale of the Warrant ADSs by Holder or (B) the Warrant ADSs are eligible for resale by the Holder without volume or manner-of-sale limitations pursuant to Rule 144 (assuming cashless exercise of this Warrant), and otherwise by physical delivery of a certificate, registered in the Company’s share register in the name of the Holder or its designee, for the number of Warrant ADSs to which the Holder is entitled pursuant to such exercise to the address specified by the Holder in the Notice of Exercise by the date that is the earliest of (i) one (1) Trading Day after the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise, provided, however, that such date shall automatically be extended by one (1) additional Trading Day for each Trading Day in the period commencing on the date of delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise and ending on the date that is one (1) Trading Day after such date, that is not a Business Day , and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period after the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise (such date, the “Warrant ADS Delivery Date”), provided, further that the Company shall not be obligated to cause the delivery of the Warrant ADSs unless the Company has received the aggregate Exercise Price (other than in the case of a cashless exercise) on or before the Warrant ADS Delivery Date. Upon delivery of the Notice of Exercise, the Holder shall be deemed for all corporate purposes to have become the holder of record of the Warrant ADSs with respect to which this Warrant has been exercised, irrespective of the date of delivery of the Warrant ADSs, provided that payment of the aggregate Exercise Price (other than in the case of a cashless exercise) is received within the earlier of (i) one (1) Trading Day and (ii) the number of Trading Days comprising the Standard Settlement Period following delivery of the Notice of Exercise. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, upon delivery of the Notice of Exercise, the Holder shall be deemed for purposes of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act to have become the holder of the Warrant ADSs irrespective of the date of delivery of the Warrant ADSs. If the Company fails for any reason to deliver to the Holder the Warrant ADSs subject to a Notice of Exercise by the Warrant ADS Delivery Date, provided that payment of the aggregate Exercise Price (other than in the instance of a cashless exercise) is received by the Company on or prior to the Warrant ADS Delivery Date, the Company shall pay to the Holder, in cash, as liquidated damages and not as a penalty, for each $1,000 of Warrant ADSs subject to such exercise (based on the VWAP of the ADSs on the date of the applicable Notice of Exercise), $10 per Trading Day (increasing to $20 per Trading Day on the fifth Trading Day after such liquidated damages begin to accrue) for each Trading Day after such Warrant ADS Delivery Date until such Warrant ADSs are delivered or Holder rescinds such exercise. The Company agrees to maintain a registrar (which can be the Depositary) that is a participant in the FAST program so long as this Warrant remains outstanding and exercisable. As used herein, “Standard Settlement Period” means the standard settlement period, expressed in a number of Trading Days, on the Company’s primary Trading Market with respect to the ADSs as in effect on the date of delivery of the Notice of Exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to any Notice(s) of Exercise delivered on or prior to 12:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Initial Exercise Date, which may be delivered at any time after the time of execution of the Purchase Agreement, the Company agrees to deliver the Warrant ADSs subject to such notice(s) by 4:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the Initial Exercise Date and the Initial Exercise Date shall be the Warrant ADS Delivery Date for purposes hereunder.
ii. Delivery of New Warrants Upon Exercise. If this Warrant shall have been exercised in part, the Company shall, at the request of a Holder and upon surrender of this Warrant certificate, at the time of delivery of the Warrant ADSs, deliver to the Holder a new Warrant evidencing the rights of the Holder to purchase the unpurchased Warrant ADSs called for by this Warrant, which new Warrant shall in all other respects be identical with this Warrant.
3
iii. Rescission Rights. If the Company fails to cause the Depository to transmit to the Holder the Warrant ADSs pursuant to Section 2(d)(i) by the Warrant ADS Delivery Date, then the Holder will have the right to rescind such exercise.
iv. Compensation for Buy-In on Failure to Timely Deliver Warrant ADSs upon Exercise. In addition to any other rights available to the Holder, if the Company fails to cause the Depository to deliver to the Holder the Warrant ADSs in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(d)(i) above pursuant to an exercise on or before the Warrant ADS Delivery Date (other than a failure caused by incorrect or incomplete information provided by the Holder to the Company), and if after such date the Holder is required by its broker to purchase (in an open market transaction or otherwise) or the Holder’s brokerage firm otherwise purchases, ADSs to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Holder of the Warrant ADSs which the Holder anticipated receiving upon such exercise (a “Buy-In”), then the Company shall (A) pay in cash to the Holder the amount, if any, by which (x) the Holder’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the ADSs so purchased in lieu of the number of Warrant ADSs that the Company was required to deliver to the Holder in connection with the exercise at issue exceeds (y) the amount obtained by multiplying (1) the number of Warrant ADSs that the Company was required to deliver to the Holder in connection with the exercise at issue times (2) the price at which the sell order giving rise to such purchase obligation was executed, and (B) at the option of the Holder, either reinstate the portion of the Warrant and equivalent number of Warrant ADSs for which such exercise was not honored and return any amount received by the Company in respect of the Exercise Price for those Warrant ADSs (in which case such exercise shall be deemed rescinded) or deliver to the Holder the number of ADSs that would have been issued had the Company timely complied with its exercise and delivery obligations hereunder. For example, if the Holder purchases ADSs having a total purchase price of $11,000 to cover a Buy-In with respect to an attempted exercise of Warrant with an aggregate sale price giving rise to such purchase obligation of $10,000, under clause (A) of the immediately preceding sentence the Company shall be required to pay the Holder $1,000. The Holder shall provide the Company written notice indicating the amounts payable to the Holder in respect of the Buy-In and, upon request of the Company, evidence of the amount of such loss. Nothing herein shall limit a Holder’s right to pursue any other remedies available to it hereunder, at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief with respect to the Company’s failure to timely deliver ADSs upon exercise of the Warrant as required pursuant to the terms hereof.
v. No Fractional ADSs or Scrip. No fractional ADSs or scrip representing fractional ADSs shall be issued upon the exercise of this Warrant. As to any fraction of an ADS which the Holder would otherwise be entitled to purchase upon such exercise, the Company shall, at its election, either pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the Exercise Price or round up to the next whole ADS.
vi. Charges, Taxes and Expenses. Issuance of Warrant ADSs shall be made without charge to the Holder for any issue or transfer tax or other incidental expense in respect of the issuance of such Warrant ADSs, all of which taxes and expenses shall be paid by the Company, and such Warrant ADSs shall be issued in the name of the Holder or in such name or names as may be directed by the Holder; provided, however, that, in the event that Warrant ADSs are to be issued in a name other than the name of the Holder, this Warrant when surrendered for exercise shall be accompanied by the Assignment Form attached hereto as Exhibit B duly executed by the Holder and the Company may require, as a condition thereto, the payment of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any transfer tax incidental thereto. The Company shall pay all Depository fees required for same-day processing of any Notice of Exercise and all fees to the Depository Trust Company (or another established clearing corporation performing similar functions) required for same-day electronic delivery of the Warrant ADSs.
4
vii. Closing of Books. The Company will not close its shareholder books register of members or records in any manner which prevents the timely exercise of this Warrant, pursuant to the terms hereof.
e) Holder’s Exercise Limitations. The Company shall not effect any exercise of this Warrant, and a Holder shall not have the right to exercise any portion of this Warrant, pursuant to Section 2 or otherwise, to the extent that after giving effect to such issuance after exercise as set forth on the applicable Notice of Exercise, the Holder (together with the Holder’s Affiliates, and any other Persons acting as a group together with the Holder or any of the Holder’s Affiliates (such Persons, “Attribution Parties”)), would beneficially own in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below). For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the number of Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by the Holder and its Affiliates and Attribution Parties shall include the number of Ordinary Shares underlying such Warrant ADSs issuable upon exercise of this Warrant with respect to which such determination is being made, but shall exclude the number of Ordinary Shares underlying Warrant ADSs which would be issuable upon (i) exercise of the remaining, unexercised portion of this Warrant beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates or Attribution Parties and (ii) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or unconverted portion of any other securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any other Ordinary Share Equivalents) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates or Attribution Parties. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this Section 2(e), beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, it being acknowledged by the Holder that the Company is not representing to the Holder that such calculation is in compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the Holder is solely responsible for any schedules required to be filed in accordance therewith. To the extent that the limitation contained in this Section 2(e) applies, the determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates and Attribution Parties) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable shall be in the sole discretion of the Holder, and the submission of a Notice of Exercise shall be deemed to be the Holder’s determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates and Attribution Parties) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable, in each case subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the Company shall have no obligation to verify or confirm the accuracy of such determination. In addition, a determination as to any group status as contemplated above shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. For purposes of this Section 2(e), in determining the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares, a Holder may rely on the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares as reflected in (A) the Company’s most recent periodic or annual report filed with the Commission, as the case may be, (B) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (C) a more recent written notice by the Company or the Depository setting forth the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding. Upon the written or oral request of a Holder, the Company shall within one (1) Trading Day confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of Ordinary Shares then outstanding. In any case, the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of securities of the Company, including this Warrant, by the Holder or its Affiliates or Attribution Parties since the date as of which such number of outstanding Ordinary Shares was reported. The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% (or, upon election by a Holder prior to the issuance of any Warrants, 9.99%) of the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of Ordinary Shares underlying the Warrant ADSs issuable upon exercise of this Warrant. The Holder, upon notice to the Company, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2(e), provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of this Warrant held by the Holder and the provisions of this Section 2(e) shall continue to apply. Any increase in the Beneficial Ownership Limitation will not be effective until the 61st day after such notice is delivered to the Company. The provisions of this paragraph shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 2(e) to correct this paragraph (or any portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the intended Beneficial Ownership Limitation herein contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable to properly give effect to such limitation. The limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor holder of this Warrant.
5
f) Forced Exercise.
i. General. If at any time (x) the VWAP of the ADSs on the principal Trading Market in which the ADSs then trade (the “Principal Market”) exceeds $[●] (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, recapitalizations and similar events) (the “Forced Exercise Minimum Price”) for twenty (20) consecutive Trading Days (each, a “Forced Exercise Measuring Period”), and (y) no Equity Conditions Failure then exists, then the Company shall have the right to require the Holder to exercise this Warrant into up to such aggregate number of fully paid, validly issued and non-assessable Warrant ADSs equal to the lesser of (x) the aggregate number of Warrant ADSs then exercisable hereunder and (y) 30% of the aggregate dollar trading volume of the ADSs (as reported by Bloomberg) during the three (3) consecutive Trading-Day period immediately prior to the applicable Forced Exercise Notice Date (as defined below) (such lesser number of Warrant ADSs, the “Maximum Forced Exercise Share Amount”), as designated in the applicable Forced Exercise Notice (as defined below) to be issued and delivered in accordance with Section 2(a) hereof (each, a “Forced Exercise”). The Company may exercise its right to require a Forced Exercise under this Section 2(f) by delivering a written notice thereof, at one, or more times, by facsimile or electronic mail to all, but not less than all, of the holders of Warrants (each, a “Forced Exercise Notice”, and the date thereof, each a “Forced Exercise Notice Date”). For purposes of Section 2(a) hereof, “Forced Exercise Notice” shall be deemed to replace “Notice of Exercise” for all purposes thereunder as if the Holder delivered an Notice of Exercise to the Company on the Forced Exercise Notice Date, mutatis mutandis. Each Forced Exercise Notice shall be irrevocable. Each Forced Exercise Notice shall state (i) the Trading Day selected for the Forced Exercise in accordance with this Section 2(f), which Trading Day shall be the second (2nd) Trading Day following the applicable Forced Exercise Eligibility Date (each, a “Forced Exercise Date”), (ii) the aggregate portion of this Warrant and the other Warrants subject to forced exercise from the Holder and all of the holders of the Warrants pursuant to this Section 2(f) (and analogous provisions under such other Warrants), (iii) the Maximum Forced Exercise Share Amount applicable to the Holder (including calculations and any other documents reasonably requested by the Holder with respect thereto) and (iv) that there has been no Equity Conditions Failure (or specifying any such Equity Conditions Failure that then exists, with an acknowledgement that unless such Equity Conditions are waived, in whole or in part, such Forced Exercise Notice will be invalid). Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if (x) if the VWAP of the ADSs on the Principal Market fails to exceed the Forced Exercise Minimum Price for each Trading Day commencing on the Forced Exercise Notice Date and ending and including the Trading Day immediately prior to the applicable Forced Exercise Date (a “Forced Exercise Price Failure”) or (y) an Equity Conditions Failure occurs at any time after a Forced Exercise Notice Date and prior to the related Forced Exercise Date, (A) the Company shall provide the Holder a subsequent notice to that effect and (B) unless the Holder waives the applicable Equity Conditions Failure and/or Forced Exercise Price Failure, as applicable, the Forced Exercise shall be cancelled and the applicable Forced Exercise Notice shall be null and void.
i. Pro Rata Exercise Requirement. If the Company elects to cause a Forced Exercise of this Warrant pursuant to this Section 2(f), then it must simultaneously take the same action in the same proportion with respect to all of the other Warrants then outstanding.
6
iii. Definitions. For the purpose of this Section 2(f) the following definitions shall apply:
1. “Equity Conditions” means, with respect to an given date of determination: (i) on such applicable date of determination (x) the ADS Registration Statement and (y) an additional Registration Statement shall be effective and the prospectus contained therein shall be available on such applicable date of determination (with, for the avoidance of doubt, any Warrant ADSs previously issued pursuant to such prospectus deemed unavailable) for the issuance of all the Warrant ADSs then held by the Holder plus the applicable Maximum Forced Exercise Share Amount (such applicable aggregate number of Warrant ADSs, each, a “Required Minimum Securities Amount”); (ii) on each day during the period beginning thirty (30) calendar days prior to the applicable date of determination and ending on and including the applicable date of determination (the “Equity Conditions Measuring Period”), the ADSs are listed or designated for quotation (as applicable) on a Trading Market and shall not have been suspended from trading on a Trading Market (other than suspensions of not more than two (2) days and occurring prior to the applicable date of determination due to business announcements by the Company) nor shall delisting or suspension by a Trading Market have been threatened (with a reasonable prospect of delisting occurring after giving effect to all applicable notice, appeal, compliance and hearing periods) or reasonably likely to occur or pending as evidenced by (A) a writing by such Trading Market or (B) the Company falling below the minimum listing maintenance requirements of such Trading Market on which the ADSs are then listed or designated for quotation (as applicable); (iii) during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, the Company shall have delivered all Warrant ADSs issuable upon exercise of this Warrant on a timely basis as set forth in Section 2 hereof and all other share capital required to be delivered by the Company on a timely basis as set forth in the other Transaction Documents; (iv) any Warrant ADSs to be issued in connection with the event requiring determination may be issued in full without violating the rules or regulations of the principal Trading Market on which the ADSs are then listed or designated for quotation (as applicable); (v) on each day during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, no public announcement of a pending, proposed or intended Fundamental Transaction (as defined below) shall have occurred which has not been abandoned, terminated or consummated; (vi) the Company shall have no knowledge of any fact that would reasonably be expected to cause the applicable registration statements described in clause (i) above to not be effective or the prospectus contained therein to not be available for the issuance of all of the Warrant ADSs issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in connection with the event requiring such determination; (vii) the Holder shall not be in possession of any material, non-public information provided to any of them by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective affiliates, employees, officers, representatives, agents or the like; (viii) on each day during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, the Company otherwise shall have been in compliance with each, and shall not have breached any representation or warranty in any material respect (other than representations or warranties subject to material adverse effect or materiality, which may not be breached in any respect) or any covenant or other term or condition of any Transaction Document, including, without limitation, the Company shall not have failed to timely make any payment pursuant to any Transaction Document; (ix) there shall not have occurred any Volume Failure of such applicable date of determination; (x) on the applicable date of determination all Warrant ADSs to be issued in connection with the event requiring this determination may be issued in full in compliance with Section 5(e) below; and (xi) the issuance of the Warrant ADSs upon a Forced Exercise shall not cause a breach of any provision of Section 2(e) herein.
7
2. “Equity Conditions Failure” means that on each day during the period commencing twenty (20) Trading Days prior to the applicable Forced Exercise Notice Date through and including the applicable Forced Exercise Date, the Equity Conditions have not been satisfied (or waived in writing by the Holder).
3. “Volume Failure” means, with respect to a particular date of determination, the aggregate daily dollar trading volume (as reported on Bloomberg) of the ADSs on the Principal Market on any Trading Day during the twenty (20) Trading Day period ending on the Trading Day immediately preceding such date of determination, is less than $[●].
Section 3. Certain Adjustments.
a) Share Dividends and Splits. If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding: (i) pays a share dividend or otherwise makes a distribution or distributions on its Ordinary Shares or ADSs or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in Ordinary Shares or ADSs (which, for avoidance of doubt, shall not include any ADSs issued by the Company upon exercise of this Warrant), (ii) subdivides outstanding Ordinary Shares or ADSs into a larger number of shares or ADSs, as applicable, (iii) combines (including by way of reverse share split) outstanding Ordinary Shares or ADSs into a smaller number of shares or ADSs, as applicable, (iv) issues by reclassification of Ordinary Shares, ADSs or any share capital of the Company, as applicable, or (v) changes the ADS Ratio under the Deposit Agreement, then in each case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the number of ADSs (excluding treasury shares, if any) outstanding immediately before such event and of which the denominator shall be the number of ADSs outstanding immediately after such event (and in the case of an ADS Ratio change, after giving effect to such change), and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant shall be proportionately adjusted such that the aggregate Exercise Price of this Warrant shall remain unchanged. Any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution and shall become effective immediately after the effective date in the case of a subdivision, combination or re-classification.
b) Share Combination Event Adjustment. In addition to the adjustments set forth in this Section 3, if at any time on or after the Issue Date there occurs any share split, share dividend, bonus share issuance, share combination recapitalization or other similar transaction involving the Ordinary Shares or ADSs (each, a “Share Combination Event”, and such date thereof, the “Share Combination Event Date”) and the lowest VWAP during the five (5) consecutive Trading Days immediately preceding the Share Combination Event Date and ending five (5) consecutive Trading Days immediately after the Share Combination Event Date (the “Event Market Price”) (provided if the Share Combination Event is effective after close of Trading on the primary Trading Market, then commencing on the next Trading Day which period shall be the “Share Combination Adjustment Period”) is less than the Exercise Price then in effect (after giving effect to the adjustment in clause 3(a) above), then at the close of trading on the primary Trading Market on the last day of the Share Combination Adjustment Period, the Exercise Price then in effect on such 5th Trading Day shall be reduced (but in no event increased) to the Event Market Price. For the avoidance of doubt, if the adjustment in the immediately preceding sentence would otherwise result in an increase in the Exercise Price hereunder, no adjustment shall be made, and if this Warrant is exercised, on any given Exercise Date during the Share Combination Adjustment Period, solely with respect to such portion of this Warrant exercised on such applicable Exercise Date, such applicable Share Combination Adjustment Period shall be deemed to have ended on, and included, the Trading Day immediately prior to such Exercise Date and the Event Market Price on such applicable Exercise Date will be the lowest VWAP of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs, as applicable, immediately prior to the Share Combination Event Date and ending on, and including the Trading Day immediately prior to such Exercise Date.
