RISK FACTORS

         An investment in our ADSs involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, before making an investment in our ADSs. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any such case, the market price of our ADSs could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our business is susceptible to fluctuations in China's real estate industry, which may materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

        We conduct our real estate services business primarily in China. Our business depends substantially on conditions in China's real estate industry and more particularly on the volume of new property transactions in China. Demand for private residential real estate in China has grown rapidly in recent years but such growth is often coupled with volatility and fluctuations in real estate transaction volume and prices. Fluctuations of supply and demand in China's real estate industry are caused by economic, social, political and other factors. For example, the announcement and implementation of restrictive measures in early 2011, combined with further credit tightening, resulted in a severe downturn in the real estate industry with a fall in overall transaction volume in many major cities in 2011 and 2012. In its continuing efforts to control real estate prices, the PRC government released further restrictive policies in 2012 and early 2013. These measures have affected and continue to affect the growth of China's real estate market. See "—Our business may be materially and adversely affected by government measures aimed at China's real estate industry." Furthermore, there may be situations in which China's real estate industry is so active that real estate developers see a reduced need for marketing initiatives and reduce their spending on such initiatives, which could potentially adversely affect our result of operations. To the extent fluctuations in China's real estate industry adversely affect spending on real estate marketing, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our business may be materially and adversely affected by government measures aimed at China's real estate industry.

        The real estate industry in China is subject to government regulations, including measures that are intended to control real estate prices.

        Since January 2011, PRC government agencies have issued a number of rules to cool down the real estate market, which include:

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minimum down payments for the first self-use housing unit purchased by a family with a gross construction area of more than 90 square meters must be no less than 30% of the purchase price;



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minimum down payments for the second housing unit purchased by a family was increased from 40% to 50%, and then further increased to 60%, and the loan interest rate must be no less than 110% of benchmark lending interest rate;



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all municipalities directly under the central government, all provincial capitals and other cities where the local housing prices are deemed to be too high or to have risen too fast, are required to temporarily suspend the sale of housing units to families with registered local permanent residences that already own two or more housing units, families without registered local permanent residences that already own one or more housing units, and families without registered local permanent residences that cannot provide evidence of their local payment of taxes or social insurance premiums for a required period;

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business tax is imposed and calculated on the full sales revenues for the sale of all housing units held for less than five years, and on the difference between the sales revenues and the amount paid for the housing unit for the sale of non-ordinary housing units which were purchased five or more years ago;



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real estate property tax pilot projects were launched in Shanghai and Chongqing. Local regulations require a real property tax to be imposed on certain local housing units purchased on or after January 28, 2011, at a current tax rate of 0.6% in Shanghai and at a tax rate ranging from 0.5% to 1.2% in Chongqing; and



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governments of most major cities are required to set up and make public their target for controlling the price of local, newly built, residential housing units for the current year within the first season. Accordingly, many cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Shenzhen, have started such exercise to announce their respective price control targets for each year since 2011.

        In late February and March 2013, the PRC government issued the "New Five Policies" for administration of the housing market and detailed implementation rules, which revealed the PRC government's strong determination to curb the increase of housing prices by requiring more stringent implementation of housing price control measures. For example, in cities where housing unit sales have already been subject to restrictions, if the local housing supply is not sufficient so that the housing prices are rising too fast, local governments are required to take more stringent measures to restrict housing units from being sold to those families who own one or more housing units. In cities where the housing prices are rising too fast, the minimum down payment for the second housing unit purchased by a family may be further increased from 60% and the loan interest rate may be raised to be more than 110% of benchmark lending interest rate, as the local housing price control measures require. Following the request of the central government, Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities in China have announced detailed regulations for the New Five Policies in late March 2013, to further cool down local real estate markets. Such measures and policies by the government have caused a reduction in transactions in the real estate market. While these measures and policies remain in effect, they may continue to depress the real estate market, dissuade would-be purchasers from making purchases, reduce transaction volume, cause a decline in average selling prices, and prevent developers from raising the capital they need and increase developers' costs to start new projects.

        In addition, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not adopt new measures in the future that may result in lower growth rates in the real estate industry. Frequent changes in government policies may also create uncertainty that could discourage investment in real estate. Our business may be materially and adversely affected as a result of decreased transaction volumes or real estate prices that may result from government policies.

We may fail to compete effectively, which could significantly reduce our market share and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        We face competition in each of our primary business activities. Our primary competitor at the national level is soufun.com . Other competitors at the national level include Sohu.com Inc.'s subsidiary, focus.cn . In addition, we have faced and may continue to face competition from regionally focused websites providing regional real estate listings together with localized services. We have various regional competitors, such as house365.com in the Nanjing market, and we compete with various providers in the market for paid online property listings, including anjuke.com . Our competitors may have more established brand names, larger visitor numbers and more extensive distribution channels than we do, either overall, or in specific regions in which we operate.

        The business of providing online real estate services in China is becoming increasingly competitive. The barriers to entry for establishing internet-based businesses are low, thereby allowing new entrants

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to emerge rapidly. As the online real estate services industry in China is relatively new and constantly evolving, our current or future competitors may be able to better position themselves to compete as the industry matures.

        We also face competition from companies in other media that offer e-commerce, advertising, listing and similar services. Any of these competitors may offer products and services that provide significant advantages over those offered by us in terms of performance, price, scope, creativity or other advantages. These products and services may achieve greater market acceptance than our service offerings, and thus weaken our brand. Increased competition in the online real estate services industry in China could make it difficult for us to retain existing customers and attract new customers, and could lead to a reduction in our revenues.

        Any of our current or future competitors may also receive investments from or enter into other commercial or strategic relationships with larger, well-established and well-financed companies and obtain significantly greater financial, marketing and content licensing and development resources than us. Furthermore, some of our competitors receive support from local governments, which may place us at a disadvantage when competing with them in their local markets. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against our current or future competitors. Any failure to compete effectively in the real estate internet services market in China would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to continue to develop and expand our content, service offerings and features, and to develop or incorporate the technologies that support them, could jeopardize our competitive position.

        As a company providing online services, we participate in an industry characterized by rapidly changing technology and new products and services. We rely in part on attracting customers to our platform by providing attractive and helpful content and tools on our websites to assist customers seeking to purchase residential properties and home furnishings. In addition, our ability to continue to generate and maintain online advertising service revenues depends on our ability to innovate. To remain competitive, we must continue to develop and expand our content and service offerings. We must also continue to enhance and improve the user interface, functionality and features of our websites. These efforts may require us to develop internally, or to license, increasingly complex technologies. In addition, many of our competitors are continually introducing new internet-related products, services and technologies, which will require us to update or modify our own technology to keep pace. New internet-related products, services and technologies developed by competitors could render our products and services obsolete if we are unable to update or modify our own technology. Developing and integrating new products, services and technologies into our existing businesses could be expensive and time-consuming. Furthermore, such new features, functions and services may not achieve market acceptance or serve to enhance our brand loyalty. We may not succeed in incorporating new internet technologies, or, in order to do so, we may incur substantial expenses. If we fail to develop and introduce or acquire new features, functions, services or technologies effectively and on a timely basis, we may not continue to attract new users and may be unable to retain our existing users. If we are not successful in incorporating new internet technologies, our business, results of operations and growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to attract and retain qualified personnel at a reasonable cost could jeopardize our competitive position.

        As our industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent, we may need to offer higher compensation and other benefits in order to attract and retain quality sales, technical and other operational personnel in the future. We compete with other companies engaged in online real estate services and internet-related businesses and with print media for qualified personnel. We have, from time to time in the past, experienced, and we expect in the future to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. There may be

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a limited supply of qualified individuals in some of the cities in China where we have operations and other cities into which we intend to expand. We must hire and train qualified managerial and other employees on a timely basis to keep pace with our rapid growth while maintaining consistent quality of services across our operations in various geographic locations. We must also provide continued training to our managerial and other employees so that they are equipped with up-to-date knowledge of various aspects of our operations and can meet our demand for high-quality services. If we fail to do so, the quality of our services may decline in one or more of the markets where we operate, which in turn, may cause a negative perception of our brand and adversely affect our business. We cannot assure you we will be able to attract or retain the quality personnel that we need to achieve our business objectives.

        In addition, we place substantial reliance on the real estate industry experience and knowledge of our senior management team as well as their relationships with other industry participants. For example, Mr. Xin Zhou, our chairman, and Mr. Yinyu He, our chief executive officer, are both particularly important to our future success. We do not carry key person insurance on any member of our senior management team. The loss of one or more members of our senior management team could hinder our ability to effectively manage our business and implement our growth strategies. Finding suitable replacements for our current senior management could be difficult as competition for such talent is intense.

        If we fail to successfully attract new personnel, retain and motivate our current personnel, or retain our senior management, we may lose competitiveness and our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business faces risks associated with the application of the e-commerce business model to the real estate industry and our new products and services may not perform as expected.

        Our e-commerce business was established in 2011 and became an integral part of our online real estate service operations following its rapid growth in 2012 and 2013. The business of providing these e-commerce services is still relatively new and evolving, and its growth depends on our ability to manage it effectively. Although we generally have been able to maintain contractual arrangements with third-party property developers who allow us to sell discount coupons to prospective real estate purchasers on acceptable terms, there can be no assurance that we will continue to be able to do so in the future. Customer complaints or negative publicity about our services could diminish consumer confidence in and use of our services.

        We may also explore new real estate e-commerce products and these new products may involve various risks. For example, in November 2013, CITIC introduced Leju Loan through our online platform, which is an innovative financial product that aims to provide added liquidity and improve the overall purchasing power of home purchasers. This product may subject us to risks associated with China's financial services sector, in addition to typical risks related to new product launches. Pursuant to the Notice on Issues concerning the Improvement of Differential Housing Credit Policies jointly promulgated by the People's Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission in September 2010, all commercial banks in China have compliance obligations under the regulation to strengthen the management of consumption loans, and prohibit such loans from being used for purchasing houses. Although the Leju Loan product was introduced through our online platform to facilitate the loan application process, since the loans for this product are funded and provided by CITIC, CITIC has the obligation to comply with the relevant regulations of China's financial services sector relating to such loans. We believe we are not subject to such regulations in connection with our role for the Leju Loan product. However, if the relevant PRC regulatory authorities find that CITIC's provision of loans for the Leju Loan product does not comply with the relevant regulations, they may require CITIC to discontinue or restrict the loans provided by it, which may materially and adversely impact our ability to offer the Leju Loan product. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that our Leju Loan product

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will perform as expected or be well received by customers, or that we will be able to maintain our strategic venture with CITIC. We may face similar challenges for any other new initiatives we pursue in the future. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and revenue growth prospects.

We derive a significant amount of revenue from our operation of SINA websites and there can be no assurance that our relationship with SINA will continue on satisfactory terms.