8
c) Subsequent Equity Sales. If, at any time after the Initial Exercise Date and while this Warrant is outstanding, the Company grants, issues or sells (or enters into an agreement to grant, issue or sell), or, in accordance with this Section 3(c), is deemed to have issued or sold, any Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents (excluding any Exempt Issuance issued or sold or deemed to have been issued or sold) for a consideration per share (the “New Issuance Price”) less than a price equal to the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such issue or sale or deemed issuance or sale (such Exercise Price then in effect is referred to as the “Applicable Price”) (the foregoing a “Dilutive Issuance”), then simultaneously with the consummation of such Dilutive Issuance, the Exercise Price then in effect shall be reduced to an amount equal to the New Issuance Price. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no adjustments shall be made, paid or issued under this Section 3(c) in respect of an Exempt Issuance. The Company shall notify the Holder, in writing, no later than the Trading Day following the issuance or deemed issuance of any Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents subject to this Section 3(c), indicating therein the applicable issuance price, or applicable reset price, exchange price, conversion price and other pricing terms (such notice, the “Dilutive Issuance Notice”). For purposes of clarification, whether or not the Company provides a Dilutive Issuance Notice pursuant to this Section 3(c), upon the occurrence of any Dilutive Issuance, the Holder is entitled, upon exercise, to receive a number of Warrant ADSs based upon the New Issuance Price regardless of whether the Holder accurately refers to the New Issuance Price in the Notice of Exercise.
i. Issuance of Options. If the Company in any manner grants, issues or sells (or enters into any agreement to grant, issue or sell) any Options and the lowest price per share for which one share of Ordinary Shares is at any time issuable upon the exercise of any such Option or upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalents issuable upon exercise of any such Option or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof is less than the Applicable Price, then such share of Ordinary Shares shall be deemed to be outstanding and to have been issued and sold by the Company at the time of the granting, issuance or sale (or the time of execution of such agreement to grant, issue or sell, as applicable) of such Option for such price per share. For purposes of this Section 3(c)(i), the “lowest price per share for which one share of Ordinary Shares is at any time issuable upon the exercise of any such Options or upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalents issuable upon exercise of any such Option or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof” shall be equal to (1) the lower of (x) the sum of the lowest amounts of consideration (if any) received or receivable by the Company with respect to any one share of Ordinary Shares upon the granting, issuance or sale (or pursuant to the agreement to grant, issue or sell, as applicable) of such Option, upon exercise of such Option and upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalent issuable upon exercise of such Option or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof and (y) the lowest exercise price set forth in such Option for which one share of Ordinary Shares is issuable (or may become issuable assuming all possible market conditions) upon the exercise of any such Options or upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalents issuable upon exercise of any such Option or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof minus (2) the sum of all amounts paid or payable to the holder of such Option (or any other Person) upon the granting, issuance or sale (or the agreement to grant, issue or sell, as applicable) such Option, upon exercise of such Option and upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalent issuable upon exercise of such Option or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof plus the value of any other consideration received or receivable by, or benefit conferred on, the holder of such Option (or any other Person). Except as contemplated below, no further adjustment of the Exercise Price shall be made upon the actual issuance of such Ordinary Shares or of such Ordinary Share Equivalents upon the exercise of such Options or otherwise pursuant to the terms of or upon the actual issuance of such Ordinary Shares upon conversion, exercise or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalents.
9
ii. Issuance of Ordinary Share Equivalents. If the Company in any manner issues or sells (or enters into any agreement to issue or sell) any Ordinary Share Equivalents and the lowest price per share for which one share of Ordinary Shares is at any time issuable upon the conversion, exercise or exchange thereof or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof is less than the Applicable Price, then such share of Ordinary Shares shall be deemed to be outstanding and to have been issued and sold by the Company at the time of the issuance or sale (or the time of execution of such agreement to issue or sell, as applicable) of such Ordinary Share Equivalents for such price per share. For the purposes of this Section 3(c)(ii), the “lowest price per share for which one share of Ordinary Shares is at any time issuable upon the conversion, exercise or exchange thereof or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof” shall be equal to (1) the lower of (x) the sum of the lowest amounts of consideration (if any) received or receivable by the Company with respect to one share of Ordinary Shares upon the issuance or sale (or pursuant to the agreement to issue or sell, as applicable) of the Ordinary Share Equivalent and upon conversion, exercise or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalent or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof and (y) the lowest conversion price set forth in such Ordinary Share Equivalent for which one share of Ordinary Shares is issuable (or may become issuable assuming all possible market conditions) upon conversion, exercise or exchange thereof or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof minus (2) the sum of all amounts paid or payable to the holder of such Ordinary Share Equivalent (or any other Person) upon the issuance or sale (or the agreement to issue or sell, as applicable) of such Ordinary Share Equivalent plus the value of any other consideration received or receivable by, or benefit conferred on, the holder of such Ordinary Share Equivalent (or any other Person). Except as contemplated below, no further adjustment of the Exercise Price shall be made upon the actual issuance of such Ordinary Shares upon conversion, exercise or exchange of such Ordinary Share Equivalents or otherwise pursuant to the terms thereof, and if any such issuance or sale of such Ordinary Share Equivalents is made upon exercise of any Options for which adjustment of this Warrant has been or is to be made pursuant to other provisions of this Section 3(c), except as contemplated below, no further adjustment of the Exercise Price shall be made by reason of such issuance or sale.
iii. Change in Option Price or Rate of Conversion. If the purchase or exercise price provided for in any Options, the additional consideration, if any, payable upon the issue, conversion, exercise or exchange of any Ordinary Share Equivalents, or the rate at which any Ordinary Share Equivalents are convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares increases or decreases at any time (other than proportional changes in conversion or exercise prices, as applicable, in connection with an event referred to in Section 3(a)), the Exercise Price in effect at the time of such increase or decrease shall be adjusted to the Exercise Price which would have been in effect at such time had such Options or Ordinary Share Equivalents provided for such increased or decreased purchase price, additional consideration or increased or decreased conversion rate, as the case may be, at the time initially granted, issued or sold. For purposes of this Section 3(c)(iii), if the terms of any Option or Ordinary Share Equivalent that was outstanding as of the Initial Exercise Date are increased or decreased in the manner described in the immediately preceding sentence, then such Option or Ordinary Share Equivalent and the Ordinary Shares deemed issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange thereof shall be deemed to have been issued as of the date of such increase or decrease. No adjustment pursuant to this Section 3(c) shall be made if such adjustment would result in an increase of the Exercise Price then in effect.
10
iv. Calculation of Consideration Received. If any Option and/or Ordinary Share Equivalents and/or Adjustment Right is issued in connection with the issuance or sale or deemed issuance or sale of any other securities of the Company (as determined by the Holder, the “Primary Security”, and such Option and/or Ordinary Share Equivalents and/or Adjustment Right, the “Secondary Securities” and together with the Primary Security, each a “Unit”), together comprising one integrated transaction, the aggregate consideration per share of Ordinary Shares with respect to such Primary Security shall be deemed to be the lowest of (x) the purchase price of such Unit, (y) if such Primary Security is an Option and/or Ordinary Share Equivalent, the lowest price per share for which one share of Ordinary Shares is at any time issuable upon the exercise or conversion of the Primary Security in accordance with Section 3(c)(i) or 3(c)(ii) above and (z) the lowest VWAP of the Ordinary Shares on any Trading Day during the five (5) Trading Day period (the “Adjustment Period”) immediately following the public announcement of such Dilutive Issuance (for the avoidance of doubt, if such public announcement is released prior to the opening of the applicable Trading Market on a Trading Day, such Trading Day shall be the first Trading Day in such five Trading Day period and if this Warrant is exercised, on any given Exercise Date during any such Adjustment Period, solely with respect to such portion of this Warrant converted on such applicable Exercise Date, such applicable Adjustment Period shall be deemed to have ended on, and included, the Trading Day immediately prior to such Exercise Date). If any Ordinary Shares, Options or Ordinary Share Equivalents are issued or sold or deemed to have been issued or sold for cash, the consideration received therefor will be deemed to be the net amount of consideration received by the Company therefor. If any Ordinary Shares, Options or Ordinary Share Equivalents are issued or sold for a consideration other than cash, the amount of such consideration received by the Company will be the fair value of such consideration, except where such consideration consists of publicly traded securities, in which case the amount of consideration received by the Company for such securities will be the arithmetic average of the VWAPs of such security for each of the five (5) Trading Days immediately preceding the date of receipt. If any Ordinary Shares, Options or Ordinary Share Equivalents are issued to the owners of the non-surviving entity in connection with any merger in which the Company is the surviving entity, the amount of consideration therefor will be deemed to be the fair value of such portion of the net assets and business of the non-surviving entity as is attributable to such Ordinary Shares, Options or Ordinary Share Equivalents (as the case may be). The fair value of any consideration other than cash or publicly traded securities will be determined jointly by the Company and the Holder. If such parties are unable to reach agreement within ten (10) days after the occurrence of an event requiring valuation (the “Valuation Event”), the fair value of such consideration will be determined within five (5) Trading Days after the tenth (10th) day following such Valuation Event by an independent, reputable appraiser jointly selected by the Company and the Holder. The determination of such appraiser shall be final and binding upon all parties absent manifest error and the fees and expenses of such appraiser shall be borne by the Company. For purposes of hereof, “Adjustment Right” means any right granted with respect to any securities issued in connection with, or with respect to, any issuance or sale (or deemed issuance or sale in accordance with this Section 3(c) of Ordinary Shares that could result in a decrease in the net consideration received by the Company in connection with, or with respect to, such securities (including, without limitation, any cash settlement rights, cash adjustment or other similar rights).
v. Record Date. If the Company takes a record of the holders of Ordinary Shares for the purpose of entitling them (A) to receive a dividend or other distribution payable in Ordinary Shares, Options or in Convertible Securities or (B) to subscribe for or purchase Ordinary Shares, Options or Convertible Securities, then such record date will be deemed to be the date of the issuance or sale of the Ordinary Shares deemed to have been issued or sold upon the declaration of such dividend or the making of such other distribution or the date of the granting of such right of subscription or purchase (as the case may be).
11
vi. Evaluating Ordinary Shares Underlying ADSs Only. For the purpose of this Section 3(c), any ADSs issued or issuable (or deemed issued or issuable) in connection with any issuance of Ordinary Shares, Options or Convertible Securities, as applicable, shall be evaluated solely based on any underlying Ordinary Shares as if such underlying Ordinary Shares had never been evidenced by (or exchanged into, as applicable), ADSs in connection therewith.
d) Subsequent Rights Offerings. In addition to any adjustments pursuant to Section 3(a) above, if at any time the Company grants, issues or sells any Ordinary Share Equivalents or rights to purchase shares, warrants, securities or other property pro rata to all (or substantially all) of the record holders of any class of Ordinary Shares or ADSs (the “Purchase Rights”), then the Holder will be entitled to acquire, upon the terms applicable to such Purchase Rights, the aggregate Purchase Rights which the Holder could have acquired if the Holder had held the number of Ordinary Shares or ADSs acquirable upon complete exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on exercise hereof, including without limitation, the Beneficial Ownership Limitation) immediately before the date on which a record is taken for the grant, issuance or sale of such Purchase Rights, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs are to be determined for the grant, issue or sale of such Purchase Rights (provided, however, that, to the extent that the Holder’s right to participate in any such Purchase Right would result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, then the Holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Purchase Right to such extent (or beneficial ownership of such Ordinary Shares or ADSs as a result of such Purchase Right to such extent) and such Purchase Right to such extent shall be held in abeyance for the Holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation).
e) Pro Rata Distributions. During such time as this Warrant is outstanding, if the Company shall declare or make any dividend or other distribution of its assets (or rights to acquire its assets) to all (or substantially all) holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs, by way of return of capital or otherwise (including, without limitation, any distribution of cash, shares or other securities, property or options by way of a dividend, spin off, reclassification, corporate rearrangement, scheme of arrangement or other similar transaction) (a “Distribution”), at any time after the issuance of this Warrant, then, in each such case, the Holder shall be entitled to participate in such Distribution to the same extent that the Holder would have participated therein if the Holder had held the number of Ordinary Shares or ADSs acquirable upon complete exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on exercise hereof, including without limitation, the Beneficial Ownership Limitation) immediately before the date of which a record is taken for such Distribution, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs are to be determined for the participation in such Distribution (provided, however, that, to the extent that the Holder’s right to participate in any such Distribution would result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, then the Holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Distribution to such extent (or in the beneficial ownership of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs as a result of such Distribution to such extent) and the portion of such Distribution shall be held in abeyance for the benefit of the Holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in the Holder exceeding the Beneficial Ownership Limitation). To the extent that this Warrant has not been partially or completely exercised at the time of such Distribution, such portion of the Distribution shall be held in abeyance for the benefit of the Holder until the Holder has exercised this Warrant.
12
f) Fundamental Transaction. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another Person , (ii) the Company, directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of the outstanding Ordinary Shares or 50% or more of the voting power of the share equity of the Company, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the Ordinary Shares or ADSs are effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off, merger or scheme of arrangement) with another Person or group of Persons whereby such other Person or group acquires 50% or more of the outstanding Ordinary Shares or 50% or more of the voting power of the share equity of the Company (not including any Ordinary Shares or voting power held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination) (each a “Fundamental Transaction”), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant ADS that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction, at the option of the Holder (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant), the number of ADSs of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration (the “Alternate Consideration”) receivable as a result of such Fundamental Transaction by a holder of the number of ADSs for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(e) on the exercise of this Warrant). For purposes of any such exercise, the determination of the Exercise Price shall be appropriately adjusted to apply to such Alternate Consideration based on the amount of Alternate Consideration issuable in respect of one ADSs in such Fundamental Transaction, and the Company shall apportion the Exercise Price among the Alternate Consideration in a reasonable manner reflecting the relative value of any different components of the Alternate Consideration. If holders of ADSs are given any choice as to the securities, cash or property to be received in a Fundamental Transaction, then the Holder shall be given the same choice as to the Alternate Consideration it receives upon any exercise of this Warrant following such Fundamental Transaction. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in the event of a Fundamental Transaction, the Company or any Successor Entity (as defined below) shall, at the Holder’s option, exercisable at any time concurrently with, or within 30 days after, the consummation of the Fundamental Transaction (or, if later, the date of the public announcement of the applicable Fundamental Transaction), purchase this Warrant from the Holder by paying to the Holder an amount of cash equal to the Black Scholes Value (as defined below) of the remaining unexercised portion of this Warrant on the date of the consummation of such Fundamental Transaction; provided, however, that, if the Fundamental Transaction is not within the Company’s control, including not approved by the Company’s Board of Directors, the Holder shall only be entitled to receive from the Company or any Successor Entity the same type or form of consideration (and in the same proportion), at the Black Scholes Value (as defined below) of the unexercised portion of this Warrant, that is being offered and paid to the holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs of the Company in connection with the Fundamental Transaction, whether that consideration be in the form of cash, stock or any combination thereof, or whether the holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs are given the choice to receive from among alternative forms of consideration in connection with the Fundamental Transaction; provided, further, that if holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs of the Company are not offered or paid any consideration in such Fundamental Transaction, such holders of Ordinary Shares or ADSs will be deemed to have received common equity or ordinary shares, as applicable, of the Successor Entity (which Entity may be the Company following such Fundamental Transaction) in such Fundamental Transaction. “Black Scholes Value” means the value of this Warrant based on the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model obtained from the “OV” function on Bloomberg, L.P. (“Bloomberg”) determined as of the day of consummation of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction for pricing purposes and reflecting (A) a risk-free interest rate corresponding to the U.S. Treasury rate for a period equal to the time between the date of the public announcement of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction and the Termination Date, (B) an expected volatility equal to the greater of (1) 100% and (2) the 100 day volatility as obtained from the HVT function on Bloomberg (determined utilizing a 365 day annualization factor) as of the Trading Day immediately following the public announcement of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction, (C) the underlying price per share used in such calculation shall be the greater of (i) the sum of the price per share being offered in cash, if any, plus the value of any non-cash consideration, if any, being offered in such Fundamental Transaction and (ii) the greater of (x) the last VWAP immediately prior to the public announcement of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction and (y) the last VWAP immediately prior to the consummation of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction and (D) a remaining option time equal to the time between the date of the public announcement of the applicable contemplated Fundamental Transaction and the Termination Date and (E) a zero cost of borrow. The payment of the Black Scholes Value will be made by wire transfer of immediately available funds (or such other consideration) within the later of (i) five (5) Business Days after the Holder’s election and (ii) the date of consummation of the Fundamental Transaction. The Company shall cause any successor entity in a Fundamental Transaction in which the Company is not the survivor (the “Successor Entity”) to assume in writing all of the obligations of the Company under this Warrant and the other Transaction Documents in accordance with the provisions of this Section 3(f) pursuant to written agreements in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Holder and approved by the Holder (without unreasonable delay) prior to such Fundamental Transaction and shall, at the option of the Holder, deliver to the Holder in exchange for this Warrant a security of the Successor Entity evidenced by a written instrument substantially similar in form and substance to this Warrant that is exercisable for a corresponding number of shares of capital stock (or equity, as applicable) of such Successor Entity (or its parent entity) equivalent to the Ordinary Shares or ADSs acquirable and receivable upon exercise of this Warrant (without regard to any limitations on the exercise of this Warrant) prior to such Fundamental Transaction, and with an exercise price which applies the exercise price hereunder to such shares of capital stock (or equity, as applicable) (but taking into account the relative value of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs prior to such Fundamental Transaction and the value of such shares of capital stock (or equity, as applicable), such number of shares of capital stock (or equity, as applicable) and such exercise price being for the purpose of protecting the economic value of this Warrant immediately prior to the consummation of such Fundamental Transaction), and which is reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Holder. Upon the occurrence of any such Fundamental Transaction, the Successor Entity shall succeed to, and be substituted for (so that from and after the occurrence or consummation of such Fundamental Transaction, each and every provision of this Warrant and the other Transaction Documents referring to the “Company” shall refer instead to the Successor Entity or Successor Entities), and the Successor Entity or Successor Entities may exercise every right and power of the Company and shall assume all of the obligations of the Company under this Warrant and the other Transaction Documents with the same effect as if such Successor Entity or Successor Entities had been named as the Company herein. For the avoidance of doubt, the Holder shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of this Section 3(e) regardless of (i) whether the Company has sufficient authorized Ordinary Shares for the issuance of the Warrant ADSs and/or (ii) whether a Fundamental Transaction occurs prior to the Initial Exercise Date.
13
g) Calculations. All calculations under this Section 3 shall be made to the nearest cent or the nearest 1/100th of an ADS, as the case may be. For purposes of this Section 3, the number of Ordinary Shares deemed to be issued and outstanding as of a given date shall be the sum of the number of Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares, if any) issued and outstanding.
h) Notice to Holder.
i. Adjustment to Exercise Price. Whenever the Exercise Price, the number of ADSs the subject of each Warrant, or the number of Warrants is adjusted pursuant to any provision of this Section 3, the Company shall promptly deliver to the Holder by email a notice setting forth the Exercise Price after such adjustment and any resulting adjustment to the number of Warrants or the number of the ADSs subject of each Warrant and setting forth a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment.
ii. Notice to Allow Exercise by Holder. If (A) the Company shall declare a dividend (or any other distribution in whatever form) on the Ordinary Shares, (B) the Company shall declare a special nonrecurring cash dividend on or a redemption of the Ordinary Shares, (C) the Company shall authorize the granting to all holders of the Ordinary Share rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase any shares of any class or of any rights, (D) the approval of any shareholders of the Company shall be required in connection with any reclassification of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs, any consolidation or merger to which the Company (or any of its Subsidiaries) is a party, any sale or transfer of all or substantially all of its assets, or any compulsory share exchange whereby the Ordinary Shares or ADSs are converted into other securities, cash or property, or (E) the Company shall authorize the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the affairs of the Company, then, in each case, the Company shall cause to be delivered by email to the Holder at its last email address as it shall appear upon the Warrant Register of the Company, at least 10 calendar days prior to the applicable record or effective date hereinafter specified, a notice stating (x) the date on which a record is to be taken for the purpose of such dividend, distribution, redemption, rights or warrants, or if a record is not to be taken, the date as of which the holders of the Ordinary Shares of record to be entitled to such dividend, distributions, redemption, rights or warrants are to be determined or (y) the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange is expected to become effective or close, and the date as of which it is expected that holders of the Ordinary Shares of record shall be entitled to exchange their Ordinary Shares for securities, cash or other property deliverable upon such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange; provided that the failure to deliver such notice or any defect therein or in the delivery thereof shall not affect the validity of the corporate action required to be specified in such notice. To the extent that any notice provided in this Warrant constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 6-K. The Holder shall remain entitled to exercise this Warrant during the period commencing on the date of such notice to the effective date of the event triggering such notice except as may otherwise be expressly set forth herein.
14
i) Voluntary Adjustment by Company. Subject to the rules and regulations of the Trading Market and the consent of the Holder, the Company may at any time during the term of this Warrant reduce the then current Exercise Price to any amount and for any period of time deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.
j) Change in ADS Ratio. If after the Issuance Date the ADS ratio is increased or reduced, then the number of Warrant ADSs to be provided on exercise of a Warrant will be reduced or increased (respectively) in inverse proportion to the change in the ADS ratio (Ordinary Shares per ADS) and the Exercise Price per Warrant ADS will be increased or reduced (respectively) in proportion to the change in Ordinary Shares per ADS, so that the total number of Warrant ADSs underlying this Warrant and the aggregate Exercise Price for all Warrant ADSs remain unchanged.
Section 4. Transfer of Warrant.
a) Transferability. This Warrant and all rights hereunder (including, without limitation, any registration rights) are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of this Warrant at the principal office of the Company or its designated agent, together with a written assignment of this Warrant substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B duly executed by the Holder or its agent or attorney and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer. Upon such surrender and, if required, such payment, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in the name of the assignee or assignees, as applicable, and in the denomination or denominations specified in such instrument of assignment, and shall issue to the assignor a new Warrant evidencing the portion of this Warrant not so assigned, and this Warrant shall promptly be cancelled. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company unless the Holder has assigned this Warrant in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company within three (3) Trading Days of the date on which the Holder delivers an assignment form to the Company assigning this Warrant in full. The Warrant, if properly assigned in accordance herewith, may be exercised by a new holder for the purchase of Warrant ADSs without having a new Warrant issued.
b) New Warrants. This Warrant may be divided or combined with other Warrants upon presentation hereof at the aforesaid office of the Company, together with a written notice specifying the names and denominations in which new Warrants are to be issued, signed by the Holder or its agent or attorney. Subject to compliance with Section 4(a), as to any transfer which may be involved in such division or combination, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in exchange for the Warrant or Warrants to be divided or combined in accordance with such notice. All Warrants issued on transfers or exchanges shall be dated the initial issuance date of this Warrant and shall be identical with this Warrant except as to the number of Warrant ADSs issuable pursuant thereto.
c) Warrant Register. The Company shall register this Warrant, upon records to be maintained by the Company for that purpose (the “Warrant Register”), in the name of the record Holder hereof from time to time. The Company may deem and treat the registered Holder of this Warrant as the absolute owner hereof for the purpose of any exercise hereof or any distribution to the Holder, and for all other purposes, absent actual notice to the contrary.
15
Section 5. Miscellaneous.
a) No Rights as Shareholder until Exercise; No Settlement in Cash. This Warrant does not entitle the Holder to any voting rights, dividends or other rights as a shareholder of the Company prior to the exercise hereof as set forth in Section 2(d)(i), except as expressly set forth in Section 3. Without limiting any rights of a Holder to receive Warrant ADSs on a “cashless exercise” pursuant to Section 2(c) or to receive cash payments pursuant to Section 2(d)(i) and Section 2(d)(iv) herein, in no event shall the Company be required to net cash settle an exercise of this Warrant.
b) Loss, Theft, Destruction or Mutilation of Warrant. The Company covenants that upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant or any share certificate relating to the Warrant ADSs, and in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it (which, in the case of the Warrant, shall not include the posting of any bond), and upon surrender and cancellation of such Warrant or share certificate, if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Warrant or share certificate of like tenor and dated as of such cancellation, in lieu of such Warrant or share certificate.
c) Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.
d) Authorized Shares.
The Company covenants that, during the period the Warrant is outstanding, it will have sufficient authorized and unissued Ordinary Shares to provide for the issuance of the Warrant ADSs and the underlying Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of any purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company further covenants that its issuance of this Warrant shall constitute full authority to its officers who are charged with the duty of issuing the necessary Warrant ADSs and the underlying Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of the purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company will take all such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure that such Warrant ADSs and the underlying Ordinary Shares may be issued as provided herein without violation of any applicable law or regulation, or of any requirements of the Trading Market upon which the Ordinary Shares or ADSs may be listed. The Company covenants that all Warrant ADSs and the underlying Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant will, upon exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant and payment for such Warrant ADSs in accordance herewith and upon registration in the Register of Members of the Company, be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable (which means that no further sums are required to be paid by the holders thereof in connection with the issue thereof) and free from all taxes, liens and charges created by the Company in respect of the issue thereof (other than taxes in respect of any transfer occurring contemporaneously with such issue).
Except and to the extent as waived or consented to by the Holder, the Company shall not by any action, including, without limitation, amending its memorandum and articles of association or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all such terms and in the taking of all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect the rights of Holder as set forth in this Warrant against impairment. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will (i) not increase the par value of any Ordinary Shares underlying the ADSs above the amount payable therefor upon such exercise immediately prior to such increase in par value, (ii) take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Ordinary Shares underlying the ADSs upon the exercise of this Warrant and (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all such authorizations, exemptions or consents from any public regulatory body having jurisdiction thereof, as may be, necessary to enable the Company to perform its obligations under this Warrant.
16
Before taking any action that would result in an adjustment in the number of Warrant ADSs for which this Warrant is exercisable or in the Exercise Price, the Company shall obtain all such authorizations or exemptions thereof, or consents thereto, as may be necessary from any public regulatory body or bodies having jurisdiction thereof.
e) Governing Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Warrant shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Warrant (whether brought against a party hereto or their respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such proceeding. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Warrant and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. If either party shall commence an action, suit or proceeding to enforce any provisions of this Warrant, the prevailing party in such action, suit or proceeding shall be reimbursed by the other party for their reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such action or proceeding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this paragraph shall limit or restrict the federal district court in which a Holder may bring a claim under the federal securities laws.
f) Restrictions. The Holder acknowledges that the Warrant ADSs and the underlying Ordinary Shares acquired upon the exercise of this Warrant, if not registered, and the Holder does not utilize cashless exercise, will have restrictions upon resale imposed by state and federal securities laws.
g) Nonwaiver and Expenses. No course of dealing or any delay or failure to exercise any right hereunder on the part of Holder shall operate as a waiver of such right or otherwise prejudice the Holder’s rights, powers or remedies. No provision of this Warrant shall be construed as a waiver by the Holder of any rights which the Holder may have under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Without limiting any other provision of this Warrant or the Purchase Agreement, if the Company willfully and knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this Warrant, which results in any material damages to the Holder, the Company shall pay to the Holder such amounts as shall be sufficient to cover any costs and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, including those of appellate proceedings, incurred by the Holder in collecting any amounts due pursuant hereto or in otherwise enforcing any of its rights, powers or remedies hereunder.
h) Notices. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries to be provided by the Holders hereunder including, without limitation, any Notice of Exercise, shall be in writing and delivered personally, by e-mail, or sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier service, addressed to the Company, at6/F, Building B-6, Block A Zhongguancun, Dongsheng Technology Campus No. 66, Xixiaokou Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100192, The People’s Republic of China , Attention: Shijie Chen, email address: chenshijie@ymt360.com, or such other email address or address as the Company may specify for such purposes by notice to the Holders. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries to be provided by the Company hereunder shall be in writing and delivered personally, by e-mail, or sent by a nationally recognized overnight courier service addressed to each Holder at the e-mail address or address of such Holder appearing on the books of the Company. Any notice or other communication or deliveries hereunder shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of (i) the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via e-mail at the e-mail address set forth in this Section prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any date, (ii) the next Trading Day after the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via e-mail at the e-mail address set forth in this Section on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (iii) the second Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service, or (iv) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. To the extent that any notice provided hereunder constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K.
17
i) Limitation of Liability. No provision hereof, in the absence of any affirmative action by the Holder to exercise this Warrant to purchase Warrant ADSs, and no enumeration herein of the rights or privileges of the Holder, shall give rise to any liability of the Holder for the purchase price of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs or as a shareholder of the Company, whether such liability is asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.
j) Remedies. The Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights granted by law, including recovery of damages, will be entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Warrant. The Company agrees that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by it of the provisions of this Warrant and hereby agrees to waive and not to assert the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate.
k) Successors and Assigns. Subject to applicable securities laws, this Warrant and the rights and obligations evidenced hereby shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Company and the successors and permitted assigns of Holder. The provisions of this Warrant are intended to be for the benefit of any Holder from time to time of this Warrant and shall be enforceable by the Holder or holder of Warrant ADSs.
l) Amendment. This Warrant may be modified or amended or the provisions hereof waived with the written consent of the Company, on the one hand, and the Holder, on the other hand.
m) Severability. Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provisions or the remaining provisions of this Warrant.
n) Expense Reimbursement. The Holder shall be reimbursed by the Company for any fees charged to the Holder by the Depositary in connection with the issuance of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs and/or Ordinary Shares.
o) Headings. The headings used in this Warrant are for the convenience of reference only and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed a part of this Warrant.
p) Currency. Unless otherwise indicated, all dollar amounts referred to in this Warrant are in United States Dollars (“U.S. Dollars”). All amounts owing under this Warrant shall be paid in U.S. Dollars. All amounts denominated in other currencies shall be converted in the U.S. Dollar equivalent amount in accordance with the Exchange Rate on the date of calculation. “Exchange Rate” means, in relation to any amount of currency to be converted into U.S. Dollars pursuant to this Warrant, the U.S. Dollar exchange rate as published in the Wall Street Journal (NY edition) on the relevant date of calculation.
********************
[Signature Page Follows]
18
[Warrant Signature Page]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to be executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above indicated.
| Yimutian, Inc. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Its: | ||
Exhibit A
NOTICE OF EXERCISE
To: Yimutian, Inc.
(1) The undersigned hereby elects to purchase ________ Warrant ADSs of the Company pursuant to the terms of the attached Warrant (only if exercised in full), and tenders herewith payment of the exercise price in full, together with all applicable transfer taxes, if any.
(2) Payment shall take the form of (check applicable box):
☐ in lawful money of the United States; or
☐ if permitted the cancellation of such number of Warrant ADSs as is necessary, in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection 2(c), to exercise this Warrant with respect to the maximum number of Warrant ADSs purchasable pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure set forth in subsection 2(c).
(3) Please issue said Warrant ADSs in the name of the undersigned or in such other name as is specified below:
_______________________________
The Warrant ADSs shall be delivered to the following DWAC Account Number:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
[SIGNATURE OF HOLDER]
| Name of Investing Entity: |
| Signature of Authorized Signatory of Investing Entity: |
| Name of Authorized Signatory: |
| Title of Authorized Signatory: |
| Date: |
Exhibit B
ASSIGNMENT FORM
(To assign the foregoing Warrant, execute this form and supply required information. Do not use this form to exercise the Warrant to purchase shares.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to
| Name: | |
| (Please Print) | |
| Address: | |
| (Please Print) | |
| Phone Number: | |
| Email Address: | |
| Dated: _______________ __, ______ | |
| Holder’s Signature: | |
| Holder’s Address: |
Exhibit 5.1
| Our ref | SQG/794866-000002/85346551v4 |
YIMUTIAN INC.
Suite #4-210
Governors Square
23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue
PO Box 32311, Grand Cayman
KY1-1209, Cayman Islands
9 February 2026
Dear Sir or Madam
YIMUTIAN INC.
We have acted as Cayman Islands legal advisers to YIMUTIAN INC. (the "Company") in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the "Registration Statement"), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended to date, relating to the issue by the Company of: (i) an aggregate of 139,198,200 class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each ("Class A Ordinary Shares") represented by the Company's American depositary shares ("ADSs"), each ADS representing 25 Class A Ordinary Shares, (ii) an aggregate of 208,797,325 Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs issuable upon exercise of the ADS Warrants (as defined below), (iii) an aggregate of 139,198,200 Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs issuable upon exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants (as defined below) and (iv) an aggregate of 4,175,950 Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs issuable upon exercise of the Placement Agent Warrants (as defined below) (collectively, the "Shares").
The ADSs will be issued in accordance with a deposit agreement dated 7 August 2025 made between the Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the "Depositary") as the depositary and the holders and beneficial owners of the ADSs evidenced by the American Depositary Receipts issued thereunder (as amended).
We are furnishing this opinion as Exhibits 5.1, 8.1 and 23.2 to the Registration Statement.
| 1 | Documents Reviewed |
For the purposes of this opinion, we have reviewed only originals, copies or final drafts of the following documents and such other documents as we have deemed necessary in order to render the opinions below:
| 1.1 | The certificate of incorporation of the Company dated 29 January 2014 issued by the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands. |
| 1.2 | The Thirteenth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company adopted by a special resolution passed on 12 May 2025 and effective immediately prior to the completion of the initial public offering of the ADSs representing the Shares (the "Memorandum and Articles"). |
| 1.3 | The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 6 February 2026 (the "Board Resolutions"). |
| 1.4 | A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies dated 4 February 2026 (the "Certificate of Good Standing"). |
| 1.5 | A certificate from a director of the Company a copy of which is attached to this opinion letter (the "Director's Certificate"). |
| 1.6 | The Registration Statement. |
| 1.7 | The form of securities purchase agreement to be made between the Company and the purchasers named therein (the "SPA"). |
| 1.8 | The form of ADS warrants to purchase Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs to be issued by the Company to the purchasers named therein (the "ADS Warrants"). |
| 1.9 | The form of pre-funded warrants to purchase Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs to be issued by the Company to the purchasers named therein (the "Pre-Funded Warrants"). |
| 1.10 | The form of placement agent warrants to purchase Class A Ordinary Shares represented by ADSs to be issued by the Company to the purchasers named therein (the "Placement Agent Warrants" and, together with the SPA, the ADS Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants, the "Documents"). |
| 2 | Assumptions |
The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving these opinions we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as of the date of this opinion letter, of the Director's Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:
| 2.1 | The Documents have been or will be authorised and duly executed and unconditionally delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.2 | The Documents are, or will be, legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York (the "New York Law") and all other relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.3 | The choice of the New York Law as the governing law of the Documents has been made in good faith and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by any state or federal court in New York (the "New York Jurisdiction") and any other relevant jurisdiction (other than the Cayman Islands) as a matter of the New York Law and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
2
| 2.4 | Where a Document has been provided to us in draft or undated form, it will be duly executed, dated and unconditionally delivered by all parties thereto in materially the same form as the last version provided to us and, where we have been provided with successive drafts of a Document marked to show changes to a previous draft, all such changes have been accurately marked. |
| 2.5 | Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals, and translations of documents provided to us are complete and accurate. |
| 2.6 | All signatures, initials and seals are genuine. |
| 2.7 | The capacity, power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform their respective obligations under the Documents. |
| 2.8 | The ADS Warrants, the Pre-Funded Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants (collectively, the "Warrants") will be issued, authenticated and certificated as required in accordance with the provisions of the SPA, and certificates representing the Warrants will have been duly executed, countersigned, registered and delivered in accordance with the provisions of the SPA. |
| 2.9 | The Company will have sufficient authorised but unissued Class A Ordinary Shares in its authorised share capital to enable the Company to issue the Shares upon exercise of the Warrants. |
| 2.10 | No invitation has been or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Warrants, the ADSs or the Shares. |
| 2.11 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Documents. |
| 2.12 | No monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Documents or any property received or disposed of by any party to the Documents in each case in connection with the Documents or the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby represent or will represent proceeds of criminal conduct or criminal property or terrorist property (as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) and the Terrorism Act (As Revised), respectively). |
| 2.13 | The Company will receive money or money's worth in consideration for the issue of the Shares and none of the Shares were or will be issued for less than par value. |
| 2.14 | There is nothing contained in the minute book or corporate records of the Company (which we have not inspected) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. |
| 2.15 | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. Specifically, we have made no independent investigation of the New York Law. |
Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion letter.