        Through an agreement in 2009 entered into between SINA and E-House, our parent company, we own SINA's real estate operations. SINA is a substantial shareholder in E-House, our parent company. To a large extent, the operations and revenues of our business rely on SINA's cooperation with us. The domain names of some major websites of our business are owned by SINA and licensed to us through agreements which we initially entered into with SINA in 2009 with terms through 2019 and which we recently amended and restated to extend through 2024. A significant number of users of these websites are linked through other SINA websites. Pursuant to an advertising inventory agency agreement with SINA, we are the exclusive agent of SINA for selling advertising to the real estate advertisers through 2024. To a certain extent, we rely on SINA's continued cooperation on an ongoing basis to enjoy our rights pursuant to our agreements with SINA. SINA could at any time reduce its support for our business. In addition, SINA's dual role as our substantial indirect shareholder and contractual counterparty could result in conflicts of interest. If for any reason SINA does not fulfill its obligations in accordance with the advertising inventory agency agreement or any of the other agreements or otherwise reduces its support for our online real estate operations, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to maintain our relationship with Baidu, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

        We are the exclusive real property advertising partner of Baidu, China's leading search engine platform. In August 2010, we launched Baidu's real estate website, house.baidu.com , and home furnishing website, jiaju.baidu.com , to offer search-based advertising for China's real estate industry. Pursuant to our strategic cooperation agreement with Baidu, we have the exclusive right, through March 2015, to build and operate all of Baidu's websites related to real estate and home furnishing, and to retain all revenues generated from these websites in exchange for a fixed fee that we pay to Baidu. In August 2011, we expanded our strategic partnership with Baidu, pursuant to which we are now Baidu's premier strategic online real estate partner and we obtained the exclusive right, through March 2015, to sell Baidu's real estate Brand-Link product, a form of keyword advertising. In addition, we and Baidu have also continued our cooperation in several other Baidu products to further expand the online search-based advertising market for China's real estate industry. If we are unable to renew our agreements with Baidu when they expire on favorable terms, or at all, or if Baidu reduces or terminates its support for, or cooperation with respect to, our real estate online operations, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from several major urban centers in China, and we face market risk due to our concentration in these major urban areas.

        We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from several major urban centers in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin. In each of the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012 and 2013, a majority of our revenues was derived from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, and more than one third of our total revenues were derived from Beijing. We expect these four urban centers to continue to be important sources of revenues. If any of these major urban centers experiences an event that negatively impacts the local real estate industry or online advertising, such as a serious economic downturn or contraction, a natural disaster, or slower growth due to adverse

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governmental policies or otherwise, demand for our services could decline significantly and our business and growth prospects could be materially and adversely impacted.

A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or PRC economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

        The global financial markets experienced significant disruptions in 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies went into recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 was uneven and continues to face challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis since 2011 and the slowdown of China's economy in 2012 and 2013. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies that have been adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world's leading economies. There are also ongoing concerns over unrest in the Middle East and Africa, which could negatively impact China's economy in numerous ways. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in China's economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, continued turbulence in the international markets may adversely affect our ability to access capital markets to meet liquidity needs.

Failure to maintain or enhance our brands or image or failure of SINA or Baidu to maintain their respective brands or images could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

        We believe the "Leju" brand is associated with a leading real estate online platform in China and they are important for the continued success of our business. The success of the websites we operate on the platforms of SINA and Baidu is also dependent on the respective brands and images of SINA and Baidu. These brands are integral to our sales and marketing efforts. Our continued success in maintaining and enhancing our brands and image depends to a large extent on our ability to satisfy customer needs by further developing and maintaining quality of services across our operations, as well as our ability to respond to competitive pressures.

We may not be able to successfully execute our strategy of strengthening our geographic coverage.

        We plan to further enhance our presence in cities covered by our direct operations, especially provincial capitals and other strategically important urban areas, to capture real estate service demand in such markets. In addition, we intend to expand our business by operating directly in select cities where we currently outsource operations to local outsourcing partners. There have been instances in the past when, upon our decision to directly operate a website that we had previously outsourced to a third party, the third party failed to pay all or a portion of the fixed fees owed to us under the outsourcing arrangement. There can be no assurance that the costs of implementing our strategy, whether due to uncollected fees or otherwise, will not be substantial. Furthermore, when we attempt to enhance our presence in markets or enter new markets, we may face intense competition from companies with greater experience or a more established presence in the targeted geographical areas or from other companies with similar expansion targets. In addition, our business model and services may not be successful in untested markets and markets with a different legal and business environment. If we are unable to execute our strategy of strengthening our geographic coverage, our growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

If we cannot manage our growth effectively and efficiently, our results of operations or profitability could be adversely affected.

        We have experienced substantial growth in recent periods. Our revenues increased 95.8% to $335.4 million in 2013 from $171.3 million in 2012. We intend to continue to expand our operations. This expansion has placed, and will continue to place, substantial demands on our managerial, operational, technological and other resources. Our planned expansion will also place significant

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demands on us to maintain the quality of our services. In order to manage and support our growth, we must continue to improve our existing operational, administrative and technological systems and our financial and management controls, and recruit, train and retain additional qualified real estate service professionals as well as other administrative and sales and marketing personnel, particularly as we expand into new markets. We may not be able to effectively and efficiently manage the growth of our operations, recruit and retain qualified personnel and integrate new expansion into our operations. As a result, our quality of service may deteriorate and our results of operations or profitability could be adversely affected.

Our results of operations may fluctuate or otherwise be materially and adversely affected due to seasonal variations.

        Our operating income and earnings have historically been substantially lower during the first quarter than other quarters. The first quarter of each year generally contributes the smallest portion of our annual revenues due to reduced real estate transactions, advertising and marketing activities of our customers in the PRC real estate industry during and around the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which generally occurs in January or February of each year and due to the cold winter weather in northern China. In contrast, the third and fourth quarters of each year generally contribute a larger portion of our annual revenues due to increased real estate transactions, advertising and marketing activities during the months of September and October. For this reason, our results of operations may not be comparable from quarter to quarter.

Unexpected network interruptions or security breaches, including "hacking" or computer virus attacks, may cause delays or interruptions of service, resulting in reduced use and performance of our websites and damage our reputation and brands.

        Our business depends heavily on the performance and reliability of China's internet infrastructure, the continued accessibility of bandwidth and servers on our service providers' networks and the continuing performance, reliability and availability of our technology platform. Any failure to maintain the satisfactory performance, reliability, security and availability of our computer and hardware systems may cause significant harm to our reputation and our ability to attract and maintain customers and visitor traffic. Major risks related to our network infrastructure include:

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any breakdown or system failure resulting in a sustained shutdown of our servers, including failures which may be attributable to sustained power shutdowns, or efforts to gain unauthorized access to our systems causing loss or corruption of data or malfunctions of software or hardware;



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any disruption or failure in the national backbone network, which would prevent our customers and users from accessing our websites;



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any damage from fire, flood, earthquake and other natural disasters; and



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computer viruses, hackings and similar events.

        Computer viruses and hackings may cause delays or other service interruptions and could result in significant damage to our hardware, software systems and databases, disruptions to our business activities, such as to our e-mail and other communication systems, breaches of security and inadvertent disclosure of confidential or sensitive information, inadvertent transmissions of computer viruses and interruptions of access to our websites through the use of denial-of-service or similar attacks. In addition, the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could expose us to a material risk of loss or litigation and possible liability. We maintain most of our servers and backup servers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin, and all information on our websites is backed up weekly. Any hacking, security breach or other system disruption or failure that occurs in between our weekly backup procedures could disrupt our business or cause us to lose, and be unable to recover, data such as real estate listings, contact information and other important customer information.

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        Ensuring secured transmission of confidential information through public networks is essential to maintaining the confidence of our customers and users. Our existing security measures may not be adequate to protect such confidential information. In addition, computer and network systems are susceptible to breaches by computer hackers. Security breaches could expose us to litigation and potential liability for failing to secure confidential customer information, and could harm our reputation and reduce our ability to attract customers and users. Future security breaches, if any, may result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        We also do not maintain insurance policies covering losses relating to our systems and do not have business interruption insurance. Moreover, the low coverage limits of our property insurance policies may not be adequate to compensate us for all losses, particularly with respect to any loss of business and reputation that may occur. To improve our performance and to prevent disruption of our services, we may have to make substantial investments to deploy additional servers or create one or more copies of our websites to mirror our online resources, either of which could increase our expenses and reduce our net income.

Any failure to protect our trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights could have a negative impact on our business.

        We believe our trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights are critical to our success. Any unauthorized use of our trademarks and other intellectual property rights could harm our business. Historically, China's track record for protection of intellectual property rights has been poor, and infringement of intellectual property rights continues to pose a serious risk of doing business in China. Monitoring and preventing unauthorized use is difficult and the measures we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. For example, we currently have registered the software copyrights of all our mobile applications except "Fang Niu Jia," of which we expect to register the software copyright during 2014. While we do not envision any difficulty in registering the software copyright of "Fang Niu Jia," and software copyrights are still enforceable absent registration in China, registration by itself may not be adequate protection from potential misuse, infringement or other challenges from third parties claiming rights on our intellectual property.

        Furthermore, the application of laws governing intellectual property rights in China and abroad is uncertain and evolving, and could expose us to risks. If we are unable to adequately protect our brand, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, we may lose these rights and our business may suffer materially. We typically impose contractual obligations on employees and consultants and have taken other precautionary measures to maintain the confidentiality of our proprietary information and restricted the use of the proprietary information other than for our company's benefit. However, if our employees and consultants do not honor their contractual obligations or misappropriate our database and other proprietary information, our business would suffer as a result.

        As internet domain name rights are not rigorously regulated or enforced in China, other companies have incorporated in their domain names elements similar in writing or pronunciation to the "Leju" trademark or its Chinese equivalent. This may result in confusion between those companies and our company and may lead to the dilution of our brand value, which could adversely affect our business.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement or misappropriation claims by third parties, which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us, could materially disrupt our business.

        Some of our competitors may own copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and internet content, which they may use to assert claims against us. We provide training to our staff with respect to procedures designed to reduce the likelihood that we may use, develop or make available any content or applications without the proper licenses or necessary third party consents. However, these

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procedures may not be effective in completely preventing the unauthorized posting or use of copyrighted material or the infringement of other rights of third parties.

        The validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights in internet-related industries, particularly in China, is uncertain and still evolving. For example, as we face increasing competition and as litigation becomes a more common way to resolve disputes in China, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims. Pursuant to relevant laws and regulations, internet service providers may be held liable for damages if such providers have reason to know that the works uploaded or linked infringe the copyrights of others. In cases involving the unauthorized posting of copyrighted content by users on websites in China, there have been court proceedings but no settled court practice as to when and how hosting providers and administrators of a website can be held liable for the unauthorized posting by third parties of copyrighted material. Any such proceeding could result in significant costs to us and divert our management's time and attention from the operation of our business, as well as potentially adversely impact our reputation, even if we are ultimately absolved of all liability.