3
| 3 | Opinion |
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set out below and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:
| 3.1 | The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
| 3.2 | The authorised share capital of the Company is US$200,000 divided into 20,000,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each, comprising (i) 16,000,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each, (ii) 800,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each, and (iii) 3,200,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.00001 each of such class or classes (however designated) as the board of directors of the Company may determine in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles. |
| 3.3 | The issue and allotment of the Shares as contemplated by the Registration Statement (including the Shares underlying the ADSs issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants) have been duly authorised and when allotted, issued and paid for as contemplated in the Registration Statement and the Documents, the Shares will be legally issued and allotted, fully paid and non-assessable. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a share is only issued when it has been entered in the register of members (shareholders). |
| 3.4 | The execution, issue, delivery and performance of the Documents, including the issue of the Shares, ADSs and Warrants as contemplated by the Registration Statement and the Documents, have been authorised by and on behalf of the Company and, upon the execution and unconditional delivery of the Documents by any Officer (as defined in the Board Resolutions) for and on behalf of the Company, the Documents will have been duly executed, issued and delivered on behalf of the Company and will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms. |
| 3.5 | The statements under the caption "Taxation – Cayman Islands Taxation" and "Enforceability of Civil Liabilities" in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement, to the extent that they constitute statements of Cayman Islands law, are accurate in all material respects and that such statements constitute our opinion. |
| 4 | Qualifications |
The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:
| 4.1 | The obligations assumed by the Company under the Documents will not necessarily be enforceable in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
| (a) | enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium or other laws of general application relating to, protecting or affecting the rights of creditors and/or contributories; |
4
| (b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity. For example, equitable remedies such as specific performance may not be available, inter alia, where damages are considered to be an adequate remedy; |
| (c) | some claims may become barred under relevant statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences; |
| (d) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of that jurisdiction; |
| (e) | the courts of the Cayman Islands have jurisdiction to give judgment in the currency of the relevant obligation and statutory rates of interest payable upon judgments will vary according to the currency of the judgment. If the Company becomes insolvent and is made subject to a liquidation proceeding, the courts of the Cayman Islands will require all debts to be proved in a common currency, which is likely to be the "functional currency" of the Company determined in accordance with applicable accounting principles. Currency indemnity provisions have not been tested, so far as we are aware, in the courts of the Cayman Islands; |
| (f) | arrangements that constitute penalties will not be enforceable; |
| (g) | enforcement may be prevented by reason of fraud, coercion, duress, undue influence, misrepresentation, public policy or mistake or limited by the doctrine of frustration of contracts; |
| (h) | provisions imposing confidentiality obligations may be overridden by compulsion of applicable law or the requirements of legal and/or regulatory process; |
| (i) | the courts of the Cayman Islands may decline to exercise jurisdiction in relation to substantive proceedings brought under or in relation to the Documents in matters where they determine that such proceedings may be tried in a more appropriate forum; |
| (j) | we reserve our opinion as to the enforceability of the relevant provisions of the Documents to the extent that they purport to grant exclusive jurisdiction as there may be circumstances in which the courts of the Cayman Islands would accept jurisdiction notwithstanding such provisions; |
| (k) | a company cannot, by agreement or in its articles of association, restrict the exercise of a statutory power and there is doubt as to the enforceability of any provision in the Documents whereby the Company covenants to restrict the exercise of powers specifically given to it under the Companies Act (As Revised), including, without limitation, the power to increase its authorised share capital, amend its memorandum and articles of association or present a petition to a Cayman Islands court for an order to wind up the Company; and |
| (l) | enforcement or performance of any provision in the Documents which relates, directly or indirectly, to an interest in the Company constituting shares, voting rights or ultimate effective control over management in the Company may be prohibited or restricted if any such relevant interest is or becomes subject to a restrictions notice issued under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (As Revised) ("BOT Act"). |
5
| 4.2 | To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed by law. |
| 4.3 | The phrase "non-assessable" means, with respect to the Shares in the Company, that a shareholder shall not, solely by virtue of its status as a shareholder, be liable for additional assessments or calls on the Shares by the Company or its creditors (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil). |
| 4.4 | Applicable court fees will be payable in respect of the enforcement of the Documents and the Warrants. |
| 4.5 | The obligations of the Company may be subject to restrictions pursuant to: |
| (a) | United Nations and United Kingdom sanctions extended to the Cayman Islands by Orders in Council; and |
| (b) | sanctions imposed by Cayman Islands authorities under Cayman Islands legislation. |
| 4.6 | We express no opinion as to the meaning, validity or effect of any references to foreign (i.e. non-Cayman Islands) statutes, rules, regulations, codes, judicial authority or any other promulgations and any references to them in the Documents. |
Except as specifically stated herein, we express no view as to the commercial terms of the Documents or whether such terms represent the intentions of the parties, and we make no comment with regard to warranties or representations that may be made by or with respect to the Company in any of the documents or instruments cited in this opinion or otherwise with respect to the commercial terms of the transactions, which are the subject of this opinion.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our name under the heading "Legal Matters" and elsewhere in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Rules and Regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.
| Yours faithfully | |
| /s/ Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP | |
| Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP |
6
Exhibit 5.2
SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM LLP
ONE MANHATTAN WEST
NEW YORK, NY 10001-8602
TEL: (212) 735-3000
FAX: (212) 735-2000
www.skadden.com
February 9, 2026
Yimutian Inc.
6/F, Building B-6, Block A Zhongguancun
Dongsheng Technology Campus No. 66
Xixiaokou Road
Haidian District, Beijing 100192
The People’s Republic of China
| Re: | Yimutian Inc. |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special United States counsel to Yimutian Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”) relating to the proposed sale by the Company of an aggregate of 5,567,928 of the Company’s American depositary shares (the “Offer ADSs”), each representing twenty five Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value US$0.00001 per share (the “Shares”), and an aggregate of 14,086,859 of the Company’s warrants (the “Offer Warrants,” and together with the Offer ADSs, the “Securities”), each exercisable for one American depositary share, pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below).
This opinion letter is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K of the General Rules and Regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).
In rendering the opinion stated herein, we have examined and relied upon the following:
(a) the Registration Statement on Form F-1 of the Company relating to the Securities filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on the date hereof under the Securities Act (such registration statement being hereinafter referred to as the “Registration Statement);
(b) the form of Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) proposed to be entered into by and between the Company and each of the purchasers to be introduced by the Placement Agents, filed as Exhibit 10.20 to the Registration Statement;
(c) the form of Placement Agency Agreement (the “Placement Agency Agreement”) to be entered into by and between the Company and FT Global Capital, Inc. (the “Agent”) relating to the proposed offer and placement by the Company of the Securities, filed as Exhibit 1.1 to the Registration Statement; and
(d) the form of warrant proposed to be entered into by and between the Company and the Agent and each of the purchasers to be introduced by the Placement Agents, filed as Exhibit 4.5 to the Registration Statement(the “Warrant Certificates”).
We have also examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such records of the Company and such agreements, certificates and receipts of public officials, certificates of officers or other representatives of the Company and others, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinion stated below.
In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, including electronic signatures, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified or photocopied copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. As to any facts relevant to the opinion stated herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others and of public officials, including the factual representations and warranties contained in the Transaction Documents (as defined below).
We do not express any opinion with respect to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of New York (the “Opined-on Law”).
The Purchase Agreement, the Placement Agent Agreement and the Warrant Certificates are referred to herein collectively as the “Transaction Documents.”
2
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:
When the Warrant Certificates are delivered by the Company in accordance with the Transaction Documents, upon payment of the agreed upon consideration therefor, the Warrant Certificates constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York.
The opinion stated herein is subject to the following assumptions and qualifications:
(a) we do not express any opinion with respect to the effect on the opinion stated herein of any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer, preference and other similar laws or governmental orders affecting creditors’ rights generally, and the opinion stated herein is limited by such laws and governmental orders and by general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is sought in equity or at law);
(b) we do not express any opinion with respect to any law, rule or regulation that is applicable to any party to any of the Transaction Documents or the transactions contemplated thereby solely because such law, rule or regulation is part of a regulatory regime applicable to any such party or any of its affiliates as a result of the specific assets or business operations of such party or such affiliates;
(c) except to the extent expressly stated in the opinion contained herein, we have assumed that each of the Transaction Documents constitutes the valid and binding obligation of each party to such Transaction Document, enforceable against such party in accordance with its terms;
(d) the opinion stated herein is limited to the agreements and documents specifically identified in the opinion contained herein (the “Specified Documents”) without regard to any agreement or other document referenced in any such Specified Document (including agreements or other documents incorporated by reference or attached or annexed thereto) and without regard to any other agreement or document relating to any such Specified Document that is not a Transaction Document;
(e) we do not express any opinion with respect to the enforceability of any provision contained in any Transaction Document relating to any indemnification, contribution, non-reliance, exculpation, release, limitation or exclusion of remedies, waiver or other provisions having similar effect that may be contrary to public policy or violative of federal or state securities laws, rules or regulations, or to the extent any such provision purports to, or has the effect of, waiving or altering any statute of limitations;
3
(f) we call to your attention that irrespective of the agreement of the parties to the Transaction Documents, a court may decline to hear a case on grounds of forum non conveniens or other doctrine limiting the availability of such court as a forum for resolution of disputes; in addition, we call to your attention that we do not express any opinion with respect to the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts of the United States of America in any action arising out of or relating to any Transaction Document;
(g) we have assumed that Cogency Global Inc. has accepted appointment as agent to receive service of process and call to your attention that we do not express any opinion if and to the extent such agent shall resign such appointment. Further, we do not express any opinion with respect to the irrevocability of the designation of such agent to receive service of process;
(h) we call to your attention that the opinion stated herein is subject to possible judicial action giving effect to governmental actions or laws of jurisdictions other than those with respect to which we express our opinion;
(i) the opinion stated herein is subject to the qualification that such enforceability may be subject to, in each case, (i) the exceptions and limitations in New York General Obligations Law sections 5-1401 and 5-1402 and (ii) principles of comity and constitutionality;
(j) we call to your attention that under Section 5-1402 of the New York General Obligations Law an action may be maintained by or against a foreign corporation, a non-resident or a foreign state only if the action or proceeding arises out of or relates to a contract, agreement or undertaking and accordingly we do not express any opinion to the extent any provision extends to any dispute not arising out of or relating to the contractual relationship, whether in tort, equity or otherwise;
(k) we have assumed that the Transactions Documents will be duly authorized, executed and delivered in substantially the form reviewed by us; and
(l) this opinion letter shall be interpreted in accordance with customary practice of United States lawyers who regularly give opinions in transactions of this type.
In addition, in rendering the foregoing opinion we have also assumed that:
(a) the Company (i) is duly incorporated and is validly existing and in good standing, (ii) has requisite legal status and legal capacity under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization and (iii) has complied and will comply with all aspects of the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization in connection with the transactions contemplated by, and the performance of its obligations under, the Transaction Documents;
4
(b) the Company has the corporate power and authority to execute, deliver and perform all its obligations under each of the Transaction Documents;
(c) each of the Transaction Documents has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all requisite corporate action on the part of the Company;
(d) neither the execution and delivery by the Company of the Transaction Documents nor the performance by the Company of its obligations under the Transaction Documents: (i) conflicts or will conflict with the organizational documents of the Company, (ii) constitutes or will constitute a violation of, or a default under, any lease, indenture, agreement or other instrument to which the Company or its property is subject (except that we do not make the assumption set forth in this clause (ii) with respect to those agreements or instruments expressed to be governed by the laws of the State of New York which are listed in Part II of the Registration Statement), (iii) contravenes or will contravene any order or decree of any governmental authority to which the Company or its property is subject, or (iv) violates or will violate any law, rule or regulation to which the Company or its property is subject (except that we do not make the assumption set forth in this clause (iv) with respect to Opined-on Law); and
(e) neither the execution and delivery by the Company of the Transaction Documents nor the enforceability of the Transaction Documents against the Company requires or will require the consent, approval, licensing or authorization of, or any filing, recording or registration with, any governmental authority under any law, rule or regulation of any jurisdiction.
We hereby consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement. We also hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the Rules and Regulations. This opinion letter is expressed as of the date hereof unless otherwise expressly stated, and we disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes in the facts stated or assumed herein or of any subsequent changes in applicable laws.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
5
Exhibit 10.20
SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT
This Securities Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”) is dated as of [●], 2026, between Yimutian, Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and each purchaser identified on the signature pages hereto (each, including its successors and assigns, a “Purchaser” and collectively the “Purchasers”).
WHEREAS, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Company desires to issue and sell to each Purchaser, and each Purchaser, severally and not jointly, desires to purchase from the Company, securities of the Company as more fully described in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, IN CONSIDERATION of the mutual covenants contained in this Agreement, and for other good and valuable consideration the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and each Purchaser agree as follows:
ARTICLE I.
DEFINITIONS
1.1 Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Agreement, for all purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings set forth in this Section 1.1:
“Acquiring Person” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.5.
“Action” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(j).
“ADS(s)” means American Depositary Shares issued pursuant to the Deposit Agreement (as defined below), each representing 25 Ordinary Shares.
“Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
“Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company.
“Business Day” means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York, Hong Kong, mainland China, or Cayman Islands are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided, however, for clarification, commercial banks shall not be deemed to be authorized or required by law to remain closed due to “stay at home”, “shelter-in-place”, “non-essential employee” or any other similar orders or restrictions or the closure of any physical branch locations at the direction of any governmental authority so long as the electronic funds transfer systems (including for wire transfers) of commercial banks in The City of New York, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Cayman Islands are generally open for use by customers on such day.
“CB Securities Purchase Agreement” means the securities purchase agreement entered into between the Company and JAK Agriculture Ventures I LLC on December 8, 2025.
“Closing” means the closing of the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to Section 2.1.
“Closing Date” means the Trading Day on which all of the Transaction Documents have been executed and delivered by the applicable parties thereto, and all conditions precedent to (i) the Purchasers’ obligations to pay the Subscription Amount and (ii) the Company’s obligations to deliver the Shares, in each case, have been satisfied or waived, but in no event later than the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date hereof.
“Commission” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Company Counsel” means Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, with regards to matters of U.S. federal securities law, and Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP with regards to matters of Cayman Islands law.
“Deposit Agreement” means the Deposit Agreement dated as of August 7, 2025 among the Company, the Depositary and the owners and holders of ADSs from time to time, as such agreement may be amended or supplemented.
“Depositary” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement.
“Disclosure Schedules” means the Disclosure Schedules of the Company delivered concurrently herewith.
“Disclosure Time” means, (i) if this Agreement is signed on a day that is not a Trading Day or after 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) and before midnight (New York City time) on any Trading Day, 9:01 a.m. (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately following the date hereof, unless otherwise instructed as to an earlier time by the Placement Agent, and (ii) if this Agreement is signed between midnight (New York City time) and 9:00 a.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, no later than 9:01 a.m. (New York City time) on the date hereof, unless otherwise instructed as to an earlier time by the Placement Agent.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Exempt Issuance” means the issuance of (a) ADSs, Ordinary Shares or options to employees, officers, consultants, contractors or directors of the Company pursuant to any share or option plan duly adopted for such purpose, before or after the date hereof, by the Board of Directors; (b) securities upon the exercise or exchange of or conversion of any Shares issued hereunder and/or other securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into ADSs or Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding on the date of this Agreement, provided that such securities have not been amended since the date of this Agreement to increase the number of such securities or to decrease the exercise price, exchange price or conversion price of such securities (other than in connection with share splits or combinations) or to extend the term of such securities; (c) securities issued pursuant to acquisitions or strategic transactions approved by the Board of Directors, provided that such securities are issued as “restricted securities” (as defined in Rule 144) and carry no registration rights that require or permit the filing of any registration statement in connection therewith during the prohibition period in Section 4.12(a) herein, and provided that any such issuance shall only be to a Person (or to the equityholders of a Person) which is, itself or through its subsidiaries, an operating company or an owner of an asset in a business synergistic with the business of the Company and shall provide to the Company additional benefits in addition to the investment of funds, but shall not include a transaction in which the Company is issuing securities primarily for the purpose of raising capital or to an entity whose primary business is investing in securities; and (d) securities issued or issuable pursuant to the CB Securities Purchase Agreement.
“FCPA” means the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended.
2
“GAAP” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
“Indebtedness” means (x) any liabilities for borrowed money or amounts owed in excess of $50,000 (other than trade accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business), (y) all guaranties, endorsements and other contingent obligations in respect of indebtedness of others, whether or not the same are or should be reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet (or the notes thereto), except guaranties by endorsement of negotiable instruments for deposit or collection or similar transactions in the ordinary course of business, and (z) the present value of any lease payments in excess of $50,000 due under leases required to be capitalized in accordance with GAAP. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in default with respect to any Indebtedness.
“Intellectual Property Rights” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(p).
“Liens” means a lien, charge, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal, preemptive right or other restriction.
“Material Adverse Effect” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in Section 3.1(b).
“Material Permits” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(n).
“Ordinary Shares” means the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.00001, and any other class of securities into which such securities may hereafter be reclassified or changed.
“Ordinary Share Equivalents” means any securities of the Company or the Subsidiaries which would entitle the holder thereof to acquire at any time Ordinary Shares or ADSs, including, without limitation, any debt, preferred shares, right, option, warrant or other instrument that is at any time convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or otherwise entitles the holder thereof to receive, Ordinary Shares.
“Per ADS Purchase Price” equals $[●], subject to adjustment for reverse and forward share splits, share dividends, share combinations and other similar transactions of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs that occur after the date of this Agreement but on or prior to the Closing Date.
“Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.
“Placement Agent” means FT Global Capital, Inc.
“Proceeding” means an action, claim, suit, investigation or proceeding (including, without limitation, an informal investigation or partial proceeding, such as a deposition), whether commenced or threatened.
“Prospectus” means the final prospectus filed for the Registration Statement.
“Purchaser Party” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.8.
“Registration Statement” means the effective registration statement with Commission file No. 333-[●] which registers the sale of the ADSs, Ordinary Shares represented by the ADSs, the Warrants and the Warrant ADSs to the Purchasers.
3
“Required Approvals” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(e).
“Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.
“Rule 424” means Rule 424 promulgated by the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act, as such Rule may be amended or interpreted from time to time, or any similar rule or regulation hereafter adopted by the Commission having substantially the same purpose and effect as such Rule.
“SEC Reports” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(h).
“Securities” means the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant ADSs.
“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Shares” means the Ordinary Shares, as represented by ADSs issued pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, each ADS representing 25 Ordinary Shares, issued or issuable to each Purchaser pursuant to this Agreement.
“Short Sales” means all “short sales” as defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO under the Exchange Act (but shall not be deemed to include locating and/or borrowing Ordinary Shares or ADSs).
“Subscription Amount” means, as to each Purchaser, the aggregate amount to be paid for ADS and Warrants purchased hereunder as specified below such Purchaser’s name on the signature page of this Agreement and next to the heading “Subscription Amount,” in United States dollars and in immediately available funds.
“Subsequent Financing” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.12(a).
“Subsequent Financing Notice” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.12(b).
“Subsidiary” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 3.1(a).
“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal Trading Market is open for trading.
“Trading Market” means any of the following markets or exchanges on which the ADSs are listed or quoted for trading on the date in question: the NYSE American, the Nasdaq Capital Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and the New York Stock Exchange (or any successors to any of the foregoing).