        In addition, we cannot assure you that we will not become subject to intellectual property laws in other jurisdictions, such as the United States, by virtue of our ADSs being listed on the NYSE, the ability of users to access, download and use our products and services in the United States and other jurisdictions, the ownership of our ADSs by investors in the United States and other jurisdictions, or the extraterritorial application of foreign law by foreign courts or otherwise, among other reasons. If a claim of infringement brought against us in the United States or other jurisdictions is successful, we may be required to pay substantial penalties or other damages and fines, remove relevant content or enter into license agreements which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even though the allegations or claims could be baseless, defense against any of these allegations or claims would be both costly and time-consuming and could significantly divert the efforts and resources of our management and other personnel.

Regulation of the internet industry in China, including censorship of information distributed over the internet, may materially and adversely affect our business.

        China has enacted laws, rules and regulations governing internet access and the distribution of news, information or other content, as well as products and services, through the internet. In the past, the PRC government has prohibited the distribution of information through the internet that it deems to be in violation of applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations. In particular, under regulations promulgated by the State Council, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (formerly the Ministry of Information Industry), or MIIT, the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (established in March 2013 as a result of institutional reform integrating the former State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the former General Administration of Press and Publication), or GAPPRFT, and the Ministry of Culture, internet content providers and internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying content over the internet that, among other things: (i) opposes the fundamental principles of the PRC constitution; (ii) compromises state security, divulges state secrets, subverts state power or damages national unity; (iii) disseminates rumors, disturbs social order or disrupts social stability; (iv) propagates obscenity, pornography, gambling, violence, murder or fear or incites the commission of crimes; or (v) insults or slanders a third party or infringes upon the lawful right of a third party.

        If any internet content we offer or will offer through our consolidated VIEs were deemed by the PRC government to violate any of such content restrictions, we would not be able to continue such offerings and could be subject to penalties, including confiscation of illegal revenues, fines, suspension of business and revocation of required licenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may also be subject to potential liability for any unlawful actions of our customers or affiliates or for content we distribute that is deemed

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inappropriate. It may be difficult to determine the type of content that may result in liability to us, and if we are found to be liable, we may be forced to cease operation of our websites in China.

If we fail to obtain or keep licenses, permits or approvals applicable to the various online real estate services provided by us, we may incur significant financial penalties and other government sanctions.

        The internet and online advertising industries in China are highly regulated by the PRC government. Various regulatory authorities of the PRC government, such as the State Council, MIIT, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, or SAIC, the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and the Ministry of Public Security, are empowered to issue and implement regulations governing various aspects of the internet and advertising industries. Moreover, new laws, rules and regulations may be adopted, or new interpretations of existing laws, rules and regulations may be released, to address issues that arise from time to time. As a result, substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of any current and future PRC laws, rules and regulations applicable to the internet and online advertising industries.

        Each of our consolidated VIEs, including Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu, as well as their respective subsidiaries, is required to obtain and maintain a value-added telecommunications service operating License, or ICP License, from MIIT or its local counterpart in order to provide internet information services and a business license from SAIC or its local branches which specifically includes operating advertising business in order to engage in advertising activities in China, to the extent applicable to their respective business. Each of our consolidated VIEs is up to date on all of the requirements of these licenses applicable to their respective current business. Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Yisheng Leju Internet Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of our consolidated VIE Beijing Jiajujiu, each holds a valid ICP license issued by the local provincial branch of MIIT, and the business scope of the business licenses of Beijing Leju and its subsidiaries which engage in the advertising business includes operating advertising business. These licenses are essential to the operation of our online real estate business. The ICP licenses are subject to annual review by the relevant government authorities. The annual review of ICP licenses and business licenses is for the government authorities to conduct an annual inspection of the status of compliance of the license-holding entity. At the time of and for the purpose of the annual review of these licenses, the relevant government authorities did not ask for disclosure of our full corporate structure and thus we did not provide such information. They have not so far expressed any opinion with respect to our corporate structure in connection with these annual reviews. Moreover, the regulations relating to ICP licenses also provide that an ICP license holder must first obtain approvals from, or make filings with, competent counterparts of MIIT in connection with subsequent updates to its shareholding structure or certain other matters relating to such ICP license holder. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully pass the annual review of our ICP licenses, or complete the updating and renewal of the filing records of our ICP licenses with local MIIT counterparts on a timely basis.

        In addition, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and/or Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective subsidiaries may be required to obtain additional licenses. For example, the release, broadcasting and transmission of graphics, video and audio programs or weblinks to such programs, other websites or data on the websites may be deemed as providing internet publication services as well as transmission of video and audio programs on the internet, which could require internet publication licenses and licenses for online transmission of audio-visual programs. During operation of our e-commerce business, we post information, including graphics, weblinks to videos, other websites or data on websites operated by us. Our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries do not have internet publication licenses and licenses for online transmission of audio-visual programs, and are not applying for, nor intend to apply for these licenses. For those video/audio programs and certain other forms of content that we believe are subject to the requirements of these licenses, such programs and content are hosted by SINA and Baidu, who possess all these licenses and permits, through our contractual arrangement with them. However, we cannot assure you that government would not require us to obtain these licenses separately for

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operation of our own websites and those websites licensed to us even if the underlying hosting of the relevant content may be provided by a qualified third party like SINA and Baidu. If we are required to apply for such licenses, we can provide no assurance that we will procure and maintain such additional licenses.

        Under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, the failure to obtain and/or maintain the licenses and permits required to conduct our business may subject our affected consolidated VIEs to various penalties, including confiscation of revenues, imposition of fines and/or restrictions on their business operations, or the discontinuation of their operations. Any such disruption in the business operations of our consolidated VIEs could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are exposed to potential liability for information on our websites and for products and services sold over the internet and we may incur significant costs and damage to our reputation as a result of defending against such potential liability and could be subject to penalties or other severe consequences from PRC regulatory authorities as a result of such information.

        We provide third-party content on our websites such as real estate listings, links to third-party websites, advertisements and content provided by customers and users of our community-oriented services. In addition, our website, jiaju.com , is a platform for third party home furnishing distributors to offer their products and services to consumers. We could be exposed to liability with respect to such third-party information or the goods and services sold through our website. Among other things, we may face assertions that, by directly or indirectly providing such third-party content or links to other websites, we should be liable for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, or other actions by parties providing such content or operating those websites. We may also face assertions that content on our websites, including statistics or other data we compile internally, or information contained in websites linked to our websites contains false information, errors or omissions, and users and our customers could seek damages for losses incurred as a result of their reliance upon or otherwise relating to incorrect information. We may also be subject to fines and other sanctions by the government for such incorrect information. Moreover, our relevant consolidated VIEs, as internet advertising service providers, are obligated under PRC laws and regulations to monitor the advertising content shown on our websites for compliance with applicable law. Violation of applicable law may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising fees, orders to cease dissemination of the offending advertisements and orders to publish advertisements correcting the misleading information. In case of serious violations, the PRC authorities may revoke the offending entities' advertising licenses and/or business licenses. In addition, our websites could be used as a platform for fraudulent transactions. The measures we take to guard against liability for third-party content or information may not be adequate to exonerate us from relevant civil and other liabilities. Any such claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming to defend and result in litigation and significant diversion of management's attention and resources. Even if these claims do not result in liability to us, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending against these claims and suffer damage to our reputation. Our general liability insurance may not cover all potential claims to which we are exposed to and may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed.

Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and our profitability.

        China's economy has experienced increases in labor costs in recent years. China's overall economy and the average wage in China 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 our customers by increasing prices for our products or services, our profitability and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

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        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 childbearing insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. Pursuant to the PRC Labor Contract Law, or the Labor Contract Law, that became effective in January 2008 and its implementing rules that became effective in September 2008 and its amendments that became effective in July 2013, 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 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. Besides, pursuant to the Labor Contract Law and its amendments, dispatched employees are intended to be a supplementary form of employment and the fundamental form should be direct employment by enterprises and organizations that require employees. Further, it is expressly stated in the Interim Provisions on Labor Dispatch that will become effective on March 1, 2014 that the number of seconded employees an employer uses may not exceed 10% of its total labor force and the employer has a two-year transition period to comply with such requirement. Some of our PRC subsidiaries, consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries use seconded employees for their principal business activities. If the relevant PRC companies are deemed to have violated the limitation on the use of seconded employees under the relevant labor laws and regulations, we may be subject to fines and incur other costs to make required changes to our current employment practices.

        As the interpretation and implementation of labor-related laws and regulations are still evolving, we cannot assure you that our employment practice does not and will not violate labor-related laws and regulations in China, which may subject us to labor disputes or government investigations. If we are deemed to have violated relevant labor laws and regulations, we could be required to provide additional compensation to our employees and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The successful operation of our business depends upon the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China.

        Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the internet infrastructure in China. Substantially all access to the internet is maintained through state-controlled telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of MIIT. In addition, the national networks in China are connected to the internet through international gateways controlled by the PRC government. These international gateways are generally the only websites through which a domestic user can connect to the internet. We cannot assure you that a more sophisticated internet infrastructure will be developed in China. We may not have access to alternative networks in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China's internet infrastructure. In addition, the internet infrastructure in China may not support the demands associated with continued growth in internet usage.

        We also rely on China Unicom and China Telecom to provide us with data communications capacity primarily through local telecommunications lines and internet data centers to host our servers. We do not have access to alternative services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with the fixed telecommunications networks of China Unicom or China Telecom, or if China Unicom or China Telecom otherwise fails to provide such services. Any unscheduled service interruption could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation and result in a decrease in our revenues. Furthermore, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by China Unicom and China Telecom. If the prices that we pay for telecommunications and internet services rise significantly, our gross margins could be significantly reduced. In addition, if internet access fees or other charges to internet users increase, our user traffic may decrease, which in turn may cause our revenues to decline.

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Any natural or other disasters, including outbreaks of health epidemics, and other extraordinary events could severely disrupt our business operations.

        Our operations are vulnerable to interruption and damage from natural and other types of disasters, including earthquakes, fire, floods, environmental accidents, power loss, communication failures and similar events. If any natural disaster or other extraordinary events were to occur in the area where we operate, our ability to operate our business could be seriously impaired. Our business could be materially and adversely affected by any outbreak of H7N9 bird flu, H1N1 swine influenza, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or another epidemic. Any prolonged occurrence of swine influenza, avian influenza, SARS or other adverse public health developments in China could severely disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations.

Potential strategic investments, acquisitions or new business initiatives may disrupt our ability to manage our business effectively.

        Strategic investments, acquisitions or new business initiatives and any subsequent integration of new companies or businesses will require significant attention from our management, in particular to ensure that such changes do not disrupt any existing collaborations, or affect our users' opinion and perception of our services and customer support. In addition, in the case of acquisitions or new business initiatives our management will need to ensure that the acquired or new business is effectively integrated into our existing operations. The diversion of our management's attention and any difficulties encountered in integration could have a material adverse effect on our ability to manage our business. In addition, strategic investments, acquisitions or new business initiatives could expose us to potential risks, including:

•

risks associated with the assimilation of new operations, services, technologies and personnel;



•

unforeseen or hidden liabilities;



•

the diversion of resources from our existing businesses and technologies;



•

the inability to generate sufficient revenues to offset the costs and expenses of the transaction; and



•

potential loss of, or harm to, relationships with employees, customers and users as a result of the integration of new businesses or investment.