“Transaction Documents” means this Agreement, the Warrants, all exhibits and schedules thereto and hereto and any other documents or agreements executed in connection with the transactions contemplated hereunder.
“Variable Rate Transaction” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Section 4.12(b).
“Warrants” means, collectively, the warrants delivered to the Purchasers at the Closing in accordance with Section 2.2 hereof, which Warrants shall be exercisable immediately and have a term of exercise equal to five (5) years, in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto.
“Warrant ADSs” means the ADSs issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.
4
ARTICLE II.
PURCHASE AND SALE
2.1 Closing. On the Closing Date, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, substantially concurrent with the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the parties hereto, the Company agrees to sell, and the Purchasers, severally and not jointly, agree to purchase (and hereby subscribe for), up to an aggregate of $[●] of ADSs and Warrants. On the Closing Date, (i) each Purchaser shall pay its respective Subscription Amount to the Company as set forth on the signature page hereto executed by such Purchaser for the ADSs and the Warrants to be issued and sold to such Purchaser at Closing, by wire transfer of immediately available funds in accordance with the Company’s written wire instructions set forth in Section 2.2(iii), and (ii) the Company shall (A) cause the Depositary via The Depository Trust Company Deposit or Withdrawal at Custodian system (“DWAC”) to deliver ADSs equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per ADS Purchase Price, (B) deliver to each Purchaser the Warrant such Purchaser is purchasing at such Closing, in each case, duly executed on behalf of the Company and registered in the name of such Purchaser or its designee and (C) deliver to each such Purchaser the other items set forth in Section 2.2 deliverable at the Closing. Upon satisfaction of the covenants and conditions set forth in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the Closing shall occur at the offices of Placement Agent counsel or such other location as the parties shall mutually agree.
2.2 Deliveries.
(a) On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall deliver or cause to be delivered to each Purchaser the following:
(i) this Agreement duly executed by the Company;
(ii) a legal opinion of each Company Counsel, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Placement Agent addressed to the Placement Agent and a legal opinion of each Company Counsel, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Purchasers addressed to the Purchasers;
(iii) the Company shall have provided each Purchaser with the Company’s wire instructions, on Company letterhead and executed by the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer;
(iv) a copy of the irrevocable instructions to the Depositary instructing the Depositary to deliver on an expedited basis via The Depository Trust Company Deposit or Withdrawal at Custodian system (“DWAC”) ADSs equal to such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount divided by the Per ADS Purchase Price, registered in the name of such Purchaser;
(v) a Warrant registered in the name of such Purchaser to purchase up to a number of ADSs equal to [●]% of such Purchaser’s ADSs, with an exercise price equal to $[●], subject to adjustment therein; and
(vi) a copy of the lockup agreement in the form of Exhibit B hereof (the “Lock-Up Agreement”), by and between the Company and the shareholders listed on Schedule 2.2(a)(4) attached hereto (which, for the avoidance of doubt, must include all officers, directors and 5% or more holders of Ordinary Shares), duly executed by the parties thereto;
5
(vii) the Prospectus (which may be delivered in accordance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act); and
(viii) the wire instructions for the Company relating to the transactions contemplate by this Agreement on the letterhead of the Company.
(b) On or prior to the Closing Date, each Purchaser shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the Company the following:
(i) [this Agreement] duly executed by such Purchaser; and
(ii) such Purchaser’s Subscription Amount.
2.3 Closing Conditions.
(a) The obligations of the Company hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:
(i) the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Purchasers contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate as of such date);
(ii) all obligations, covenants and agreements of each Purchaser required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed; and
(iii) the delivery by each Purchaser of the items set forth in Section 2.2(b) of this Agreement.
(b) The respective obligations of each Purchaser hereunder in connection with the Closing are subject to the following conditions being met:
(i) the accuracy in all material respects (or, to the extent representations or warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect, in all respects) when made and on the Closing Date of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein (unless as of a specific date therein in which case they shall be accurate as of such date);
(ii) all obligations, covenants and agreements of the Company required to be performed at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been performed;
(iii) the delivery by the Company of the items set forth in Section 2.2(a) of this Agreement;
(iv) the Registration Statement and the ADS Registration Statement (as defined below) shall be effective and available for the issuance and sale of the Securities hereunder and the Company shall have delivered to such Purchaser the Prospectus as required thereunder;
6
(v) there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date hereof; and
(vi) from the date hereof to the Closing Date, trading in the ADSs shall not have been suspended by the Commission or the Company’s principal Trading Market, and, at any time prior to the Closing Date, trading in securities generally as reported by Bloomberg L.P. shall not have been suspended or limited, or minimum prices shall not have been established on securities whose trades are reported by such service, or on any Trading Market, nor shall a banking moratorium have been declared either by the United States or New York State authorities nor shall there have occurred any material outbreak or escalation of hostilities or other national or international calamity of such magnitude in its effect on, or any material adverse change in, any financial market which, in each case, in the reasonable judgment of such Purchaser, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to purchase the Securities at the Closing.
ARTICLE III.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
3.1 Representations and Warranties of the Company. Except as set forth in the Disclosure Schedules, which Disclosure Schedules shall be deemed a part hereof and shall qualify any representation made herein to the extent of the disclosure contained in the corresponding section of the Disclosure Schedules, the Company hereby makes the following representations and warranties to each Purchaser as of the date hereof and on the Closing Date:
(a) Subsidiaries. Each of the Company’s direct and indirect subsidiaries as defined under Rule 405 that meets the definition of “significant subsidiary” in Article 1, Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act (each a “Subsidiary” and collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been identified in the Registration and the Prospectus. All of the equity interests of each Subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, are fully paid and non-assessable and, are free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims; all of the equity interests in each other consolidated entity have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid in accordance with its constitutive or organizational documents and non-assessable and are owned directly as described in the Prospectus and SEC Reports, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims. None of the outstanding issued shares or share capital or equity interest in any Subsidiary was issued in violation of pre-emptive or similar rights of any security holder of such Subsidiary. All of the constitutive or organizational documents of each of the Subsidiaries comply with the requirements of applicable laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and are in full force and effect.
(b) Organization and Qualification. The Company and each of the Subsidiaries is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation nor default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate or memorandum and articles of association, articles of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not have or reasonably be expected to result in: (i) a material adverse effect on the legality, validity or enforceability of any Transaction Document, (ii) a material adverse effect on the results of operations, assets, business, prospects or condition (financial or otherwise) of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (iii) a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to perform in any material respect on a timely basis its obligations under any Transaction Document (any of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Material Adverse Effect”) and no Proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail such power and authority or qualification.
7
(c) Authorization; Enforcement. The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and each of the other Transaction Documents by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Company and no further action is required by the Company, the Board of Directors or the Company’s shareholders in connection herewith or therewith other than in connection with the Required Approvals. This Agreement and each other Transaction Document to which it is a party has been (or upon delivery will have been) duly executed by the Company and, when delivered in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, will constitute the valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
(d) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents to which it is a party, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby do not and will not (i) conflict with or violate any provision of the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s memorandum and articles of association, certificates of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any Lien upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, anti-dilution or similar adjustments, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any agreement, credit facility, debt or other instrument (evidencing a Company or Subsidiary debt or otherwise) or other understanding to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or by which any property or asset of the Company or any Subsidiary is bound or affected, or (iii) subject to the Required Approvals, conflict with or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment, injunction, decree or other restriction of any court or governmental authority to which the Company or a Subsidiary is subject (including federal and state securities laws and regulations), or by which any property or asset of the Company or a Subsidiary is bound or affected; except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), such as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Filings, Consents and Approvals. The Company is not required to obtain any consent, waiver, authorization or order of, give any notice to, or make any filing or registration with, any court or other federal, state, local or other governmental authority or other Person in connection with the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of the Transaction Documents, other than: (i) the filings required pursuant to Section 4.4 of this Agreement, (ii) the filing with the Commission of the Prospectus, (iii) application(s) to each applicable Trading Market for the listing of the ADSs for trading thereon in the time and manner required thereby, (iv) approval of the Board of Directors of the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated herein; and (v) such filings as are required to be made under applicable state securities laws and PRC laws (including the PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations (as defined below)) (collectively, the “Required Approvals”).
8
(f) Issuance of the Securities; Registration. The Securities are duly authorized and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the applicable Transaction Documents s, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company. The Warrant ADSs, when issued in accordance with the terms of the Warrants, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of all Liens imposed by the Company. The Company has reserved from its duly authorized share capital a sufficient number of Ordinary Shares to cover the maximum number of Ordinary Shares or ADSs issuable pursuant to this Agreement and the Warrants. The Company has prepared and filed the Registration Statement in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act, which became effective on [●], 2026 (the “Effective Date”), including the Prospectus, and such amendments and supplements thereto as may have been required to the date of this Agreement. A registration statement on Form F-6 (No. 333-288880) relating to the ADSs has been filed with the Commission (the “ADS Registration Statement”). The ADS Registration Statement and Registration Statement are each effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission. The Company, if required by the rules and regulations of the Commission, shall file the Prospectus with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b). At the time the ADS Registration Statement, Registration Statement and any amendments thereto became effective, at the date of this Agreement and at the Closing Date, the ADS Registration Statement, the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was issued and at the Closing Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(g) Capitalization. The capitalization of the Company as of the date hereof is as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g), which Schedule 3.1(g) shall also include the number of Ordinary Shares owned beneficially, and of record, by Affiliates of the Company as of the date hereof. The Company has not issued any share capital since the date hereof, other than (i) pursuant to the exercise of employee share options under the Company’s share option plans disclosed in the SEC Reports, (ii) pursuant to the issuance of Ordinary Shares to employees pursuant to the Company’s employee share purchase plans disclosed in the SEC Reports, (iii) pursuant to the conversion and/or exercise of Ordinary Share Equivalents outstanding as of the date hereof, and (iv) pursuant to the CB Securities Purchase Agreement. No Person has any right of first refusal, preemptive right, right of participation, or any similar right to participate in the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Except pursuant to the CB Securities Purchase Agreement or as set forth on Schedule 3.1(g) and except as a result of the purchase and sale of the Securities, there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities, rights or obligations convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, or giving any Person any right to subscribe for or acquire, any Ordinary Shares, ADSs or the share capital of any Subsidiary, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to issue additional ADSs, Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents or share capital of any Subsidiary. The issuance and sale of the Securities will not obligate the Company or any Subsidiary to issue Ordinary Shares, ADSs or other securities to any Person (other than the Purchasers). Except pursuant to the CB Securities Purchase Agreement, there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary with any provision that adjusts the exercise, conversion, exchange or reset price of such security or instrument upon an issuance of securities by the Company or any Subsidiary. Except pursuant to the CB Securities Purchase Agreement, there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any Subsidiary that contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any Subsidiary is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or such Subsidiary. The Company does not have any share appreciation rights or “phantom share” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement. All of the outstanding share capital of the Company are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, and none of such outstanding shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities. No further approval or authorization of any shareholders, the Board of Directors, or others is required for the issuance and sale of the Securities. There are no shareholders agreements, voting agreements or other similar agreements with respect to the Company’s authorized share capital to which the Company is a party or, to the knowledge of the Company, between or among any of the Company’s shareholders.
9
(h) SEC Reports; Financial Statements. The Company has filed all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) thereof, for the two years preceding the date hereof (or such shorter period as the Company was required by law or regulation to file such material) (the foregoing materials, including the exhibits thereto and documents incorporated by reference therein, together with the Prospectus, being collectively referred to herein as the “SEC Reports”) on a timely basis or has received a valid extension of such time of filing and has filed any such SEC Reports prior to the expiration of any such extension. As of their respective dates, the SEC Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable, and none of the SEC Reports, when filed, contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Company has never been an issuer subject to Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act. The financial statements of the Company included in the SEC Reports comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing, or the amendments thereto. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved, except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments.
(i) Material Changes; Undisclosed Events, Liabilities or Developments. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, except as set forth in the SEC Reports , (i) there has been no event, occurrence or development that has had or that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) the Company has not incurred any liabilities (contingent or otherwise) other than (A) trade payables and accrued expenses incurred in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and (B) liabilities not required to be reflected in the Company’s financial statements pursuant to GAAP or disclosed in filings made with the Commission, (iii) the Company has not altered its method of accounting, (iv) the Company has not declared or made any dividend or distribution of cash or other property to its shareholders or purchased, redeemed or made any agreements to purchase or redeem any shares of its share capital and (v) the Company has not issued any equity securities to any officer, director or Affiliate, except pursuant to existing Company share option plans. The Company does not have pending before the Commission any request for confidential treatment of information. Except for the issuance of the Securities contemplated by this Agreement , no event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development has occurred or exists or is reasonably expected to occur or exist with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, prospects, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made or deemed made that has not been publicly disclosed at least 1 Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.
10
(j) Litigation. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, there is no action, suit, inquiry, notice of violation, proceeding or investigation pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or affecting the Company, any Subsidiary or any of their respective properties before or by any court, arbitrator, governmental or administrative agency or regulatory authority (federal, state, county, local or foreign) that could, if there were an unfavorable decision, have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, an “Action”). Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor any director or officer thereof, is or has been the subject of any Action involving a claim of violation of or liability under federal or state securities laws or a claim of breach of fiduciary duty. There has not been, and to the knowledge of the Company, there is not pending or contemplated or threatened, any investigation by the Commission involving the Company or any current or former director or officer of the Company. The Commission has not issued any stop order or other order suspending the effectiveness of any registration statement filed by the Company or any Subsidiary under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act.
(k) Labor Relations. No labor dispute exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent with respect to any of the employees of the Company, which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ employees is a member of a union that relates to such employee’s relationship with the Company or such Subsidiary, and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to a collective bargaining agreement, and the Company and its Subsidiaries believe that their relationships with their employees are good. To the knowledge of the Company, no executive officer of the Company or any Subsidiary, is, or is now expected to be, in violation of any material term of any employment contract, confidentiality, disclosure or proprietary information agreement or non-competition agreement, or any other contract or agreement or any restrictive covenant in favor of any third party, and the continued employment of each such executive officer does not subject the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any liability with respect to any of the foregoing matters. The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all U.S. federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to employment and employment practices, terms and conditions of employment and wages and hours, except where the failure to be in compliance could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(l) Compliance. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary: (i) is in default under or in violation of (and no event has occurred that has not been waived that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would result in a default by the Company or any Subsidiary under), nor has the Company or any Subsidiary received notice of a claim that it is in default under or that it is in violation of, any indenture, loan or credit agreement or any other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties is bound (whether or not such default or violation has been waived), (ii) is in violation of any judgment, decree or order of any court, arbitrator or other governmental authority or (iii) is or has been in violation of any statute, rule, ordinance or regulation of any governmental authority, including without limitation all foreign, federal, state and local laws relating to taxes, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, product quality and safety and employment and labor matters, except in each case as could not have or reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
11
(m) Environmental Laws. The Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with all federal, state, local and foreign laws relating to pollution or protection of human health or the environment (including ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata), including laws relating to emissions, discharges, releases or threatened releases of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, or toxic or hazardous substances or wastes (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) into the environment, or otherwise relating to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials, as well as all authorizations, codes, decrees, demands, or demand letters, injunctions, judgments, licenses, notices or notice letters, orders, permits, plans or regulations, issued, entered, promulgated or approved thereunder (“Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received all permits licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval where in each clause (i), (ii) and (iii), the failure to so comply could be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.
(n) Regulatory Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports, except where the failure to possess such permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (“Material Permits”), and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Material Permit.
(o) Title to Assets. The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all Liens, except for (i) Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and the Subsidiaries and (ii) Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, for which appropriate reserves have been made therefor in accordance with GAAP and, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance.
(p) Intellectual Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries have, or have rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark applications, service marks, trade names, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, licenses and other intellectual property rights and similar rights necessary or required for use in connection with their respective businesses as described in the SEC Reports and which the failure to so have could have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). None of, and neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received a notice (written or otherwise) that any of, the Intellectual Property Rights has expired, terminated or been abandoned, or is expected to expire or terminate or be abandoned, within two (2) years from the date of this Agreement. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included within the SEC Reports, a written notice of a claim or otherwise has any knowledge that the Intellectual Property Rights violate or infringe upon the rights of any Person, except as could not have or reasonably be expected to not have a Material Adverse Effect. To the knowledge of the Company, all such Intellectual Property Rights are enforceable and there is no existing infringement by another Person of any of the Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable security measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of all of their intellectual properties, except where failure to do so could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
12
(q) Insurance. The Company and the Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are engaged, including, but not limited to, directors and officers insurance coverage at least equal to the aggregate Subscription Amount. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business without a significant increase in cost.
(r) Transactions With Affiliates and Employees. None of the officers or directors of the Company or any Subsidiary and, to the knowledge of the Company, none of the employees of the Company or any Subsidiary is presently a party to any transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary (other than for services as employees, officers and directors), including any contract, agreement or other arrangement providing for the furnishing of services to or by, providing for rental of real or personal property to or from, providing for the borrowing of money from or lending of money to or otherwise requiring payments to or from any officer, director or such employee or, to the knowledge of the Company, any entity in which any officer, director, or any such employee has a substantial interest or is an officer, director, trustee, shareholder, member or partner, in each case in excess of $120,000 other than for (i) payment of salary or consulting fees for services rendered, (ii) reimbursement for expenses incurred on behalf of the Company and (iii) other employee benefits, including share option agreements under any share option plan of the Company.
(s) Sarbanes-Oxley; Internal Accounting Controls. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with any and all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are effective as of the date hereof, and any and all applicable rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder that are effective as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date. The Company and the Subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain asset accountability, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company and the Subsidiaries have established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Company and the Subsidiaries and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. Since December 31, 2024, there have been no changes in the internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in the Exchange Act) of the Company and its Subsidiaries that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the internal control over financial reporting of the Company and its Subsidiaries
(t) Certain Fees. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement, no brokerage or finder’s fees or commissions are or will be payable by the Company or any Subsidiary to any broker, financial advisor or consultant, finder, placement agent, investment banker, bank or other Person with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. The Purchasers shall have no obligation with respect to any fees or with respect to any claims made by or on behalf of other Persons for fees of a type contemplated in this Section that may be due in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents.
(u) Registration Rights. Except as set forth in the SEC Reports, no Person has any right to cause the Company or any Subsidiary to effect the registration under the Securities Act of any securities of the Company or any Subsidiary.
13
(v) Investment Company. The Company is not, and is not an Affiliate of, and immediately after receipt of payment for the Securities, will not be or be an Affiliate of, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Company shall conduct its business in a manner so that it will not become an “investment company” subject to registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
(w) Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The ADSs and Ordinary Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to its knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Ordinary Shares or ADSs under the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission is contemplating terminating such registration. The Company has not, in the 12 months preceding the date hereof, received notice from any Trading Market on which the Ordinary Shares or ADSs are or have been listed or quoted to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of such Trading Market. The Company is, and has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be, in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements. The ADSs are currently eligible for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation and the Company is current in payment of the fees to the Depository Trust Company (or such other established clearing corporation) in connection with such electronic transfer.