Certain of our leased office premises contain defects in the leasehold interests and if we are forced to relocate operations affected by such defects, our operations may be adversely affected.

        As of December 31, 2013, we had leased office premises in 53 cities in China, in addition to a branch office in Hong Kong and our principal executive offices in Beijing, China. A number of these leased properties contain defects in the leasehold interests. Such defects include the lack of proper title or right to lease with respect to 7 leased premises and the landlords' failure to duly register the leases with the relevant PRC government authority with respect to 68 leased premises.

        Under PRC regulations, in situations where a tenant lacks evidence of the landlord's title or right to lease, the relevant lease agreement may not be valid or enforceable and may also be subject to challenge by third parties. In addition, under PRC laws and regulations, while the failure to register the lease agreement does not affect its effectiveness between the tenant and the landlord, such lease agreement may be subject to challenge by and unenforceable against a third party who leases the same property from the landlord and has duly registered the lease with the competent PRC government authority. This risk may be mitigated if we continue to occupy the leased premises under our lease. Furthermore, the landlord and the tenant may be subject to administrative fines for such failure to register the lease.

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        We have taken steps to cause our landlords to procure valid evidence as to the title or right to lease, as well as to complete the lease registration procedures. However, we cannot assure you that such defects will be cured in a timely manner or at all. Our operations may be interrupted and additional relocation costs may be incurred if we are required to relocate operations affected by such defects.

We have limited business insurance coverage.

        The insurance industry in China is still at an early stage of development and PRC insurance companies offer only limited business insurance products. As a result, we do not have any business disruption insurance or litigation insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business disruption, litigation or natural disaster may cause us to incur substantial costs and result in the diversion of our resources, as well as significantly disrupt our operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Carve-out from E-House and Our Relationships with E-House

We have no experience operating as a stand-alone public company.

        We have no experience conducting our operations as a stand-alone public company. Prior to this offering, we were a wholly owned subsidiary of E-House and E-House has provided us with accounting, administrative, marketing, internal control, customer service and legal support, and has also provided us with the services of a number of its executives and employees. As E-House will continue to be our controlling shareholder following this offering, we expect E-House to continue to provide us with certain support services, but to the extent E-House does not continue to provide us with these support services, we will need to provide such services on our own. For example, with respect to our sales of discount coupons for property developments in Beijing, for regulatory reasons the fees for such discount coupons are collected by E-House on our behalf and either remitted to us or used to offset amounts owed by us to E-House. In the past, E-House has not charged any fee or commission for its provision of this service to us. There can be no assurance that E-House will not charge a fee or commission for this services, or any similar service that E-House may provide to us in the future. We may encounter operational, administrative and strategic difficulties as we adjust to operating as a stand-alone public company, which may cause us to react slower than our competitors to industry changes, may divert our management's attention from running our business or may otherwise harm our operations.

        In addition, our management team will need to develop the expertise necessary to comply with the numerous regulatory and other requirements applicable to public companies, including requirements relating to corporate governance, listing standards and investor relations issues. While we were a wholly owned subsidiary of E-House, we were indirectly subject to requirements to maintain an effective internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404. However, as a stand-alone public company, our management will have to evaluate our internal control system independently with new thresholds of materiality, and to implement necessary changes to our internal control system. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so in a timely and effective manner.

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Our financial information included in this prospectus may not be representative of our financial condition and results of operations if we had been operating as a stand-alone public company.

        The consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus were prepared on a carve-out basis. We made numerous estimates, assumptions and allocations in our financial information because E-House did not account for us, and we did not operate, as a separate, stand-alone company for any period prior to the completion of this offering.

        Prior to the establishment of our holding company in November 2013, the operations of the online real estate business of E-House were carried out by various companies owned or controlled by E-House. For periods both before and after November 2013, our consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows that were directly attributable to our real estate online services whether held or incurred by E-House or by us. In cases involving assets and liabilities not specifically identifiable to any particular operation of E-House, only those assets and liabilities transferred to us are included in our consolidated balance sheets. Our financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus include our direct expenses as well as allocations for various selling, general and administrative expenses of E-House that are not directly related to online services. These expenses consist primarily of share-based compensation expenses and shared marketing and management expenses including accounting, administrative, marketing, internal control, customer service and legal support. These allocations were made using a proportional cost allocation method and were based on revenues and headcount as well as estimates of actual time spent on the provision of services attributable to our Company. Although our management believes that the assumptions underlying our financial statements and the above allocations are reasonable, our financial statements may not necessarily reflect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows as if we had operated as a stand-alone public company during the periods presented. See "Our Relationship with E-House" for our arrangements with E-House and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for our historical cost allocation. In addition, upon becoming a stand-alone public company, we will establish our own financial and other support systems or contract with third parties to replace E-House's systems, the cost of which could be significantly different from cost allocation with E-House for the same services. Therefore, you should not view our historical results as indicators of our future performance.

        Although we have entered into a series of agreements with E-House relating to our ongoing business partnership and service arrangements with E-House, we cannot assure you we will continue to receive the same level of support from E-House after we become a stand-alone public company. Our current clients and partners may react negatively to our carve-out from E-House. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business.

Our agreements with E-House may be less favorable to us than similar agreements negotiated between unaffiliated third parties. In particular, our non-competition agreement with E-House limits the scope of business that we are allowed to conduct.

        We have entered into a series of agreements with E-House prior to this offering and the terms of such agreements may be less favorable to us than would be the case if they were negotiated with unaffiliated third parties. In particular, under the non-competition agreement we have entered into with E-House, we have agreed during a specified non-competition period not to compete with E-House in any business conducted by E-House as described in its periodic filings with the SEC, other than the business we are engaged in as described in this prospectus. Such contractual limitations restrict our ability to diversify our revenue sources. In addition, pursuant to our master transaction agreement with E-House, we have agreed to indemnify E-House for, among other things, liabilities arising from litigation and other contingencies related to our business and assumed these liabilities as part of our carve-out from E-House. The allocation of assets and liabilities between E-House and us may not

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reflect the allocation that would have been reached by two unaffiliated parties. Moreover, so long as E-House continues to control us, we may not be able to bring a legal claim against E-House in the event of contractual breach, notwithstanding our contractual rights under the agreements described above and other inter-company agreements entered into from time to time.

Any negative development with respect to E-House may materially and adversely affect our business and brand.

        We are a subsidiary of E-House and will continue to be an affiliate of E-House after the offering. We have benefited significantly from E-House in marketing our services. For example, we have benefited from E-House by providing services to E-House's clients. If E-House loses its market position or suffers any negative publicity, it could have an adverse impact on our business, our marketing efforts, our relationships with strategic partners and customers, our reputation and brand.

E-House will control the outcome of shareholder actions of our company.

        Upon completion of this offering, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, E-House will hold             % of our ordinary shares and voting power. E-House has advised us that it does not anticipate disposing of its voting control in us in the near future. E-House's voting power gives it the power to control actions that require shareholder approval under Cayman Islands law, our memorandum and articles of association and NYSE requirements, including the election and removal of a majority of our board of directors, significant mergers and acquisitions and other business combinations, changes to our memorandum and articles of association, the number of shares available for issuance under share incentive plans, and the issuance of significant amounts of our ordinary shares in private placements.

        E-House's voting control may cause transactions to occur that might not be beneficial to you as a holder of our ADSs, and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to you. For example, E-House's voting control may prevent a transaction involving a change of control of us, including transactions in which you as a holder of our ADSs might otherwise receive a premium for your securities over the then-current market price. In addition, E-House is not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in us to a third party and may do so without your approval and without providing for a purchase of your ADSs. If E-House is acquired or otherwise undergoes a change of control, any acquirer or successor will be entitled to exercise the voting control and contractual rights of E-House, and may do so in a manner that could vary significantly from that of E-House.

We will be a "controlled company" within the meaning of the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE and, as a result, will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

        Upon the closing of this offering, E-House will continue to hold        % of our then outstanding ordinary shares, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option or        % of our then outstanding ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full. As a result, we will be a "controlled company" within the meaning of applicable corporate governance standards. Under the Corporate Governance Rules of the NYSE, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a "controlled company" and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including:

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the requirement that we have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors;



•

the requirement that we have a nominating committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee's purpose and responsibilities;

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the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee's purpose and responsibilities; and



•

the requirement for an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and compensation committees.

        Following this offering, we intend to utilize the foregoing exemptions from the applicable corporate governance requirements. As a result, we will not have a majority of independent directors nor a separate nominating committee. In addition, our compensation committee will not consist entirely of independent directors and we will not be required to have an annual performance evaluation of the compensation committee. See "Management." Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the applicable corporate governance requirements.

We may have conflicts of interest with E-House and, because of E-House's controlling ownership interest in our company, may not be able to resolve such conflicts on favorable terms for us.

        Conflicts of interest may arise between E-House and us in a number of areas relating to our past and ongoing relationships. Potential conflicts of interest include the following:

•

Indemnification arrangements with E-House.   We have agreed to indemnify E-House with respect to lawsuits and other matters relating to our real estate online services business, including operations of that business when it was a business unit of E-House. These indemnification arrangements could result in our having interests that are adverse to those of E-House, for example, different interests with respect to settlement arrangements in a litigation matter. In addition, under these arrangements, we have agreed to reimburse E-House for liabilities incurred (including legal defense costs) in connection with any litigation, while E-House will be the party prosecuting or defending the litigation.



•

Non-competition arrangements with E-House.   We and E-House have each agreed not to compete in each other's core business. E-House has agreed not to compete with us in the business of providing real estate e-commerce, online advertising and listing services anywhere in the world. We have agreed not to compete with E-House in any other business conducted by E-House as described in its periodic filings with the SEC, other than the business we are engaged in as described in this prospectus.



•

Employee recruiting and retention.   Because both we and E-House are engaged in real estate services in China, we may compete with E-house in the hiring of new employees, in particular with respect to real estate information and research. We have a non-solicitation arrangement with E-House that would restrict either E-House or us from hiring any of the other's employees.



•

Our board members or executive officers may have conflicts of interest.   Mr. Xin Zhou, our chairman, is currently also serving as E-House's co-chairman and chief executive officer. Some of our board members and executive officers are also board members and executive officers of E-House and/or also own shares or options in E-House. E-House may continue to grant incentive share compensation to our board members and executive officers from time to time. These relationships could create, or appear to create, conflicts of interest when these persons are faced with decisions with potentially different implications for E-House and us.



•

Sale of shares in our company.   E-House may decide to sell all or a portion of our shares that it holds to a third party, including to one of our competitors, thereby giving that third party substantial influence over our business and our affairs. Such a sale could be contrary to the interests of certain of our shareholders, including our employees or our public shareholders.