(x) Application of Takeover Protections. The Company and the Board of Directors have taken all necessary action, if any, in order to render inapplicable any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or other similar anti-takeover provision under the Company’s articles of association and/or memorandum of association (or similar charter documents) or the laws of its state of incorporation that is or could become applicable to the Purchasers as a result of the Purchasers and the Company fulfilling their obligations or exercising their rights under the Transaction Documents, including without limitation as a result of the Company’s issuance of the Shares and the Purchasers’ ownership of the Shares.
(y) Disclosure. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, the Company confirms that neither it nor any other Person acting on its behalf has provided any of the Purchasers or their agents or counsel with any information that it believes constitutes or might constitute material, non-public information which is not otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus. The Company understands and confirms that the Purchasers will rely on the foregoing representation in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. All of the disclosure furnished by or on behalf of the Company to the Purchasers regarding the Company and its Subsidiaries, their respective businesses and the transactions contemplated hereby, including the Disclosure Schedules to this Agreement, is true and correct and does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The press releases disseminated by the Company during the twelve months preceding the date of this Agreement taken as a whole do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made and when made, not misleading. The Company acknowledges and agrees that no Purchaser makes or has made any representations or warranties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby other than those specifically set forth in Section 3.2 hereof.
(z) No Integrated Offering. Assuming the accuracy of the Purchasers’ representations and warranties set forth in Section 3.2, neither the Company, nor any of its Affiliates, nor any Person acting on its or their behalf has, directly or indirectly, made any offers or sales of any security or solicited any offers to buy any security, under circumstances that would cause this offering of the Securities to be integrated with prior offerings by the Company for purposes of any applicable shareholder approval provisions of any Trading Market on which any of the securities of the Company are listed or designated.
14
(aa) Solvency. Based on the consolidated financial condition of the Company as of the Closing Date, after giving effect to the receipt by the Company of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder, (i) the fair saleable value of the Company’s assets exceeds the amount that will be required to be paid on or in respect of the Company’s existing debts and other liabilities (including known contingent liabilities) as they mature, (ii) the Company’s assets do not constitute unreasonably small capital to carry on its business as now conducted and as proposed to be conducted including its capital needs taking into account the particular capital requirements of the business conducted by the Company, consolidated and projected capital requirements and capital availability thereof, and (iii) the current cash flow of the Company, together with the proceeds the Company would receive, were it to liquidate all of its assets, after taking into account all anticipated uses of the cash, would be sufficient to pay all amounts on or in respect of its liabilities when such amounts are required to be paid. The Company does not intend to incur debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature (taking into account the timing and amounts of cash to be payable on or in respect of its debt). The Company has no knowledge of any facts or circumstances which lead it to believe that it will file for reorganization or liquidation under the bankruptcy or reorganization laws of any jurisdiction within one year from the Closing Date.
(bb) Tax Status. Except for matters that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have or result in a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its Subsidiaries each (i) has made or filed all United States federal, state and local income and all foreign income and franchise tax returns, reports and declarations required by any jurisdiction to which it is subject, (ii) has paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations and (iii) has set aside on its books provision reasonably adequate for the payment of all material taxes for periods subsequent to the periods to which such returns, reports or declarations apply. There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction, and the officers of the Company or of any Subsidiary know of no basis for any such claim.
(cc) Foreign Corrupt Practices. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, any agent or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary, have (i) directly or indirectly, used any funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses related to foreign or domestic political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to any foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) failed to disclose fully any contribution made by the Company or any Subsidiary (or made by any person acting on its behalf of which the Company is aware) which is in violation of law, or (iv) violated in any material respect any provision of FCPA.
(dd) Accountants. The Company’s accounting firm is [●]. To the knowledge and belief of the Company, such accounting firm (i) is a registered public accounting firm as required by the Exchange Act, and (ii) shall express its opinion with respect to the financial statements to be included in the Company’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.
(ee) Acknowledgment Regarding Purchasers’ Purchase of Securities. The Company acknowledges and agrees that each of the Purchasers is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length purchaser with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby. The Company further acknowledges that no Purchaser is acting as a financial advisor or fiduciary of the Company (or in any similar capacity) with respect to the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby and any advice given by any Purchaser or any of their respective representatives or agents in connection with the Transaction Documents and the transactions contemplated thereby is merely incidental to the Purchasers’ purchase of the Securities. The Company further represents to each Purchaser that the Company’s decision to enter into this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents has been based solely on the independent evaluation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Company and its representatives.
15
(ff) Acknowledgment Regarding Purchaser’s Trading Activity. Anything in this Agreement or elsewhere herein to the contrary notwithstanding (except for Sections 3.2(f) and 4.14 hereof), it is understood and acknowledged by the Company that: (i) none of the Purchasers has been asked by the Company to agree, nor has any Purchaser agreed, to desist from purchasing or selling, long and/or short, securities of the Company, or “derivative” securities based on securities issued by the Company or to hold the Securities for any specified term; (ii) past or future open market or other transactions by any Purchaser, specifically including, without limitation, Short Sales or “derivative” transactions, before or after the closing of this or future private placement transactions, may negatively impact the market price of the Company’s publicly-traded securities; (iii) any Purchaser, and counter-parties in “derivative” transactions to which any such Purchaser is a party, directly or indirectly, presently may have a “short” position in the Ordinary Shares or ADSs, and (iv) each Purchaser shall not be deemed to have any affiliation with or control over any arm’s length counter-party in any “derivative” transaction. The Company further understands and acknowledges that (y) one or more Purchasers may engage in hedging activities at various times during the period that the Securities are outstanding, including, without limitation, during the periods that the value of the Warrant ADSs deliverable with respect to Securities is being determined, and (z) such hedging activities (if any) could reduce the value of the existing shareholders' equity interests in the Company at and after the time that the hedging activities are being conducted. The Company acknowledges that such aforementioned hedging activities do not constitute a breach of any of the Transaction Documents.
(gg) Regulation M Compliance. The Company has not, and to its knowledge no one acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or, paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Securities, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company, other than, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), compensation paid to the Placement Agent in connection with the placement of the Securities.
(hh) Share Equity Plans. Each share option or equity award granted by the Company under the Company’s equity award plans was granted in accordance with the terms of the Company’s duly approved equity award plan(s). No share option or equity award granted under the Company’s or equity award plan(s) has been backdated. The Company has not knowingly granted, and there is not and has not been any Company policy or practice to knowingly grant, share options prior to, or otherwise knowingly coordinate the grant of share options with, the release or other public announcement of material information regarding the Company or its Subsidiaries or their financial results or prospects.
(ii) Office of Foreign Assets Control. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company's knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or Affiliate of the Company or any Subsidiary is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”).
(jj) U.S. Real Property Holding Corporation. The Company is not and has never been a U.S. real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Company shall so certify upon Purchaser’s request.
16
(kk) Bank Holding Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates owns or controls, directly or indirectly, five percent (5%) or more of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities or twenty-five percent or more of the total equity of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of a bank or any entity that is subject to the BHCA and to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
(ll) Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no Action or Proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any Subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Subsidiary, threatened.
(mm) Foreign Private Issuer. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(nn) Compliance with PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has complied, and has taken all reasonable steps to ensure compliance by each of its shareholders, directors and officers that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen with any applicable rules and regulations of the relevant PRC government agencies (including but not limited to the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”)) relating to overseas investment by PRC residents and citizens (the “PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations”), including, without limitation, requesting each such Person that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen, to complete any registration and other procedures required under applicable PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations (including any applicable rules and regulations of the SAFE).
(oo) M&A Rules. The Company is aware of and has been advised as to the content of the Rules on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors and any official clarifications, guidance, interpretations or implementation rules in connection with or related thereto (the “PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules”) jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Tax Administration, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on August 8, 2006 and amended on June 22, 2009, including the provisions thereof which purport to require offshore special purpose entities formed for listing purposes and controlled directly or indirectly by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The Company has received legal advice specifically with respect to the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules from its PRC counsel, and the Company understands such legal advice. In addition, the Company has communicated such legal advice in full to each of its directors that signed the Registration Statement and each such director has confirmed that he or she understands such legal advice. The issuance and sale of the ADSs, the listing and trading of the ADSs on NASDAQ Capital Market and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (i) are not and will not be, as of the date hereof or at the Closing Date, adversely affected by the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules and (ii) do not require the prior approval of the CSRC.
17
3.2 Representations and Warranties of the Purchasers. Each Purchaser, for itself and for no other Purchaser, hereby represents and warrants as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date to the Company as follows (unless as of a specific date therein, in which case they shall be accurate as of such date):
(a) Organization; Authority. Such Purchaser is either an individual or an entity duly incorporated or formed, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation with full right, corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar power and authority to enter into and to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents and otherwise to carry out its obligations hereunder and thereunder. The execution and delivery of the Transaction Documents and performance by such Purchaser of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate, partnership, limited liability company or similar action, as applicable, on the part of such Purchaser. Each Transaction Document to which it is a party has been duly executed by such Purchaser, and when delivered by such Purchaser in accordance with the terms hereof, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of such Purchaser, enforceable against it in accordance with its terms, except: (i) as limited by general equitable principles and applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, (ii) as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies and (iii) insofar as indemnification and contribution provisions may be limited by applicable law.
(b) Understandings or Arrangements. Such Purchaser is acquiring the Securities as principal for its own account and has no direct or indirect arrangement or understandings with any other persons to distribute or regarding the distribution of such Securities (this representation and warranty not limiting such Purchaser’s right to sell the Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws). Such Purchaser is acquiring the Securities hereunder in the ordinary course of its business.
(c) Purchaser Status. At the time such Purchaser was offered the Securities, it was, and as of the date hereof it is, and on each date on which it exercises any Warrants, it will be an “accredited investor” as defined in Rule 501(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(7) or (a)(8) under the Securities Act.
(d) Experience of Such Purchaser. Such Purchaser, either alone or together with its representatives, has such knowledge, sophistication and experience in business and financial matters so as to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment in the Securities, and has so evaluated the merits and risks of such investment. Such Purchaser is able to bear the economic risk of an investment in the Securities and, at the present time, is able to afford a complete loss of such investment.
(e) Access to Information. Such Purchaser acknowledges that it has had the opportunity to review the Transaction Documents (including all exhibits and schedules thereto) and the SEC Reports and has been afforded, (i) the opportunity to ask such questions as it has deemed necessary of, and to receive answers from, representatives of the Company concerning the terms and conditions of the offering of the Securities and the merits and risks of investing in the Securities; (ii) access to information about the Company and its financial condition, results of operations, business, properties, management and prospects sufficient to enable it to evaluate its investment; and (iii) the opportunity to obtain such additional information that the Company possesses or can acquire without unreasonable effort or expense that is necessary to make an informed investment decision with respect to the investment. Such Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that neither the Placement Agent nor any Affiliate of the Placement Agent has provided such Purchaser with any information or advice with respect to the Securities nor is such information or advice necessary or desired. Neither the Placement Agent nor any Affiliate has made or makes any representation as to the Company or the quality of the Securities and the Placement Agent and any Affiliate may have acquired non-public information with respect to the Company which such Purchaser agrees need not be provided to it. In connection with the issuance of the Securities to such Purchaser, neither the Placement Agent nor any of its Affiliates has acted as a financial advisor or fiduciary to such Purchaser.
18
(f) Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Other than consummating the transactions contemplated hereunder, such Purchaser has not, nor has any Person acting on behalf of or pursuant to any understanding with such Purchaser, directly or indirectly executed any purchases or sales, including Short Sales, of the securities of the Company during the period commencing as of the time that such Purchaser first received a term sheet (written or oral) from the Company or any other Person representing the Company setting forth the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereunder and ending immediately prior to the execution hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the representation set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement. Other than to other Persons party to this Agreement or to such Purchaser’s representatives, including, without limitation, its officers, directors, partners, legal and other advisors, employees, agents and Affiliates, such Purchaser has maintained the confidentiality of all disclosures made to it in connection with this transaction (including the existence and terms of this transaction). Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.
The Company acknowledges and agrees that the representations contained in this Section 3.2 shall not modify, amend or affect such Purchaser’s right to rely on the Company’s representations and warranties contained in this Agreement or any representations and warranties contained in any other Transaction Document or any other document or instrument executed and/or delivered in connection with this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt, nothing contained herein shall constitute a representation or warranty, or preclude any actions, with respect to locating or borrowing shares in order to effect Short Sales or similar transactions in the future.
ARTICLE IV.
OTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE PARTIES
4.1 Warrant ADSs. If all or any portion of a Warrant is exercised at a time when there is an effective registration statement to cover the issuance or resale of the Warrant ADSs or if the Warrant is exercised via cashless exercise, the Warrant ADSs issued pursuant to any such exercise shall be issued free of all legends. If at any time following the date hereof the Registration Statement (or any subsequent registration statement registering the sale or resale of the Warrant ADSs) is not effective or is not otherwise available for the sale or resale of the Warrant ADSs, the Company shall immediately notify the holders of the Warrants in writing that such registration statement is not then effective and thereafter shall promptly notify such holders when the registration statement is effective again and available for the sale or resale of the Warrant ADSs (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing shall not limit the ability of the Company to issue, or any Purchaser to sell, any of the Warrant ADSs in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws). The Company shall use its best efforts to keep a registration statement (including the Registration Statement) registering the issuance or resale of the Warrant ADSs effective during the term of the Warrants.
19
4.2 Furnishing of Information. Until the earliest of the time that (i) no Purchaser owns Securities or (ii) the Warrants have expired, the Company covenants to timely file (or obtain extensions in respect thereof and file within the applicable grace period) all reports required to be filed by the Company after the date hereof pursuant to the Exchange Act even if the Company is not then subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act.
4.3 Integration. The Company shall not sell, offer for sale or solicit offers to buy or otherwise negotiate in respect of any security (as defined in Section 2 of the Securities Act) that would be integrated with the offer or sale of the Securities for purposes of the rules and regulations of any Trading Market such that it would require shareholder approval prior to the closing of such other transaction unless shareholder approval is obtained before the closing of such subsequent transaction.
4.4 Securities Laws Disclosure; Publicity. The Company shall (a) by the Disclosure Time, issue a press release disclosing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and (b) file a Current Report on Form 6-K, including the Transaction Documents as exhibits thereto, with the Commission within the time required by the Exchange Act. From and after the issuance of such press release, the Company represents to the Purchasers that it shall have publicly disclosed all material, non-public information delivered to any of the Purchasers by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. In addition, effective upon the issuance of such press release, the Company acknowledges and agrees that any and all confidentiality or similar obligations under any agreement, whether written or oral, between the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates on the one hand, and any of the Purchasers or any of their Affiliates on the other hand, shall terminate. The Company and each Purchaser shall consult with each other in issuing any other press releases with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby, and neither the Company nor any Purchaser shall issue any such press release nor otherwise make any such public statement without the prior consent of the Company, with respect to any press release of any Purchaser, or without the prior consent of each Purchaser, with respect to any press release of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld or delayed, except if such disclosure is required by law, in which case the disclosing party shall promptly provide the other party with prior notice of such public statement or communication. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not publicly disclose the name of any Purchaser, or include the name of any Purchaser in any filing with the Commission or any regulatory agency or Trading Market, without the prior written consent of such Purchaser, except by filing this Agreement and the Warrants to the Annual Report on Form 20-F of the Company or to the extent such disclosure is required by law or Trading Market regulations, in which case the Company shall provide the Purchasers with prior notice of such disclosure permitted pursuant to this sentence.
4.5 Shareholder Rights Plan. No claim will be made or enforced by the Company or, with the consent of the Company, any other Person, that any Purchaser is an “Acquiring Person” under any control share acquisition, business combination, poison pill (including any distribution under a rights agreement) or similar anti-takeover plan or arrangement in effect or hereafter adopted by the Company, or that any Purchaser could be deemed to trigger the provisions of any such plan or arrangement, by virtue of receiving Securities under the Transaction Documents or under any other agreement between the Company and the Purchasers.
4.6 Non-Public Information. Except with respect to the material terms and conditions of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents, which shall be disclosed pursuant to Section 4.4, the Company covenants and agrees that neither it, nor any other Person acting on its behalf will provide any Purchaser or its agents or counsel with any information that constitutes, or the Company reasonably believes constitutes, material non-public information, unless prior thereto such Purchaser shall have consented to the receipt of such information and agreed with the Company to keep such information confidential. The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company. To the extent that the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates delivers any material, non-public information to a Purchaser without such Purchaser’s consent, the Company hereby covenants and agrees that such Purchaser shall not have any duty of confidentiality to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates, or a duty to the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, employees or Affiliates not to trade on the basis of, such material, non-public information, provided that the Purchaser shall remain subject to applicable law. To the extent that any notice provided pursuant to any Transaction Document constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. The Company understands and confirms that each Purchaser shall be relying on the foregoing covenant in effecting transactions in securities of the Company.
20
4.7 Use of Proceeds. The Company shall use the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities hereunder for purposes as set forth in the Prospectus.
4.8 Indemnification of Purchasers. The Company will indemnify and hold each Purchaser and its directors, officers, shareholders, members, partners, employees and agents (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title), each Person who controls such Purchaser (within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act and Section 20 of the Exchange Act), and the directors, officers, shareholders, agents, members, partners or employees (and any other Persons with a functionally equivalent role of a Person holding such titles notwithstanding a lack of such title or any other title) of such controlling persons (each, a “Purchaser Party”) harmless from any and all losses, liabilities, obligations, claims, contingencies, damages, costs and expenses, including all judgments, amounts paid in settlements, court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation that any such Purchaser Party may suffer or incur as a result of or relating to (a) any breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by the Company in this Agreement or in the other Transaction Documents or (b) any action instituted against the Purchaser Parties in any capacity (including a Purchaser Party’s status as an investor), or any of them or their respective Affiliates, by the Company or any shareholder of the Company who is not an Affiliate of such Purchaser Party, arising out of or relating to any of the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. For the avoidance of doubt, the indemnification provided herein is intended to, and shall also cover, direct claims brought by the Company against the Purchaser Parties; provided, however, that such indemnification shall not cover any loss, claim, damage or liability to the extent it is finally judicially determined to be attributable to any Purchaser Party’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, covenants or agreements made by such Purchaser Party in any Transaction Document or any conduct by a Purchaser Party which is finally judicially determined to constitute fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct. If any action shall be brought against any Purchaser Party in respect of which indemnity may be sought pursuant to this Agreement, such Purchaser Party shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and, except with respect to direct claims brought by the Company, the Company shall have the right to assume the defense thereof with counsel of its own choosing reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser Party. Any Purchaser Party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and participate in the defense thereof, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such Purchaser Party except to the extent that (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized by the Company in writing, (ii) the Company has failed after a reasonable period of time to assume such defense and to employ counsel or (iii) in such action there is, in the reasonable opinion of counsel to the applicable Purchaser Party (which may be internal counsel), a material conflict on any material issue between the position of the Company and the position of such Purchaser Party, in which case the Company shall be responsible for the reasonable fees and expenses of no more than one such separate counsel. The Company will not be liable to any Purchaser Party under this Agreement for any settlement by a Purchaser Party effected without the Company’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. In addition, if any Purchaser Party takes actions to collect amounts due under any Transaction Documents or to enforce the provisions of any Transaction Documents, then the Company shall pay the costs incurred by such Purchaser Party for such collection, enforcement or action, including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees and disbursements. The indemnification and other payment obligations required by this Section 4.8 shall be made by periodic payments of the amount thereof during the course of the investigation, defense, collection, enforcement or action, as and when bills are received or are incurred; provided, that if any Purchaser Party is finally judicially determined not to be entitled to indemnification or payment under this Section 4.8 such Purchaser Party shall promptly reimburse the Company for any payments that are advanced under this sentence. The indemnity agreements contained herein shall be in addition to any cause of action or similar right of any Purchaser Party against the Company or others and any liabilities the Company may be subject to pursuant to law.
21
4.9 Reservation of Ordinary Shares and ADSs; Maintenance of ADS Registration Statement. So long as any of the Warrants remain outstanding, the Company shall take all actions necessary to, at all times, have authorized and reserved from its duly authorized share capital (or, with respect to any Warrant ADSs, availability under the ADS Registration Statement), no less than the sum of (i) the maximum number of Warrant ADSs issuable upon exercise of the Warrants (without taking into account any limitations on the exercise of the Warrants set forth in the Warrants) not yet issued and (ii) the maximum number of Warrant Shares issuable as evidence of the Warrant ADSs in clause (i) above. If at any time a registration statement on Form F-6 is not available for the issuance of all or any part of the Warrant Shares required to be issued (or reserved for issuance) pursuant to the Warrants or this Agreement, the Company shall promptly amend the ADS Registration Statement (or, at the Company’s option, file a new registration statement on Form F-6) as may be necessary to maintain the effectiveness (or to establish the effectiveness) of a registration statement on Form F-6 for this purpose.
4.10 Listing of ADSs. The Company hereby agrees to use reasonable best efforts to maintain the listing or quotation of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs and Ordinary Shares on the Trading Market on which it is currently listed, and prior to the Closing, the Company shall apply to list or quote all of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs , Shares and Warrant ADSs on such Trading Market and promptly secure the listing of all of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs, Shares and Warrant ADSs on such Trading Market. The Company further agrees, if the Company applies to have the ADSs or Ordinary Shares traded on any other Trading Market, it will then include in such application all of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs , Shares and Warrant ADSs, and will take such other action as is necessary to cause all of the ADSs, Warrant ADSs, Shares and Warrant ADSs to be listed or quoted on such other Trading Market as promptly as possible. The Company will then take all action reasonably necessary to continue the listing and trading of its ADSs or Ordinary Shares on a Trading Market and will comply in all respects with the Company’s reporting, filing and other obligations under the bylaws or rules of the Trading Market. The Company agrees to maintain the eligibility of the ADSs for electronic transfer through the Depository Trust Company or another established clearing corporation, including, without limitation, by timely payment of fees to the Depository Trust Company or such other established clearing corporation in connection with such electronic transfer.
4.11 Subsequent Equity Sales.
(a) From the date hereof until [●] days after the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary shall (i) issue, enter into any agreement to issue or announce the issuance or proposed issuance of any ADSs, Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents (each, a “Subsequent Placement”) or (ii) file any registration statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, other than the Prospectus.
(b) From the date hereof until the earlier of (x) [●] and (y) such date that no Warrants remain outstanding, the Company shall be prohibited from effecting or entering into an agreement to effect any issuance by the Company of Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Share Equivalents (or a combination of units thereof) involving a Variable Rate Transaction. “Variable Rate Transaction” means a transaction in which the Company (i) issues or sells any debt or equity securities that are convertible into, exchangeable or exercisable for, or include the right to receive additional ADSs or Ordinary Shares either (A) at a conversion price, exercise price or exchange rate or other price that is based upon and/or varies with the trading prices of or quotations for the ADSs or Ordinary Shares at any time after the initial issuance of such debt or equity securities, or (B) with a conversion, exercise or exchange price that is subject to being reset at some future date after the initial issuance of such debt or equity security or upon the occurrence of specified or contingent events directly or indirectly related to the business of the Company or the market for the ADSs or Ordinary Shares (but not including antidilution protections related to future share issuances) or (ii) enters into, or effects a transaction under, any agreement, including, but not limited to, an equity line of credit, whereby the Company may issue securities at a future determined price. Any Purchaser shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the Company to preclude any such issuance, which remedy shall be in addition to any right to collect damages.
22
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Section 4.11 shall not apply in respect of an Exempt Issuance, except that no Variable Rate Transaction shall be an Exempt Issuance.
4.12 Participation Right.
(a) From the date hereof until the date that is the [●] anniversary of the Closing Date, upon any issuance by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of ADSs, Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Shares Equivalents for cash consideration, Indebtedness or a combination of units thereof (a “Subsequent Financing”), each Purchaser shall have the right to participate in up to an amount of the Subsequent Financing equal to [●]% of the Subsequent Financing (the “Participation Maximum”) on the same terms, conditions and price provided for in the Subsequent Financing.
(b) Between the time period of 4:00 pm (New York City time) and 6:00 pm (New York City time) no earlier than five (5) Trading Days and no later than the Trading Day immediately prior to the Trading Day of the expected announcement of the Subsequent Financing (or, if the Trading Day of the expected announcement of the Subsequent Financing is the first Trading Day following a holiday or a weekend (including a holiday weekend), between the time period of 4:00 pm (New York City time) on the Trading Day immediately prior to such holiday or weekend and 2:00 pm (New York City time) on the day immediately prior to the Trading Day of the expected announcement of the Subsequent Financing), the Company shall deliver to each Purchaser a written notice of the Company’s intention to effect a Subsequent Financing (a “Subsequent Financing Notice”), which notice shall describe in reasonable detail the proposed terms of such Subsequent Financing, the amount of proceeds intended to be raised thereunder and the Person or Persons through or with whom such Subsequent Financing is proposed to be effected and shall include a term sheet and transaction documents relating thereto as an attachment.
(c) Any Purchaser desiring to participate in such Subsequent Financing must provide written notice to the Company by 6:30 am (New York City time) on the Trading Day following the date on which the Subsequent Financing Notice is delivered to such Purchaser (the “Notice Termination Time”) that such Purchaser is willing to participate in the Subsequent Financing, the amount of such Purchaser’s participation, and representing and warranting that such Purchaser has such funds ready, willing, and available for investment on the terms set forth in the Subsequent Financing Notice. If the Company receives no such notice from a Purchaser as of such Notice Termination Time, such Purchaser shall be deemed to have notified the Company that it does not elect to participate in such Subsequent Financing.
(d) If, by the Notice Termination Time, notifications by the Purchasers of their willingness to participate in the Subsequent Financing (or to cause their designees to participate) is, in the aggregate, less than the total amount of the Subsequent Financing, then the Company may effect the remaining portion of such Subsequent Financing on the terms and with the Persons set forth in the Subsequent Financing Notice.
23
(e) If, by the Notice Termination Time, the Company receives responses to a Subsequent Financing Notice from Purchasers seeking to purchase more than the aggregate amount of the Participation Maximum, each such Purchaser shall have the right to purchase its Pro Rata Portion (as defined below) of the Participation Maximum. “Pro Rata Portion” means the ratio of (x) the Subscription Amount of Shares purchased on the Closing Date by a Purchaser participating under this Section 4.11 and (y) the sum of the aggregate Subscription Amounts of Shares purchased on the Closing Date by all Purchasers participating under this Section 4.12.
(f) The Company must provide the Purchasers with a second Subsequent Financing Notice, and the Purchasers will again have the right of participation set forth above in this Section 4.12, if the definitive agreement related to the initial Subsequent Financing Notice is not entered into for any reason on the terms set forth in such Subsequent Financing Notice within two (2) Trading Days after the date of delivery of the initial Subsequent Financing Notice.
(g) The Company and each Purchaser agree that, if any Purchaser elects to participate in the Subsequent Financing, the transaction documents related to the Subsequent Financing shall not include any term or provision that, directly or indirectly, will, or is intended to, exclude one or more of the Purchasers from participating in a Subsequent Financing, including, but not limited to, provisions whereby such Purchaser shall be required to agree to any restrictions on trading as to any of the Shares purchased hereunder or be required to consent to any amendment to or termination of, or grant any waiver, release or the like under or in connection with, this Agreement, without the prior written consent of such Purchaser. In addition, the Company and each Purchaser agree that, in connection with a Subsequent Financing, the transaction documents related to the Subsequent Financing shall include a requirement for the Company to issue a widely disseminated press release by 9:30 am (New York City time) on the Trading Day of execution of the transaction documents in such Subsequent Financing (or, if the date of execution is not a Trading Day, on the immediately following Trading Day) that discloses the material terms of the transactions contemplated by the transaction documents in such Subsequent Financing.
(h) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4.12 and unless otherwise agreed to by such Purchaser, the Company shall either confirm in writing to such Purchaser that the transaction with respect to the Subsequent Financing has been abandoned or shall publicly disclose its intention to issue the securities in the Subsequent Financing, in either case in such a manner such that such Purchaser will not be in possession of any material, non-public information, by 9:30 am (New York City time) on the second (2nd) Trading Day following date of delivery of the Subsequent Financing Notice. If by 9:30 am (New York City time) on such second (2nd) Trading Day, no public disclosure regarding a transaction with respect to the Subsequent Financing has been made, and no notice regarding the abandonment of such transaction has been received by such Purchaser, such transaction shall be deemed to have been abandoned and such Purchaser shall not be deemed to be in possession of any material, non-public information with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Should the Company decide to pursue such transaction with respect to the Offered Shares, the Company shall provide such Purchaser with another Subsequent Financing Notice and such Purchaser will again have the right of participation set forth in this Section 4.12. The Company shall not be permitted to deliver more than one such Subsequent Financing Notice to such Purchaser in any sixty (60) day period, except with respect to an amendment or modification of terms and conditions of a Subsequent Financing, which shall be delivered to each Purchaser as a new Subsequent Financing Notice with new time periods commencing in accordance herewith as of the time of delivery of such new Subsequent Financing Notice in accordance herewith.
(i) The restrictions contained in this Section 4.12 shall not apply in connection with the Exempt Issuance.
24
4.13 Equal Treatment of Purchasers. No consideration (including any modification of any Transaction Document) shall be offered or paid to any Person to amend or consent to a waiver or modification of any provision of the Transaction Documents unless the same consideration is also offered to all of the parties to the Transaction Documents. For clarification purposes, this provision constitutes a separate right granted to each Purchaser by the Company and negotiated separately by each Purchaser, and is intended for the Company to treat the Purchasers as a class and shall not in any way be construed as the Purchasers acting in concert or as a group with respect to the purchase, disposition or voting of Securities or otherwise.
4.14 Certain Transactions and Confidentiality. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that neither it nor any Affiliate acting on its behalf or pursuant to any understanding with it will execute any purchases or sales, including Short Sales of any of the Company’s securities during the period commencing with the execution of this Agreement and ending at such time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4. Each Purchaser, severally and not jointly with the other Purchasers, covenants that until such time as the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are publicly disclosed by the Company pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, such Purchaser will maintain the confidentiality of the existence and terms of this transaction and the information included in the Disclosure Schedules. Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company expressly acknowledges and agrees that (i) no Purchaser makes any representation, warranty or covenant hereby that it will not engage in effecting transactions in any securities of the Company after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4, (ii) no Purchaser shall be restricted or prohibited from effecting any transactions in any securities of the Company in accordance with applicable securities laws from and after the time that the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are first publicly announced pursuant to the initial press release as described in Section 4.4 and (iii) no Purchaser shall have any duty of confidentiality or duty not to trade in the securities of the Company to the Company or its Subsidiaries after the issuance of the initial press release as described in Section 4.4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of a Purchaser that is a multi-managed investment vehicle whereby separate portfolio managers manage separate portions of such Purchaser’s assets and the portfolio managers have no direct knowledge of the investment decisions made by the portfolio managers managing other portions of such Purchaser’s assets, the covenant set forth above shall only apply with respect to the portion of assets managed by the portfolio manager that made the investment decision to purchase the Securities covered by this Agreement.
4.15 Exercise Procedures. The form of Notice of Exercise included in the Warrants set forth the totality of the procedures required of the Purchasers in order to exercise the Warrants. No additional legal opinion, other information or instructions shall be required of the Purchasers to exercise their Warrants. Without limiting the preceding sentences, no ink-original Notice of Exercise shall be required, nor shall any medallion guarantee (or other type of guarantee or notarization) of any Notice of Exercise form be required in order to exercise the Warrants. The Company shall honor exercises of the Warrants and shall deliver Warrant ADSs in accordance with the terms, conditions and time periods set forth in the Transaction Documents.
4.16 Acknowledgment of Dilution. The Company acknowledges that the issuance of the Securities may result in dilution of the outstanding Ordinary Shares, which dilution may be substantial under certain market conditions. The Company further acknowledges that its obligations under the Transaction Documents, including, without limitation, its obligation to issue the ADSs, Ordinary Shares and Warrant ADSs pursuant to the Transaction Documents, are unconditional and absolute and not subject to any right of set off, counterclaim, delay or reduction, regardless of the effect of any such dilution or any claim the Company may have against any Purchaser and regardless of the dilutive effect that such issuance may have on the ownership of the other shareholders of the Company.
4.17 No Waiver of Lockup Agreement. The Company shall not amend, waive, modify or fail to use best efforts to enforce any provision of the Lockup Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, no Purchaser shall be a third party beneficiary of any Lockup Agreement.
25
ARTICLE V.
MISCELLANEOUS
5.1 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by any Purchaser, as to such Purchaser’s obligations hereunder only and without any effect whatsoever on the obligations between the Company and the other Purchasers, by written notice to the other parties, if the Closing has not been consummated on or before the fifth (5th) Trading Day following the date hereof; provided, however, that no such termination will affect the right of any party to sue for any breach by any other party (or parties).
5.2 Fees and Expenses. At the Closing, the Company has agreed to reimburse [●] the non-accountable sum of $[●] for its legal fees and expenses (the “Transaction Expenses”). Except as expressly set forth in the Transaction Documents to the contrary, each party shall pay the fees and expenses of its advisers, counsel, accountants and other experts, if any, and all other expenses incurred by such party incident to the negotiation, preparation, execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement. The Company shall pay all fees of the Depositary and share registrar (including, without limitation, any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company and any exercise notice delivered by a Purchaser), stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchasers. In addition to the Transaction Expenses, the Company shall be responsible for the payment of any placement agent’s fees, financial advisory fees, transfer agent fees, Depositary Fees, DTC fees or broker’s commissions (other than for Persons engaged by any Purchaser) relating to or arising out of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, (x) any fees or commissions payable to the Placement Agent, who is the Company’s sole placement agent in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and (y) any fees required for same-day processing of any instruction letter delivered by the Company and any exercise notice delivered by a Purchaser), and any stamp taxes and other taxes and duties levied in connection with the delivery of any Securities to the Purchasers. The Company shall pay, and hold each Purchaser harmless against, any liability, loss or expense (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and out-of-pocket expenses) arising in connection with any claim relating to any such payment. Except as otherwise set forth in the Transaction Documents, each party to this Agreement shall bear its own expenses in connection with the sale of the Securities to the Purchasers.
5.3 Entire Agreement. The Transaction Documents, together with the exhibits and schedules thereto, and the Prospectus, contain the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, oral or written, with respect to such matters, which the parties acknowledge have been merged into such documents, exhibits and schedules.
5.4 Notices. Any and all notices or other communications or deliveries required or permitted to be provided hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed given and effective on the earliest of: (a) the time of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number or email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto at or prior to 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on a Trading Day, (b) the next Trading Day after the date of transmission, if such notice or communication is delivered via facsimile at the facsimile number or email attachment at the email address as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto on a day that is not a Trading Day or later than 5:30 p.m. (New York City time) on any Trading Day, (c) the second (2nd) Trading Day following the date of mailing, if sent by U.S. nationally recognized overnight courier service or (d) upon actual receipt by the party to whom such notice is required to be given. The address for such notices and communications shall be as set forth on the signature pages attached hereto. To the extent that any notice provided pursuant to any Transaction Document constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any Subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 6-K.
5.5 Amendments; Waivers. No provision of this Agreement may be waived, modified, supplemented or amended except in a written instrument signed, in the case of an amendment, by the Company and Purchasers which purchased (a) if on or prior to the Closing Date, 100% or (b) if after the Closing Date, at least 50.1%, as applicable, in interest of the ADSs based on the initial Subscription Amounts hereunder or, in the case of a waiver, by the party against whom enforcement of any such waived provision is sought, provided that if any amendment, modification or waiver disproportionately and adversely impacts a Purchaser (or group of Purchasers), the consent of such disproportionately impacted Purchaser (or group of Purchasers) shall also be required. No waiver of any default with respect to any provision, condition or requirement of this Agreement shall be deemed to be a continuing waiver in the future or a waiver of any subsequent default or a waiver of any other provision, condition or requirement hereof, nor shall any delay or omission of any party to exercise any right hereunder in any manner impair the exercise of any such right. Any proposed amendment or waiver that disproportionately, materially and adversely affects the rights and obligations of any Purchaser relative to the comparable rights and obligations of the other Purchasers shall require the prior written consent of such adversely affected Purchaser. Any amendment effected in accordance with this Section 5.5 shall be binding upon each Purchaser and the Company.
26
5.6 Headings. The headings herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.
5.7 Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and their successors and permitted assigns. The Company may not assign this Agreement or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Purchaser (other than by merger). Any Purchaser may assign any or all of its rights under this Agreement to any Person to whom such Purchaser assigns or transfers any Securities, provided that such transferee agrees in writing to be bound, with respect to the transferred Securities, by the provisions of the Transaction Documents that apply to the “Purchasers.”
5.8 No Third-Party Beneficiaries. The Placement Agent shall be the third party beneficiary of the representations and warranties of the Company in Section 3.1 and the representations and warranties of the Purchasers in Section 3.2. This Agreement is intended for the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns and is not for the benefit of, nor may any provision hereof be enforced by, any other Person, except as otherwise set forth in Section 4.8 and this Section 5.8.