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•

Allocation of business opportunities.   Business opportunities may arise that both we and E-House find attractive, and which would complement our respective businesses. E-House may decide to take the opportunities itself, which would prevent us from taking advantage of the opportunity.



•

Developing business relationships with E-House's competitors.   So long as E-House remains our controlling shareholder, we may be limited in our ability to do business with its competitors, such as other real estate services companies in China or other companies with which E-House does not want to conduct business. This may limit our ability to market our services for the best interest of our company and our other shareholders.



•

Application of proceeds.   Based on E-House's controlling interest in our Company, E-House will have the ability to direct the application of the net proceeds of this offering. There can be no assurance that such proceeds will be applied as set forth under "Use of Proceeds" or that such application will not conflict with your interests as a shareholder.

        Although our company is becoming a stand-alone public company, we expect to operate, for as long as E-House is our controlling shareholder, as an affiliate of E-House. E-House may from time to time make strategic decisions that it believes are in the best interests of its business and its shareholders. These decisions may be different from the decisions that we would have made on our own. E-House's decisions with respect to us or our business may be resolved in ways that favor E-House and therefore E-House's own shareholders, which may not coincide with the interests of our other shareholders. We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts, and even if we do so, the resolution may be less favorable to us than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated shareholder. Even if both parties seek to transact business on terms intended to approximate those that could have been achieved among unaffiliated parties, this may not succeed in practice.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our advertising services business and real estate online business in China do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in the advertising industry or the internet information service industry, we could be subject to severe penalties.

        Leju Holdings Limited is a Cayman Islands company and a foreign person under PRC law. Due to PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in the internet and advertising industries, we conduct part of our business through contractual arrangements with our affiliated PRC entities. Our e-commerce business with respect to new residential properties is operated through our contractual arrangements with Shanghai Yi Xin and its shareholders. Our e-commerce business with respect to home furnishing is operated through our contractual arrangements with Beijing Jiajujiu and its shareholders. Our online advertising business for new residential properties websites and our secondary listings business are operated through our contractual arrangements with Beijing Leju and its shareholders. Beijing Leju and its subsidiaries, Shanghai Yi Xin, and Beijing Jiajujiu and its subsidiaries and branches hold the licenses and approvals that are essential for our business operations.

        We have entered into, through our PRC subsidiaries, Shanghai SINA Leju, Shanghai Yi Yue and Beijing Maiteng, a series of contractual arrangements with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective shareholders. These contractual arrangements enable us to (i) direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu and their subsidiaries and branches; (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits from the three consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries in consideration for the services provided by our PRC subsidiaries; and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in the consolidated VIEs, when and to the extent permitted by PRC law, or request any existing shareholder of the consolidated VIEs to transfer all or part of the equity interest in the consolidated VIEs to another PRC person or entity designated by us at any time in our discretion.

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These agreements make us their "primary beneficiary" for accounting purposes under U.S. GAAP. For descriptions of these contractual arrangements, see "Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu (the consolidated VIEs)."

        If the PRC government finds that these contractual arrangements do not comply with its restrictions on foreign investment in the internet business or advertising industry, or if the PRC government otherwise finds that we, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu, or any of their subsidiaries and branches is in violation of PRC laws or regulations or lack the necessary permits or licenses to operate our business, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which regulates advertising companies, and the MIIT, which regulates internet information service companies, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

•

revoking our business and operating licenses;



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discontinuing or restricting our operations;



•

imposing fines or confiscating any of our income that they deem to have been obtained through illegal operations;



•

imposing conditions or requirements with which we or our PRC subsidiaries and affiliates may not be able to comply;



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requiring us or our PRC subsidiaries and affiliates to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations;



•

restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds from this offering to finance the business and operations of the consolidated VIEs; or



•

taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business.

        The imposition of any of these penalties could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these penalties results in our inability to direct the activities of any of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from any of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu, we may not be able to consolidate the entity in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective shareholders for a portion of our operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

        We rely on contractual arrangements with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective shareholders to operate our online real estate business and our real estate advertising business. For descriptions of these contractual arrangements, see "Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu (the consolidated VIEs)." These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu. These contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. If any of the other parties fail to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and resources to enforce such arrangements, and we would have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective. Furthermore, the legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit

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our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements, which may make it difficult to exert effective control over Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

        In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective subsidiaries and branches contributed in aggregate 84.9%, 95.3% and 94.3% of our total net revenues, respectively. In the event we are unable to enforce the contractual arrangements, we may not be able to have the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective subsidiaries and branches, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected, and we may not be able to consolidate the financial results of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective subsidiaries and branches into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The shareholders of our consolidated VIEs may have potential conflicts of interest with us, and if any such conflicts of interest are not resolved in our favor, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

        We have designated individuals who are PRC nationals to be the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs in China, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, and Beijing Jiajujiu. These individuals may have conflicts of interest with us. Each of Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu is 70% owned by Mr. Zuyu Ding, E-House's co-president and 30% owned by Mr. Weijie Ma, our co-president and acting chief financial officer. Beijing Leju is 80% owned by Mr. Xudong Zhu, the head of E-House's offline advertising operations, and 20% owned by Mr. Zuyu Ding, E-House's co-president. None of Mr. Zhu, Mr. Ding and Mr. Ma has a significant equity stake in our company. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, they will act in the best interests of our company or that conflicts of interests will be resolved in our favor. In addition, they may breach or cause our VIEs and their subsidiaries to breach or refuse to renew the existing contractual arrangements that allow us to effectively control our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries and receive economic benefits from them. Currently, we do not have arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between the shareholders of our consolidated VIEs and our company. We rely on them to abide by the laws of the Cayman Islands and China, which provide that directors and/or officers owe a fiduciary duty to our company, which requires them to act in good faith and in the best interests of our company and not to use their positions for personal gain. If we cannot resolve any potential conflicts of interest or disputes between us and the individual shareholders of our consolidated VIEs which may arise, we would have to rely on legal proceedings to enforce our rights, which could be costly and unsuccessful.

Our ability to enforce the equity pledge agreements between us and the shareholders of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu may be subject to limitations based on PRC laws and regulations.

        Pursuant to the equity pledge agreements relating to our consolidated VIEs, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu, the shareholders of the consolidated VIEs pledge their equity interest in the consolidated VIEs to our subsidiaries to secure their and the relevant consolidated VIEs' performance of the obligations under the relevant contractual arrangements. The equity pledges under these equity pledge agreements have been registered with the relevant local branch of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. According to the PRC Property Law and PRC Guarantee Law, the pledgee and the pledgor are prohibited from making an agreement prior to the expiration of the debt performance period to transfer the ownership of the pledged equity to the pledgee when the obligor fails to pay the debt due. However, under the PRC Property Law, when an obligor fails to pay its debt when due, the pledgee may choose to either conclude an agreement with the pledgor to obtain the pledged equity or seek payments from the proceeds of the auction or sell-off of the pledged equity. If any of the consolidated VIEs or its shareholders fails to perform its obligations secured by the pledges under the equity pledge agreements, one remedy in the event of default under the agreements is to require the pledgor to sell the equity interests in the relevant consolidated VIE in an auction or

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private sale and remit the proceeds to our subsidiaries in China, net of related taxes and expenses. Such an auction or private sale may not result in our receipt of the full value of the equity interests in the relevant consolidated VIE. We consider it very unlikely that the public auction process would be undertaken since, in an event of default, our preferred approach would be to ask our PRC subsidiary that is a party to the exclusive call option agreement with the consolidated VIE's shareholder, to designate another PRC person or entity to acquire the equity interest in the consolidated VIE and replace the existing shareholder pursuant to the exclusive call option agreement.

        In addition, in the registration forms of the local branch of State Administration for Industry and Commerce for the pledges over the equity interests under the equity pledge agreements, the amount of registered equity interests pledged to our PRC subsidiaries was stated as the pledgor's portion of the registered capital of the consolidated VIE. The equity pledge agreements with the shareholders of the consolidated VIEs provide that the pledged equity interest constitute continuing security for any and all of the indebtedness, obligations and liabilities under the relevant contractual arrangements, and therefore the scope of pledge should not be limited by the amount of the registered capital of the consolidated VIEs. However, there is no guarantee that a PRC court will not take the position that the amount listed on the equity pledge registration forms represents the full amount of the collateral that has been registered and perfected. If this is the case, the obligations that are supposed to be secured in the equity pledge agreements in excess of the amount listed on the equity pledge registration forms could be determined by the PRC court to be unsecured debt, which takes last priority among creditors and often does not have to be paid back at all. We do not have agreements that pledge the assets of the consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries for the benefit of us or our PRC subsidiaries, although the consolidated VIEs grant our PRC subsidiaries options to purchase the assets of the consolidated VIEs and their equity interests in their subsidiaries under the exclusive call option agreement.

Contractual arrangements we have entered into with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and a finding that we, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu owe additional taxes could reduce our net income and the value of your investment.

        Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be audited or challenged by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements we have entered into with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu do not represent an arm's-length price and adjust the taxable income of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu or their subsidiaries and branches 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 Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin, Beijing Jiajujiu or their subsidiaries and branches, which could in turn increase their PRC tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties on our consolidated VIEs for underpayment of taxes. Our consolidated net income may be materially and adversely affected if our consolidated VIEs' tax liabilities increase or if they are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Changes in PRC government policies could have a material and adverse effect on overall economic growth in China, which could adversely affect our business.

        We conduct substantially all of our business in China. As the real estate industry is highly sensitive to business spending, credit conditions and personal discretionary spending levels, it tends to decline during general economic downturns. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject, to a significant degree, to economic developments in China. While China's economy has experienced significant growth in the past three decades, growth has been uneven across different periods, regions and among various economic sectors of China. The PRC government may

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implement measures that are intended to benefit the overall economy even if they would be expected to have a negative effect on the real estate industry. The real estate industry is also sensitive to credit policies. In recent years, the PRC government adjusted the People's Bank of China's statutory deposit reserve ratio and benchmark interest rates several times in response to various economic situations. Any future monetary tightening may reduce the overall liquidity in the economy and reduce the amount of credit available for real estate purchase. Higher interest rates may increase borrowing costs for purchasers who rely on mortgage loans to finance their real estate purchase. These could negatively affect overall demand for real estate and adversely affect our operating and financial results. We cannot assure you that China will continue to have rapid or stable economic growth in the future or that changes in credit or other government policies that are intended to create stable economic growth will not adversely impact the real estate industry.

        While China's economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures benefit the overall PRC economy, but may also have a negative effect on us. The PRC government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate increases, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, and since 2012, the PRC economy has slowed down. Any prolonged slowdown in the PRC economy may reduce the demand for our products and services and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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

        We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs in China. Our operations in China are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to foreign-invested enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. PRC legislation and regulations have gradually enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.