5.9 Governing Law. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of the Transaction Documents shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, without regard to the principles of conflicts of law thereof. Each party agrees that all legal Proceedings concerning the interpretations, enforcement and defense of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and any other Transaction Documents (whether brought against a party hereto or its respective affiliates, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, members, employees or agents) shall be commenced exclusively in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection herewith or with any transaction contemplated hereby or discussed herein (including with respect to the enforcement of any of the Transaction Documents), and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any Action or Proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such Action or Proceeding is improper or is an inconvenient venue for such Proceeding. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such Action or Proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any other manner permitted by law. If any party shall commence an Action or Proceeding to enforce any provisions of the Transaction Documents, then, in addition to the obligations of the Company under Section 4.8, the prevailing party in such Action or Proceeding shall be reimbursed by the non-prevailing party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and other costs and expenses incurred with the investigation, preparation and prosecution of such Action or Proceeding. The Company irrevocably appoints Cogency Global Inc. as its respective authorized agent (the “Authorized Agent”) in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceeding, and agree that service of process in any manner permitted by applicable law shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company in any such suit or proceeding. The Company agrees to maintain such appointment in effect and to notify Purchasers in writing of any change in the Authorized Agent's address within ten (10) days of such change. The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement will be honored by competent courts in the People’s Republic of China and the Cayman Islands, subject to compliance with relevant People’s Republic of China and Cayman Islands civil procedural and other requirements, except for those laws (i) which a court in Cayman Islands considers to be procedural in nature, (ii) which are revenue or penal laws or (iii) the application of which would be inconsistent with public policy, as such term is interpreted under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Neither the Company nor any of its properties, assets or revenues has any right of immunity under the People’s Republic of China, Cayman Islands or New York law, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China, Cayman Islands, New York or United States federal court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior to judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with this Agreement; and, to the extent that the Company, or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, the Company hereby waives such right to the extent permitted by law and hereby consents to such relief and enforcement as provided in this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents.
27
5.10 Survival. The representations and warranties contained herein shall survive the Closing and the delivery of the Securities.
5.11 Execution. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, all of which when taken together shall be considered one and the same agreement and shall become effective when counterparts have been signed by each party and delivered to each other party, it being understood that the parties need not sign the same counterpart. In the event that any signature is delivered by facsimile transmission or by e-mail delivery of a “.pdf” format data file or other electronic medium recognized as an electronic signature under applicable law, such signature shall create a valid and binding obligation of the party executing (or on whose behalf such signature is executed) with the same force and effect as if such facsimile, “.pdf” signature page or other electronic signature were an original thereof.
5.12 Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions set forth herein shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated, and the parties hereto shall use their commercially reasonable efforts to find and employ an alternative means to achieve the same or substantially the same result as that contemplated by such term, provision, covenant or restriction. It is hereby stipulated and declared to be the intention of the parties that they would have executed the remaining terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions without including any of such that may be hereafter declared invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable.
5.13 Rescission and Withdrawal Right. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in (and without limiting any similar provisions of) any of the other Transaction Documents, whenever any Purchaser exercises a right, election, demand or option under a Transaction Document and the Company does not timely perform its related obligations within the periods therein provided, then such Purchaser may rescind or withdraw, in its sole discretion from time to time upon written notice to the Company, any relevant notice, demand or election in whole or in part without prejudice to its future actions and rights; provided, however, that, in the case of a rescission of an exercise of a Warrant, the applicable Purchaser shall be required to return any ADSs or Ordinary Shares subject to any such rescinded exercise notice concurrently with the return to such Purchaser of the aggregate exercise price paid to the Company for such shares and the restoration of such Purchaser’s right to acquire such shares pursuant to such Purchaser’s Warrant (including issuance of a replacement warrant certificate evidencing such restored right).
28
5.14 Replacement of Securities. If any certificate or instrument evidencing any Securities is mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Company shall issue or cause to be issued in exchange and substitution for and upon cancellation thereof (in the case of mutilation), or in lieu of and substitution therefor, a new certificate or instrument, but only upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of such loss, theft or destruction. The applicant for a new certificate or instrument under such circumstances shall also pay any reasonable third-party costs (including customary indemnity) associated with the issuance of such replacement Securities.
5.15 Remedies. In addition to being entitled to exercise all rights provided herein or granted by law, including recovery of damages, each of the Purchasers and the Company will be entitled to specific performance under the Transaction Documents. The parties agree that monetary damages may not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of any breach of obligations contained in the Transaction Documents and hereby agree to waive and not to assert in any Action for specific performance of any such obligation the defense that a remedy at law would be adequate.
5.16 Payment Set Aside. To the extent that the Company makes a payment or payments to any Purchaser pursuant to any Transaction Document or a Purchaser enforces or exercises its rights thereunder, and such payment or payments or the proceeds of such enforcement or exercise or any part thereof are subsequently invalidated, declared to be fraudulent or preferential, set aside, recovered from, disgorged by or are required to be refunded, repaid or otherwise restored to the Company, a trustee, receiver or any other Person under any law (including, without limitation, any bankruptcy law, state or federal law, common law or equitable cause of action), then to the extent of any such restoration the obligation or part thereof originally intended to be satisfied shall be revived and continued in full force and effect as if such payment had not been made or such enforcement or setoff had not occurred.
5.17 Independent Nature of Purchasers’ Obligations and Rights. The obligations of each Purchaser under any Transaction Document are several and not joint with the obligations of any other Purchaser, and no Purchaser shall be responsible in any way for the performance or non-performance of the obligations of any other Purchaser under any Transaction Document. Nothing contained herein or in any other Transaction Document, and no action taken by any Purchaser pursuant hereto or thereto, shall be deemed to constitute the Purchasers as a partnership, an association, a joint venture or any other kind of entity, or create a presumption that the Purchasers are in any way acting in concert or as a group with respect to such obligations or the transactions contemplated by the Transaction Documents. Each Purchaser shall be entitled to independently protect and enforce its rights including, without limitation, the rights arising out of this Agreement or out of the other Transaction Documents, and it shall not be necessary for any other Purchaser to be joined as an additional party in any Proceeding for such purpose. Each Purchaser has been represented by its own separate legal counsel in its review and negotiation of the Transaction Documents. The Company has elected to provide all Purchasers with the same terms and Transaction Documents for the convenience of the Company and not because it was required or requested to do so by any of the Purchasers. It is expressly understood and agreed that each provision contained in this Agreement and in each other Transaction Document is between the Company and a Purchaser, solely, and not between the Company and the Purchasers collectively and not between and among the Purchasers.
5.18 Liquidated Damages. The Company’s obligations to pay any partial liquidated damages or other amounts owing under the Transaction Documents is a continuing obligation of the Company and shall not terminate until all unpaid partial liquidated damages and other amounts have been paid notwithstanding the fact that the instrument or security pursuant to which such partial liquidated damages or other amounts are due and payable shall have been canceled.
29
5.19 Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.
5.20 Construction. The parties agree that each of them and/or their respective counsel have reviewed and had an opportunity to revise the Transaction Documents and, therefore, the normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of the Transaction Documents or any amendments thereto. In addition, each and every reference to ADSs, share prices and Ordinary Shares in any Transaction Document shall be subject to adjustment for reverse and forward share splits, share dividends, share combinations and other similar transactions of the ADSs or Ordinary Shares that occur after the date of this Agreement.
5.21 Sales During Pre-Settlement Period. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time on or after the time of execution of this Agreement by the Company and an applicable Purchaser, through, and including the time immediately prior to the Closing (the “Pre-Settlement Period”), such Purchaser sells to any Person all, or any portion, of any ADSs to be issued hereunder to such Purchaser at the Closing (collectively, the “Pre-Settlement Shares”), such Purchaser shall, automatically hereunder (without any additional required actions by such Purchaser or the Company), be deemed to be unconditionally bound to purchase, and the Company shall be deemed unconditionally bound to sell, such Pre-Settlement Shares to such Purchaser at the Closing; provided, that the Company shall not be required to deliver any Pre-Settlement Shares to such Purchaser prior to the Company's receipt of the purchase price of such Pre-Settlement Shares hereunder; and provided further that the Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the forgoing shall not constitute a representation or covenant by such Purchaser as to whether or not during the Pre-Settlement Period such Purchaser shall sell any ADSs to any Person and that any such decision to sell any ADSs by such Purchaser shall be made, in the sole discretion of such Purchaser, at the time such Purchaser elects to effect any such sale, if any.
5.22 WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. IN ANY ACTION, SUIT, OR PROCEEDING IN ANY JURISDICTION BROUGHT BY ANY PARTY AGAINST ANY OTHER PARTY, THE PARTIES EACH KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY, TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, HEREBY ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, IRREVOCABLY AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES FOREVER TRIAL BY JURY.
(Signature Pages Follow)
30
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.
| YIMUTIAN INC. | Address for Notice: | ||||
| By: | |||||
| Name: | E-Mail: | ||||
| Title: | |||||
| With a copy to (which shall not constitute notice): | |||||
[REMAINDER OF PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
SIGNATURE PAGE FOR PURCHASER FOLLOWS]
[PURCHASER SIGNATURE PAGES TO
SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Securities Purchase Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized signatories as of the date first indicated above.
Name of Purchaser: ________________________________________________________
Signature of Authorized Signatory of Purchaser: _________________________________
Name of Authorized Signatory: _______________________________________________
Title of Authorized Signatory: ________________________________________________
Email Address of Authorized Signatory:_________________________________________
Address for Notice to Purchaser:
Address for Delivery of Shares to Purchaser (if not same as address for notice):
Subscription Amount: $_________________
Shares: _________________
EIN Number: _______________________
If requesting delivery by Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian, provide the following:
DTC Participant: _________________________
DTC Number: ___________________________
Account Number: ________________________
☐ Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, by checking this box (i) the obligations of the above-signed to purchase the securities set forth in this Agreement to be purchased from the Company by the above-signed, and the obligations of the Company to sell such securities to the above-signed, shall be unconditional and all conditions to Closing shall be disregarded, (ii) the Closing shall occur on the first (1st) Trading Day following the date of this Agreement and (iii) any condition to Closing contemplated by this Agreement (but prior to being disregarded by clause (i) above) that required delivery by the Company or the above-signed of any agreement, instrument, certificate or the like or purchase price (as applicable) shall no longer be a condition and shall instead be an unconditional obligation of the Company or the above-signed (as applicable) to deliver such agreement, instrument, certificate or the like or purchase price (as applicable) to such other party on the Closing Date.
Exhibit 21.1
Principal Subsidiaries and VIEs of the Registrant
| Subsidiary | Place of Incorporation | |
| Yimutian Hong Kong Limited (Hong Kong) | Hong Kong | |
| Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd. | Mainland China |
| Consolidated Variable Interest Entities | Place of Incorporation | |
| Beijing Douniu Network Technology Co., Ltd. | Mainland China | |
| Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd. | Mainland China | |
| Guangdong Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd. | Mainland China |
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We hereby consent inclusion in this Registration Statement on Form F-1 of our report dated June 9, 2025, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Yimutian Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, and for each of the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.
| /s/ Assentsure PAC | ||
| Singapore | ||
| February 9, 2026 |
Exhibit 99.2
February 9, 2026
To:
YIMUTIAN INC.
Floor 6, Tower A, Building B-6, Zhongguancun Dongsheng Science and Technology Park, No. 66 West Xiaokou Road, Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Dear Sirs or Madams:
We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) and are qualified to issue opinions on the PRC Laws. For the purpose of this opinion (the “Opinion”), the “PRC Laws” shall mean all officially published and publicly available laws, statutes, regulations, orders, decrees, guidelines, notices, circulars, announcements, and subordinate legislations of the PRC currently in effect as of the date of this Opinion, and shall not include the Laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan.
We have acted as PRC counsel for YIMUTIAN INC., a corporation organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”), in connection with the Registration Statement of the Company on Form F-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto (the “Registration Statement”), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the offering (“Offering”) by the Company of certain American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), each of which represents a certain number of Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.00001 per share, of the Company.
In rendering this Opinion, we have examined the originals and/or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of documents provided to us by the Company and such other documents, corporate records, certificates issued by Governmental Authorities and officers of the Company and other instruments as we have deemed necessary or advisable for the purposes of rendering this Opinion (collectively, the “Documents”).
In our examination and for the purpose of rendering this Opinion, we have assumed, without further inquiry,
| (i) | the genuineness of all the signatures, seals and chops, the authenticity of the Documents submitted to us as originals and the conformity with authentic original documents submitted to us as copies and the authenticity of such originals; |
| (ii) | the truthfulness, accuracy, and completeness of the Documents, as well as the factual statements contained in the Documents, and the Documents and the factual statements contained therein are and will remain not misleading; |
1 / 5
| (iii) | that the Documents provided to us remain in full force and effect up to the date of this Opinion and that none of the Documents has been revoked, amended, varied or supplemented except as otherwise indicated in such Documents; |
| (iv) | that the information provided to us by the PRC Group Companies in response to our enquiries for the purpose of this Opinion is true, accurate, complete and not misleading, and that the PRC Group Companies have not withheld anything that, if disclosed to us, would reasonably cause us to alter this Opinion in whole or in part; |
| (v) | all Governmental Authorizations and other official statements or documentation are obtained by lawful means in due course; |
| (vi) | that each of the parties other than PRC Group Companies is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation (as the case may be); |
| (vii) | that all parties other than the PRC Group Companies have the requisite power and authority to enter into, execute, deliver and perform all the Documents to which they are parties and have duly executed, delivered, performed, and will duly perform their obligations under all the Documents to which they are parties; and |
| (viii) | all documents submitted to us are legal, valid, binding and enforceable under all such laws as govern or relate to them other than the PRC Laws. |
For the purpose of rendering this Opinion, where important facts were not independently established to us, we have relied upon certificates issued by Governmental Authorities and representatives of the shareholders of the Company and the PRC Group Companies with proper authority and upon representations made in or pursuant to the Documents.
The following terms as used in this Opinion are defined as follows:
“Governmental Authorities” means any national, provincial or local court, governmental agency or body, stock exchange authorities or any other regulator in the PRC, and “Governmental Authority” means any of them;
“Governmental Authorizations” means licenses, consents, authorizations, permissions, declarations, approvals, orders, registrations, clearances, annual inspections, waivers, qualifications, certificates and permits from, and the reports to and filings with, Governmental Authorities pursuant to any applicable PRC Laws;
“PRC Group Companies” means the WFOE, the VIEs and the VIE Subsidiary collectively, and individually a “PRC Group Company”;
“VIE Agreements” means the contractual arrangements described under the caption “Contractual Arrangements and the VIEs” in the section “Corporate History and Structure” in the Registration Statement;
“VIEs” means Beijing Douniu Internet Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Douniu”) and Beijing Yimutian Xinnong Network Co., Ltd. (“Yimutian Xinnong”);
2 / 5
“VIE Subsidiary” means Guangdong Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd.;
“WFOE” means Beijing Yimutian Network Technology Co., Ltd.; and
Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the same meanings as specified in the Registration Statement.
Based on the foregoing and subject to the disclosures contained in the Registration Statement and the qualifications set out below, we are of the opinion as of the issuance date of this Opinion that:
| 1. | The ownership structure of PRC Group Companies, both currently and immediately after giving effect to the Offering, does not and will not result in any violation of applicable mandatory PRC laws or regulations currently in effect in all material respects. Each of the WFOE and the VIEs, as the case may be, has the legal right and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the VIE Agreements to which it is a party. Each of the WFOE and the VIEs, as the case may be, has taken all necessary actions (corporate or otherwise) to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of, and has authorized, executed and delivered, each of the VIE Agreements to which it is a party. Each of the VIE Agreements is, valid and legally binding on each party to such agreements under the PRC Laws, and enforceable in accordance with its terms and applicable PRC Laws both currently and immediately after giving effect to the Offering, does not and will not violate applicable madatory PRC Laws in all material respects, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement. The equity pledge under the VIE Agreements has been registered with the relevant Governmental Authority. No further Governmental Authorizations are required under the PRC Laws in connection with the VIE Agreements or the performance of the terms thereof except as explicitly contemplated in the VIE Agreements. |
| 2. | The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under PRC Civil Procedures Law. Mainland China’s courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between mainland China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. Mainland China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the mainland China will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of laws of mainland China or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a court in mainland China would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or in the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on laws of mainland China against a company for disputes relating to contracts or other property interests in mainland China, if they can establish sufficient nexus to mainland China for a court in mainland China to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. |
3 / 5
| 3. | The statements set forth under the caption “Taxation – Mainland China” in the Registration Statement insofar as they constitute statements of PRC tax law, are accurate in all material respects. |
This Opinion is subject to the following qualifications:
| (a) | This Opinion is rendered only with respect to the PRC Laws and we have made no investigations in any other jurisdiction and no opinion is expressed or implied as to the laws of any other jurisdiction. PRC Laws as used in this Opinion refers to PRC Laws publicly available and currently in force as of the date of this Opinion and there is no assurance that any of such PRC Laws will not be changed, amended, replaced or revoked in the immediate future or in the longer term with or without retroactive effect. |
| (b) | This Opinion is given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this Opinion. |
| (c) | This Opinion is, insofar as it relates to the validity, effectiveness and enforceability , subject to (i) any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally; (ii) possible judicial or administrative actions or any laws affecting creditors’ rights generally; (iii) certain equitable, legal or statutory principles affecting the validity and enforceability of contractual rights generally under concepts of public interest, state interest, national security, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, and applicable statutes of limitation; (iv) any circumstance in connection with formulation, execution or implementation of any legal documents that would be deemed materially mistaken, clearly unconscionable, unlawful, fraudulent or coercionary at the conclusions thereof; and (v) judicial discretion with respect to the availability of indemnifications, remedies or defenses, the calculation of damages, the entitlement to attorney’s fees and other costs, the waiver of immunity from jurisdiction of any court or from legal process. |
| (d) | This Opinion is subject to the discretion of any competent PRC legislative, administrative, judicial bodies or Governmental Authorities in exercising their authority in the PRC in connection with the interpretation, implementation and application of relevant PRC Laws. |
This Opinion is intended to be used in the context which is specifically referred to herein, and each paragraph should be considered at as a whole and no part should be extracted and referred to independently.
We hereby consent to the use of this Opinion in, and the filing hereof as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to the reference of our name under the sections of Registration Statement entitled [“Prospectus Summary”, “Risk Factors”, “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities”, “Corporate History and Structure”, “Taxation”, “Legal Matters” and the cover page] included in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not hereby admit that we are within the category of the person whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act, or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Below is intentionally left blank]
4 / 5
[Signature Page of PRC Legal Opinions Issued by Global Law Office]
| Yours Sincerely, | ||
| /s/ Global Law Office | ||
| Global Law Office |
5 / 5