        The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Restrictions on currency exchanges between the Renminbi and other currencies may limit our ability to utilize our revenues and funds, in particular in relation to capital account transactions such as investments and loans. We receive substantially all of our revenues in the Renminbi. Under our current structure, our income will be primarily derived from dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated VIEs to remit sufficient foreign currency to pay dividends or other payments to us, or otherwise satisfy their foreign currency denominated obligations.

        Under current PRC regulations, the Renminbi is convertible for "current account transactions," which include among other things dividend payments and payments for the import of goods and services, subject to compliance with certain procedural requirements. Although the Renminbi has been fully convertible for current account transactions since 1996, we cannot assure you that the relevant

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PRC government authorities will not limit or eliminate our ability to purchase and retain foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future.

        Conversion of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and of foreign currencies into the Renminbi, for payments relating to "capital account transactions," which principally include investments and loans, generally requires the approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, and other relevant PRC governmental authorities. Restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi for capital account transactions could affect the ability of our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated PRC operating companies to make investments overseas or to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing, including by means of loans or capital contributions from us.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

        The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by, among other things, changes in China's political and economic conditions and China's foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. dollar, and the Renminbi has appreciated more than 30% against the U.S. dollar since then. However, the People's Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to limit fluctuations in the Renminbi exchange rates and achieve policy goals. It is difficult to predict how long the current currency exchange trend may last and when and how this relationship between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar may change again.

        There remains significant international pressure on the Chinese government to adopt a flexible currency policy to allow the Renminbi to appreciate against the U.S. dollar. Significant revaluation of the Renminbi may have a material adverse effect on your investment. As our costs and expenses are mostly denominated in the Renminbi, the appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would increase our costs in U.S. dollar terms. In addition, as our operating subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs in China receive revenues in the Renminbi, any significant depreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar may have a material and adverse effect on our revenues in U.S. dollar terms and financial condition, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ordinary shares. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into the Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. These and other effects on our financial data resulting from fluctuations in the value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar could have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

        Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to 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 PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert the Renminbi into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

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PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries' ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

        SAFE issued a public notice, commonly referred to as Circular 75, in October 2005 requiring PRC domestic residents to register with the local SAFE branch before establishing, or acquiring control of, any company outside of China for the purpose of capital financing with assets or equities of PRC companies, referred to in the notice as an "offshore special purpose company." PRC residents who are beneficial owners of offshore special purpose companies and have completed round trip investments but did not make foreign exchange registrations for overseas investments before November 1, 2005 were retroactively required to register with the local SAFE branch before March 31, 2006. PRC resident beneficial owners are also required to amend their registrations with the local SAFE branch in certain circumstances. We are aware that our PRC resident beneficial owners subject to the SAFE registration requirements have registered with the Shanghai SAFE branch and will amend such registration to reflect the recent changes to our corporate structure.

        We cannot provide any assurances that all of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents will continue to make, obtain or amend any applicable registrations or approvals required by these SAFE regulations. The failure or inability of our PRC resident beneficial owners to comply with the registration procedures set forth therein may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, or limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries, or limit our PRC subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to our company or otherwise adversely affect our business. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration requirements could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of foreign exchange restrictions.

        As it is uncertain how the SAFE regulations will be interpreted or implemented, we cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, including the remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the SAFE regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock ownership plans or share option plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

        Under the applicable regulations and SAFE rules, PRC citizens who participate in an employee stock ownership plan or a stock option plan in an overseas publicly listed company are required to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Rules, which replaced the Application Procedures of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Ownership Plan or Stock Option Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies issued by SAFE in March 2007. Pursuant to the Stock Option Rules, if a PRC resident participates in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly-listed company, a qualified PRC domestic agent must, among other things, file on behalf of such participant an application with SAFE to conduct the SAFE registration with respect to such stock incentive plan and obtain approval for an annual allowance with respect to the purchase of foreign exchange in connection with the

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exercise or sale of stock options or stock such participant holds. Such participating PRC residents' foreign exchange income received from the sale of stock and dividends distributed by the overseas publicly-listed company must be fully remitted into a PRC collective foreign currency account opened and managed by the PRC agent before distribution to such participants. We and our PRC resident employees who have been granted stock options or other share-based incentives of our Company will be subject to the Stock Option Rules when our Company becomes an overseas listed company upon the completion of this offering. If we or our PRC resident participants fail to comply with these regulations, we and/or our PRC resident participants may be subject to fines and legal sanctions. See "Regulation—Regulations relating to Foreign Exchange Control and Administration—Foreign Exchange Registration of Employee Stock Incentive Plans."

PRC regulations relating to acquisitions in China require us to obtain certain approvals from the Ministry of Commerce and the failure to obtain such approvals could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, reputation and the trading price of our ADSs.

        The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, jointly issued by six PRC regulatory agencies and amended by the Ministry of Commerce in 2009, include provisions that purport to require the Ministry of Commerce's approval for acquisitions by offshore entities established or controlled by domestic companies, enterprises or natural persons of onshore entities that are related to such domestic companies, enterprises or natural persons. However, the interpretation and implementation of the M&A Rules remain unclear with no consensus currently existing regarding the scope and applicability of the Ministry of Commerce approval requirement on foreign acquisitions among related parties.

        We have entered into contractual arrangements with each of Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu and their respective shareholders, which provide us with substantial ability to control each of these entities. See "Related Party Transactions."

        If the Ministry of Commerce subsequently determines that their approval was required for such contractual arrangements, we may need to apply for a remedial approval. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such approval or waiver of such approval from the Ministry of Commerce. Inability to obtain such approval or waiver from the Ministry of Commerce may have a material and adverse effect on our business. Further, we may be subject to certain administrative punishments or other sanctions from the Ministry of Commerce. The Ministry of Commerce or other regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limit our operating privileges in the PRC, delay or restrict the repatriation of U.S. dollars into the PRC, or take other actions that could have further material and adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.

The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of PRC companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

        The M&A Rules and recently adopted 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. For example, the M&A Rules require that the PRC Ministry of Commerce be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, if (i) any important industry is concerned, (ii) such transaction involves factors that have or may have impact on the national economic security; or (iii) such transaction will lead to a change in control of a domestic enterprise which holds a famous trademark or PRC time-honored brand. Mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the PRC Ministry of Commerce when the threshold under the Provisions on

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Thresholds for Prior Notification of Concentrations of Undertakings, or the Prior Notification Rules, issued by the State Council in August 2008 is triggered. In addition, the Implementing Rules Concerning Security Review on the Mergers and Acquisitions by Foreign Investors of Domestic Enterprises, issued by the PRC Ministry of Commerce in August 2011, specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors involved in "an industry related to national security" are subject to strict review by the PRC Ministry of Commerce, and prohibit any activities attempting to bypass such 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. Complying with the requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the PRC Ministry of Commerce or its local counterparts may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions. We cannot preclude the possibility that the PRC Ministry of Commerce or other government agencies may publish explanations contrary to our understanding or broaden the scope of such security reviews in the future, in which case our future acquisitions in the PRC, including those by way of entering into contractual control arrangements with target entities, may be closely scrutinized or prohibited. Our ability to expand our business or maintain or expand our market share through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected.

Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs are subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

        We are a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands. We rely on dividends from our PRC subsidiaries as well as service and other fees paid to our PRC subsidiaries by our consolidated VIEs for our cash and financing requirements, such as the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, including holders of our ADSs, and service any debt we may incur.

        Our consolidated VIEs are directly held by certain PRC individuals designated by us and thus are not able to make dividend payments to our PRC subsidiaries and holding companies outside the PRC. We have the right to charge our consolidated VIEs service fees through our relevant PRC subsidiaries pursuant to the exclusive technical support agreements entered into with our consolidated VIEs, which together with the other agreements with our consolidated VIEs and their respective shareholders, enable us to enjoy substantially all of the economic benefits of our consolidated VIEs. These contractual arrangements we have entered into with our consolidated VIEs may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—Contractual arrangements we have entered into with Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin and Beijing Jiajujiu may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and a finding that we, Beijing Leju, Shanghai Yi Xin or Beijing Jiajujiu owe additional taxes could reduce our net income and the value of your investment." Our consolidated VIEs have paid and will continue to pay the service fees to our relevant PRC subsidiaries pursuant to the exclusive technical support agreements between them.

        Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits after making up previous years' accumulated losses each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of its registered capital. In addition, at the discretion of each of our PRC subsidiaries, it may also allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. In addition, the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, and its implementation rules provide that withholding tax rate of 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC-resident enterprises are incorporated. We have not received

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any dividend payments or other distributions from our PRC subsidiaries, and as we currently intend to retain all of the available funds and any future earnings of our PRC subsidiaries to fund the development and growth of our business, we do not expect to receive any dividend payments or other distributions from our PRC subsidiaries in the foreseeable future.

        Furthermore, if our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict the ability of our consolidated VIEs to pay service fees to our PRC subsidiaries or the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated VIEs to pay dividends or make other payments 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.

PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from making loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries.

        As an offshore holding company of our PRC operating subsidiaries, we may make loans to our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs, or may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries, subject to satisfaction of applicable governmental registration and approval requirements.

        Any loans we extend to our PRC subsidiaries, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, cannot exceed the statutory limit and must be registered with the local counterpart of the SAFE. The statutory limit for the total amount of foreign debt of a foreign-invested company is the difference between the amount of total investment and the amount of registered capital of such foreign-invested company as approved by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart. The current statutory limit on the loans we may make to Beijing Maiteng, our PRC subsidiary, is HK$40 million ($5.2 million). The current total investment in each of our other PRC subsidiaries, namely, Shanghai SINA Leju, Shanghai Yi Yue, City Rehouse, Shanghai Xiangle Information Technology Limited and Shanghai Fangxin Information Technology Co., Ltd., is in the same amount of their respective registered capital. Therefore we currently are not able to extend any loans to these subsidiaries. However, these statutory limits may be increased with the increases of the total investment, subject to the PRC governmental approvals and registrations. Any loans we extend to our consolidated VIEs or other PRC operating companies that are domestic PRC entities, must be approved by the National Development and Reform Commission or its local counterpart and must also be registered with SAFE or its local branches.

        We may also decide to finance our PRC subsidiaries by means of capital contributions. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, these capital contributions are subject to approval by the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterpart. In addition, on August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign Invested Enterprises, or Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into Renminbi by restricting how the converted Renminbi may be used. Circular 142 provides that the Renminbi fund converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise can only be used for purposes within the approved business scope of such foreign-invested enterprise and cannot be used for equity investments within the PRC, unless otherwise provided by law. Moreover, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the Renminbi fund converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise. The use of such Renminbi fund may not be altered without SAFE approval, and such Renminbi fund may not in any case be used to repay Renminbi loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of Circular 142 could result in severe monetary or other penalties. Furthermore, SAFE promulgated a circular in November 2010 which tightens the regulations over settlement of net proceeds from overseas offerings like this offering and requires that the settlement of net proceeds must be consistent with the

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description in the prospectus for the offering. SAFE also promulgated a circular in November 2011, which prohibits a foreign-invested enterprise from using Renminbi funds converted from its foreign currency registered capital to provide entrustment loans or repay loans borrowed from non-financial enterprises. These circulars may limit our ability to transfer the net proceeds from this offering to our consolidated VIEs and the subsidiaries of our PRC subsidiaries, and we may not be able to convert the net proceeds from this offering into Renminbi to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies, or establish other consolidated VIEs in China. Despite the restrictions under these SAFE circulars, our PRC subsidiaries may use their income in Renminbi generated from their operations to finance the relevant consolidated VIEs through entrustment loans to the consolidated VIEs or loans to such VIEs' shareholders for the purpose of making capital contributions to such VIEs. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries can use Renminbi funds converted from foreign currency registered capital to carry out any activities within their normal course of business and business scope, including to purchase or lease servers and other relevant equipment and fund other operational needs in connection with their provision of services to the relevant consolidated VIEs under the applicable exclusive technical support agreements.

        In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to our PRC subsidiaries or any consolidated VIE or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we expect to receive from this offering and to fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments currently available to us in the PRC or imposition of any additional PRC taxes on us could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

        Pursuant to a Circular on Enterprise Income Tax Preferential Treatments issued by the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Finance effective as of February 22, 2008, as partially amended by a Circular on Enterprise Income Tax Policies for Further Encouraging the Development of the Software Industry and the Integrated Circuit Industry, a qualified software enterprise is eligible to be exempted from income tax for its first two profitable years, followed by a 50% reduction in income tax, to a rate of 12.5%, for the subsequent three years. Shanghai SINA Leju was recognized as a qualified software enterprise in February 2009 and was further approved by the local tax authority in June 2009, and, thus, became eligible to be exempted from income tax for 2009, followed by a 50% reduction in income tax from 2010 through 2012. Another wholly owned subsidiary Shanghai Fangxin Information Technology Co. Ltd., or Shanghai Fangxin, was recognized as a qualified software enterprise and was further approved by the local tax authority in October 2012 to become eligible for being exempted from income tax for 2012 and 2013, followed by a 50% reduction in income tax from 2014 through 2016. Shanghai SINA Leju was granted status as a high and new technology enterprise and was entitled to enjoy a favorable statutory tax rate of 15% for 2013 and 2014. If Shanghai SINA Leju or Shanghai Fangxin fails to maintain software enterprise status or high and new technology enterprise status, their applicable enterprise income tax rate may increase to up to 25%, which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

        Various local governments in China have also provided discretionary preferential tax treatments to us. However, at any time, these local governments may decide to reduce or eliminate these preferential tax treatments. Furthermore, these local implementations of tax laws may be found in violation of national laws or regulations, and as a consequence, we may be subject to retroactive imposition of higher taxes as a result. We are required under U.S. GAAP to accrue taxes for these contingencies.

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The change in accounting requirement for reporting tax contingencies, any reduction or elimination of these preferential tax treatments and any retroactive imposition of higher taxes could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfer of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.

        We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of shares in our company by investors who are non-PRC resident enterprises. According to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises issued by the PRC State Administration of Taxation on December 10, 2009, with retroactive effect from January 1, 2008, or SAT Circular 698, and its subsequent application rules, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers the equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise indirectly through a disposition of equity interests in an overseas holding company, or an Indirect Transfer, and such overseas holding company is located in a tax jurisdiction that: (i) has an effective tax rate less than 12.5% or (ii) does not tax foreign income of its residents, the non-PRC resident enterprise, as the seller, shall report such Indirect Transfer to the competent tax authority of the PRC resident enterprise within 30 days of execution of the equity transfer agreement for such Indirect Transfer. The PRC tax authority will examine the true nature of the Indirect Transfer, and if the tax authority considers that the foreign investor has adopted an abusive arrangement without reasonable commercial purposes and for the purpose of avoiding or reducing PRC tax, they will disregard the existence of the overseas holding company that is used for tax planning purposes and re-characterize the Indirect Transfer. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC withholding tax at the rate of up to 10%. We cannot assure you that the PRC tax authorities will not, at their discretion, adjust any capital gains and impose tax return filing obligations on us or require us to provide assistance for the investigation of PRC tax authorities with respect thereto. Any PRC tax imposed on a transfer of our shares or any adjustment of such gains would cause us to incur additional costs and may have a negative impact on the value of your investment in us. SAT Circular 698 also points out that when a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the competent tax authorities have the power to make a reasonable adjustment on the taxable income of the transaction.

Dividends payable to us by our PRC subsidiaries may be subject to PRC withholding taxes or we may be subject to PRC taxation on our worldwide income, and dividends distributed to our investors may be subject to PRC withholding taxes under the EIT Law and our investors may be subject to PRC withholding tax on the transfer of our ordinary shares or ADSs.

        Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, all domestic and foreign invested companies would be subject to a uniform enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% and dividends from a PRC subsidiary to its foreign parent company will be subject to a withholding tax at the rate of 10%, unless such foreign parent company's jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a reduced rate of withholding, or the tax is otherwise exempted or reduced pursuant to PRC tax laws.

        Under the Administrative Measures for Non-Residents Enjoying Tax Treaty Benefits (Trial Implementation), effective on October 1, 2009, our Hong Kong subsidiaries need to obtain approval from the relevant local branch of the State Administration of Taxation in order to enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% in accordance with the Arrangement between Mainland China and Hong Kong for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income. The PRC State Administration of Taxation further clarified in a circular that tax treaty benefits will be denied to "conduit" or shell companies without business substance and that a

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beneficial ownership analysis will be used based on a "substance-over-form" principle to determine whether or not to grant the tax treaty benefits. It is unclear at this stage whether this circular applies to dividends from our PRC subsidiaries paid to us through our Hong Kong subsidiaries. However, it is possible that our Hong Kong subsidiaries might not be considered as "beneficial owners" of any dividends from their PRC subsidiaries and as a result would be subject to withholding tax at the rate of 10%. As a result, there is no assurance that our Hong Kong subsidiaries will be able to enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate.

        In addition, under the EIT Law, enterprises organized under the laws of jurisdictions outside of China with their "de facto management bodies" located within China may be considered PRC resident enterprises and therefore be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on their worldwide income. Under the implementation rules of the EIT Law, "de facto management bodies" are defined as the bodies that have material and overall management and control over the business, personnel, accounts and properties of the enterprise. A subsequent circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation provides that a foreign enterprise controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group will be classified as a "resident enterprise" with its "de facto management bodies" located within China if the following requirements are satisfied: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function mainly in the PRC; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders' meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (iv) more than half of the enterprise's directors or senior management with voting rights reside in the PRC.

        The EIT Law and its implementation rules are relatively new and ambiguities exist with respect to the interpretation of the provisions relating to resident enterprise issues. Although our offshore holding companies are not controlled by any PRC company or company group, we cannot assure you that we will not be deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and its implementation rules. If we were considered a PRC resident enterprise, we would be subject to the PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on our worldwide income; dividend income we receive from the PRC subsidiaries, however, may be exempt from PRC tax since such income is exempted under the EIT Law to a PRC resident recipient. However, as there is still uncertainty as to how the EIT Law and its implementation rules will be interpreted and implemented, and the PRC foreign exchange control authorities have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as PRC resident enterprises, we cannot assure you that we are eligible for such PRC enterprise income tax exemptions or reductions. In addition, ambiguities also exist with respect to the interpretation of the provisions relating to identification of PRC-sourced income. If we were considered a PRC resident enterprise, any dividends payable to non-resident holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs, and the gains such investors may realize from the transfer of our ordinary shares or ADSs, may be treated as PRC-sourced income and therefore be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax (or 20% in the case of non-resident individual holders), unless otherwise exempted or reduced pursuant to treaties or applicable PRC law.

        If we became a PRC resident enterprise under the new PRC tax system and received income other than dividends, our profitability and cash flows would be adversely affected due to our worldwide income being taxed in China under the EIT Law. Additionally, we would incur an incremental PRC dividend withholding tax cost if we distributed our profits to our ultimate shareholders. There is, however, not necessarily an incremental PRC dividend withholding tax on the piece of the profits distributed from our PRC subsidiaries, since they would have been subject to PRC dividend withholding tax even if we were not a PRC tax resident.

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Foreign ownership of the real estate agency and brokerage business in China is restricted under PRC regulations. This may limit our ability to establish new PRC operating entities or to increase the registered capital of our existing entities in the future.

        Currently, we mainly use City Rehouse, and its subsidiaries to provide support for our e-commerce business. Certain of the support services provided by City Rehouse and its subsidiaries are considered to be real estate agency and brokerage services under PRC laws. Pursuant to the latest Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue, the PRC government classifies real estate agency and brokerage services within the restricted catalogue for foreign investment. Accordingly, the establishment of or investment in any company engaged in real estate agency and brokerage services in China by our PRC subsidiaries directly is, and by our PRC subsidiaries indirectly through their subsidiaries may be, subject to approval of the PRC Ministry of Commerce or its relevant local counterparts which should be obtained before registering such company with SAIC or its local counterparts. Although City Rehouse has not obtained approval from the competent local branch of the PRC Ministry of Commerce in connection with its establishment of, or investment in, its subsidiaries with the business scope of real estate brokerage business, each subsidiary of City Rehouse has obtained and maintained a business license with such business scope, and none of such subsidiaries has received any notice of warning or penalties from the competent authorities for lacking such approval. At the time of registration of each of its subsidiaries with the local SAIC, City Rehouse had not provided our full corporate structure to the local SAIC for review as it was not required by the local SAIC or applicable PRC law. However, if the relevant PRC government authorities require us to obtain the approval from the local branch of the PRC Ministry of Commerce for City Rehouse's ownership in its subsidiaries with the business scope of real estate brokerage business, it may be difficult and time-consuming for us to obtain such approval, or we may not be able to obtain it at all. The lack of such approval may lead to our relevant subsidiary being ordered to cease conducting the relevant real estate brokerage business or becoming subject to warnings, fines or revocation of its licenses. In addition, these approval requirements may also limit our ability to set up new subsidiaries to provide similar support service to our e-commerce business.

        In addition, pursuant to the relevant regulations regarding real estate agency and brokerage businesses, a real estate broker must conduct a filing with the real estate administrative authority within 30 days after issuance of its business license. We have completed the filing with the competent local real estate administrative authorities for our ten PRC operating entities which currently provide support services considered to be real estate agency and brokerage services under the PRC law. In addition, among our other 21 PRC operating entities with the business scope of real estate brokerage business which are intended to provide support services to our e-commerce business, we are in the process of making such filings with the relevant local real estate administrative authorities for three entities, and are in the process of preparing the relevant application documents with respect to all the remaining 18 entities which intend to make such filings. The requirements of the local real estate administrative authority for such filing may vary in different cities and we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete such filing in a timely manner or at all. If we fail to properly complete such filings, it may limit the ability of the relevant PRC operating entities to provide similar support service to our e-commerce business.

Our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is not permitted to be subject to inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and as such, investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

        Our independent registered public accounting firm that issued the audit reports included in this prospectus filed with the SEC, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our

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auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is currently not inspected by PCAOB.

        Inspections of other firms that PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The inability of PCAOB to conduct inspections of independent registered public accounting firms operating in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections and lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

Proceedings instituted by the SEC against five PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

        In late 2012, the SEC commenced administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese affiliates of the "big four" accounting firms,(including our auditors) and also against Dahua (the former BDO affiliate in China). The Rule 102(e) proceedings initiated by the SEC relate to these firms' inability to produce documents, including audit work papers, in response to the request of the SEC pursuant to Section 106 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as the auditors located in the PRC are not in a position lawfully to produce documents directly to the SEC because of restrictions under PRC law and specific directives issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The issues raised by the proceedings are not specific to our auditors or to us, but affect equally all audit firms based in China and all China-based businesses with securities listed in the United States.

        In January 2014, the administrative judge reached an Initial Decision that the "big four" accounting firms should be barred from practicing before the Commission for six months. However, it is currently impossible to determine the ultimate outcome of this matter as the accounting firms have filed a Petition for Review of the Initial Decision and pending that review the effect of the Initial Decision is suspended. The SEC Commissioners will review the Initial Decision, determine whether there has been any violation, and if so, determine the appropriate remedy to be placed on these audit firms. Once such an order was made, the accounting firms would have a further right to appeal to the US Federal courts, and the effect of the order might be further stayed pending the outcome of that appeal.

        Depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor concerns regarding China-based, United States listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our ADSs

An active trading market for our shares or our ADSs may not develop and the trading price for our ADSs may fluctuate significantly.

        We have applied to list our ADSs on the NYSE. Prior to the completion of this offering, there has been no public market for our ADSs or our ordinary shares underlying the ADSs, and we cannot assure you that a liquid public market for our ADSs will develop. If an active public market for our ADSs does not develop following the completion of this offering, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. Even if an active public market for our ordinary shares

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or ADSs develops, we cannot assure you that it will continue. The initial public offering price for our ADSs will be determined by negotiation between us and the underwriters based upon several factors, and we can provide no assurance that the trading price of our ADSs after this offering will not decline below the initial public offering price. As a result, investors in our securities may experience a significant decrease in the value of their ADSs.

The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.

        The trading prices of our ADSs are likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation in the market prices or the underperformance or deteriorating financial results of other similarly situated companies in China that have listed their securities in the United States in recent years. The securities of some of these companies have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings, including, in some cases, substantial price declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of these Chinese companies' securities after their offerings, including companies in the internet, real estate and real estate services businesses, may affect the attitudes of investors toward Chinese companies listed in the United States, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting or other practices at other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have engaged in such practices. In addition, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to our operating performance, such as the large decline in share prices in the United States, China and other jurisdictions in late 2008, early 2009, the third quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2012, which may have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs.

        In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:

•

variations in our net revenues, earnings and cash flow;



•

announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, or joint ventures by us or our competitors;



•

announcements of new services and expansions by us or our competitors;



•

changes in financial estimates by securities analysts;



•

fluctuations in our operating metrics;



•

additions or departures of key personnel;



•

release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities;



•

detrimental negative publicity about us, our competitors or our industry;



•

regulatory developments affecting us or our industry; and



•

potential litigation or regulatory investigations.

        Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs will trade.

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The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering and, if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approval.

        On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, promulgated the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was amended on June 22, 2009. This regulation, among other things, requires offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for the purpose of an overseas listing and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain CSRC approval prior to listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The application of this regulation remains unclear. Our PRC legal counsel, Fangda Partners, has advised us that, based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, rules and regulations, neither CSRC approval nor any other governmental authorization is required under the M&A Rules in the context of this offering because the ownership structures of our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs were not established through acquisition of equity interests or assets of any PRC domestic company by foreign entities as defined under the M&A Rules.

        However, we have been advised by our PRC legal counsel that there are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of the PRC law, and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is not contrary to the above opinion of our PRC legal counsel. If it is determined that the CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek the CSRC approval for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC although, to our knowledge, no definitive rules or interpretations have been issued to determine or quantify such fines or penalties, delays 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, or other actions that may have a material adverse effect on our business and the trading price of our ADSs. CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable to 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.

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 Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various 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 for so long as we are an emerging growth company until the fifth anniversary from the date of our initial listing.

        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. If we elect not to comply with the abovementioned auditor attestation requirements or to comply with new or revised accounting standards, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important.

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 United States 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 or current reports on Form 8-K;

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•

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 share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and



•

the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

        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 the NYSE. 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 as compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information, which would be made available to you, were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

If securities or industry analysts cease to publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

        The trading market for our 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 our ADSs, the market price for our 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 our ADSs to decline.

The sale or availability for sale, or perceived sale or availability for sale, of substantial amounts of our ADSs could adversely affect their market price.

        Sales of substantial amounts of our 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 our ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. There will be                        ADSs (equivalent to                        ordinary shares) outstanding immediately after this offering, or                        ADSs (equivalent to                        ordinary shares) if the underwriters exercise their options to purchase additional ADSs in full. The ADSs sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or 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. In connection with this offering, we and our officers, directors and E-House have agreed not to sell any shares or ADSs for 180 days after the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of the underwriters. However, the underwriters may release the securities subject to lock-up agreements from the lock-up restrictions at any time, subject to applicable regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. [In addition, ordinary shares subject to our outstanding options as of the closing of this offering will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements, the lock-up agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.] We may also issue additional options in the future which may be exercised for additional ordinary shares. 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 our ADSs. See "Underwriting" and "Shares Eligible for Future Sale" for a more detailed description of the restrictions on selling our securities after this offering.

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Because the initial public offering price is substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per share, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution.

        If you purchase ADSs in this offering, you will pay more for each ADS than the corresponding amount paid by existing shareholders for their ordinary shares. As a result, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately $                        per ADS (assuming that no outstanding options to acquire ordinary shares are exercised). This number represents the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per ADS of $                        as of                        , after giving effect to this offering and the assumed initial public offering price of $                        per ADS, the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the front cover of this prospectus. See "Dilution" for a more complete description of how the value of your investment in our ADSs will be diluted upon the completion of this offering.

Our articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have a material adverse effect on the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

        We will adopt our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will become effective immediately upon completion of this offering. Our new 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. 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. For example, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, in the form of ADS, or otherwise. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

        We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities 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, 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 responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as 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, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

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        Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our existing articles of association 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. Currently, we do not plan to rely on home country practice with respect to any corporate governance matter. However, if we choose to follow home country practice in the future, 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, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by 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 Law 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."

Judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable in our home jurisdiction.

        We are a Cayman Islands company and a substantial majority of our assets are located outside of the United States. A significant percentage of our current operations are conducted in China. In addition, a significant majority of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the United States 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 China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

        There are uncertainties as to whether Cayman Islands courts would:

•

recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws; and



•

impose liabilities against us, in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws that are penal in nature.

        There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the Cayman Islands and China, see "Enforceability of Civil Liabilities."

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 and such use may not produce income or increase our ADS price.

        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 of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering. We cannot assure you that the net proceeds will be used in a

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manner that would improve our results of operations or increase our ADS price, or that these net proceeds will be placed only in investments that generate income or appreciate in value.

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 vote the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs.

        As a holder of our ADSs, you will only be able to exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, you must vote by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will vote the underlying ordinary shares in accordance with these instructions. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying shares unless you withdraw the shares. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will become effective immediately upon completion of this offering, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is 7 days. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice to withdraw the shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to vote with respect to any specific matter. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct 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 vote and you may have no legal remedy if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

The depositary for our ADSs will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs if you do not vote at shareholders' meetings, except in limited circumstances, which could adversely affect your interests.

        Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, if you do not vote, the depositary will give us a discretionary proxy to vote our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs at shareholders' meetings unless:

•

we have failed to timely provide the depositary with notice of meeting and related voting materials;



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we have instructed the depositary that we do not wish a discretionary proxy to be given;



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we have informed the depositary that there is substantial opposition as to a matter to be voted on at the meeting;



•

a matter to be voted on at the meeting would have a material adverse impact on shareholders; or



•

the voting at the meeting is to be made on a show of hands.

        The effect of this discretionary proxy is that if you do not vote at shareholders' meetings, you cannot prevent our ordinary shares underlying your ADSs from being voted, except under the circumstances described above. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to influence the management of our company. 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 price appreciation of our ADSs for 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 our ADSs as a source for any future dividend income.

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        Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends. 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, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiary, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in our ADSs will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of our ADSs. There is no guarantee that our 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 our ADSs and you may even lose your entire investment in our ADSs.

You may not receive dividends or other distributions on our ordinary shares and you may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to you.

        The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying our ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.

You may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings.

        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 may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

        Your 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 expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may close its books from time to time for a number of reasons, including in connection with corporate events such as a rights offering, during which time the depositary needs to maintain an exact number of ADS holders on its books for a specified period. The depositary may also close its books in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of our ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the

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depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks that 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 in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement. As a result, you may be unable to transfer your ADSs when you wish to.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, particularly after we cease to qualify as an "emerging growth company."

        Upon completion of this offering, we will become 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 the NYSE, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than $1.0 billion in revenues for our last fiscal year, 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, or Section 404, in the assessment of the emerging growth company's internal control over financial reporting and permission to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we have elected to "opt out" of this provision and, as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards as required when they are adopted for public companies. This decision to opt out of the extended transition period under the JOBS Act is irrevocable.

        We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least $1.0 billion; (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering; (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a "large accelerated filer" under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ADSs that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $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.

        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. 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. For example, 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, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. 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.

        In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company's 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

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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 may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes, which could subject United States investors in our ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse United States income tax consequences.

        We will be classified as a "passive foreign investment company," or PFIC, if, in the case of any particular taxable year, either (i) 75% or more of our gross income for such year consists of certain types of "passive" income or (ii) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of our assets (as determined on the basis of fair market value) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income (the "asset test"). Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat our consolidated affiliated entities as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over the operation of such entities but also because we are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate their operating results in our consolidated financial statements. Assuming that we are the owner of our PRC consolidated affiliated entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and based upon our current income and assets (taking into account the proceeds from this offering) and projections as to the value of our ADSs and ordinary shares following the offering, we do not presently expect to be classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or the foreseeable future.

        While we do not expect to become a PFIC, because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test will generally be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares, fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years. The determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will also depend, in part, on the composition of our income and assets, which will be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets and the cash raised in this offering. Under circumstances where we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes or not to treat our consolidated affiliated entities as owned by us for United States federal income tax purposes, our risk of being classified as a PFIC may substantially increase. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a factual determination made annually after the close of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year or any future taxable year.

        If we are classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. holder (as defined in "Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations") may incur significantly increased U.S. income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an "excess distribution" under the U.S. federal income tax rules and such holders may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. For more information see "Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules."

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